Tag 5 - Start

After a short night we wanted to leave the city as early as possible to avoid the traffic of death. We ordered our car to the main entrance by phone, checked out and paid the bill. Unfortunately, the valet parking cost $78 instead of $68. Reason: The car is too big and had to be parked in a different garage, which is more expensive. It's good that it wasn't known beforehand that it was an SUV. Well, what can you do.

The first stop should be the Yale University campus. It was quickly found in the navigation system and off we went. The short distance of almost an hour's drive seemed a bit strange, but we didn't think much of it at first. At some point, the navigation system announced that we had arrived at the destination. We stood in front of a hospital in a completely different city. :D The joy was great. We used the time to get ourselves a small breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and then entered the correct address in the navigation system. Another hour's drive was displayed. That could fit better.

Finally arrived at Yale, we explored the university city and visited an auditorium - well, actually we gained unauthorized access to an open building and cheekily sat in the auditorium. Personally, the chair was too hard for me to pay the tuition fees. :D But that's a matter of taste. We also visited a souvenir shop where you could buy Yale certificate frames. I briefly considered it, but the price of $230 was a bit too much.

The next stop was the small town of Mystic. We arrived just in time for the Memorial Day parade. It was quite funny to watch. The people here are simply proud of their nation and also display equipment from long past times. In Germany, this is difficult without stirring up certain prejudices. The Americans have a lot ahead of us here! We visited the old town of Mystic with its old lift bridge and a few smaller shops. There was nothing more to see here and we decided to continue driving. I must have upset my stomach with breakfast in the morning. I felt sick and had stomach pains. Wonderful, with another 2 ½ hours drive to the hotel. We decided to stop at the Cape Cod Mall after about 2 hours. A mall with a few shops, including Macy's and Hollister. There was a decent discount, so everyone could find a few things. Sabrina and Marcel got hungry and needed something to eat. I didn't feel like eating at all and sat out for the evening. Besides, it was already 9 PM. After dinner, we drove for another ½ hour to our overnight accommodation for one night. This lodge wasn't much more than that. Everything was clean and tidy, but also a bit outdated. Plus, it was in the middle of nowhere. But it was completely sufficient for our purposes. After checking in, I lay down a bit, hoping that my stomach would feel better the next day.