Day 1

We’re here!  Massachusetts is BEAUTIFUL and exactly what I pictured.  We started off a bit rough at 4:30am yesterday morning (we Hullings have a slight tendency to overpack, thus costing us $90!! extra to check our giant bag).   So, we didn’t exactly start the morning off right, but our flights were quick, on-time and we arrived in Connecticut around lunch time. 

It’s so fun being in another city.  Fun…..and kind of scary.  We picked up our rental car and asked the guy where a good place to eat was that wasn’t a chain.  “Uh, there’s pizza, a McDonalds, a Burger King, a Friendlys, and there’s a good place where you can get wine and stuff like that.”   Oh. Ok.  Gee thanks for the ideas.  So, we headed out and decided to find our own way.  Problem is, we ended up heading towards downtown.  For one thing, nothing was open on a Sunday afternoon downtown, and as in most cities, downtown tends to not be in the best parts of town. 

We were the ONLY white people “cruising” in downtown Hartford and we saw a couple of really funny things.  For one thing, the sign on the back of the Good Humor Ice Cream truck said “Watch Children.”  Not “Watch FOR Children” just “Watch Children”.   That’s more than creepy.  Right after the ice cream truck we drove past a clothing store called “It’s a Gee THANG”.  Think we were in the wrong part of town?    That’s when Josh decided to head west.  No matter what city you’re in, there’s always new development out west, right?  We ended up finding a place to eat and a fun outdoor mall with lots of shops we don’t have in Des Moines.  Yay! 

After lunch we drove the GORGEOUS scenic route to Sheffield, MA where the Autism Institute is located.  OH MY WORD do I want to live here!  (We haven’t had a chance to take pictures yet, but I’m planning to between sessions today so hopefully I’ll get them posted tonight). We arrived to a very friendly welcome at the Institute around dinner time last night, got checked into our room, and found a fun little town not too far away that reminds me of Holland, MI (woo woo!) 

We’ve already met so many great people and it’s been really fun to talk about our kids.  Everyone’s pulling out pictures and sharing success stories.  It’s great to be in an enviroment of people who totally get it.  We have a full schedule of classes today and I’m looking forward to jumping in with both feet!