The last week in August we set out with my mother- and stepfather-in-law on another road trip through New England. We had such a great time back in March that we decided to do it again. But this time instead of Boston and Vermont, we spent a night in Mystic, Connecticut, went back to Portland for a few days, and then finished up in Cape Cod.

The trip up to CT was insane, the traffic through NYC was so much worse than we expected. But, we did find a Shake Shack in Westport that made everyone’s mood better. I’d never been to one, but Adam had one near his old work office.

H really liked the shakes.

When we finally arrived in Mystic we had a less than exciting dinner, but a lovely walk along the waterfront.

We stopped in CT for Schemitzun, a huge annual festival on the Mashantucket reservation (near Foxwoods casino). My in-laws had read about the event, so we checked it out. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, honestly. I couldn’t imagine that it would be anything other than intrusive and exploitative from their descriptions. But it was a huge fair, everyone welcome. The costumes were amazing. And the dancing was great.

Poor Adam waited in the food line for more than an hour (in the blazing sun) to try a buffalo burger, and when he got to the front they were sold out. But, I got to try some deer meat.

The festival itself was great. It was a really hot day for H, who even participated (with her granddad) in the candy run for kids. She didn’t get any candy, but I don’t think she cared.