Drive My Car

 

One of the many fascinating cars around Greenwich this week

Last night was just one of those nights.

You know the deal. Too many cooks spoiling the stew and my own drive for perfectionism steering me off the mark.

I have to just get over it.

Today's a new day.

Sean came back to town to work at WGCH this morning and then returned to the apartment to hang out before heading to the stadium.

We considered a few food ideas for an early breakfast or late lunch before deciding on our nearby diner.

It's cool here but it wasn't raining so we took the 10-minute walk and dined on egg and cheese sandwiches and other items.

I've almost reached the point where I could rank all of the chili here in Greenwich. Most adhere to the "Hotsy" style, so named for Frank "Hotsy" Bertino, who created a chili that is entirely meat-based with spices. 

It borders on perfection and is served on egg, cheese, and potato sandwiches around town, most famously at Garden Catering.

That's my type of chili. It does not have beans in it. That is the ultimate victory.

So, yeah, I tried another Greenwich egg and cheese sandwich with chili on it. Pretty great.

With food in our souls, we decided to take a walk. Sean, much to my delight, has become a bit of a car enthusiast. Now, by "enthusiast," he's more like his father and grandfather in that he's not a gearhead. He likes looking at the cars and learning about them but what's under the hood isn't really his thing.

It's never been mine either but I loved talking antique cars with my dad.

Down the street sat a car lover's dream: The Greenwich Concours d'Elegance.

The parking lot near Exit 3 off I-95 was filled with a mix of flashy and antique cars as well as other bustling activities. It was sort of an unofficial part of the Concours.

We strolled by a 1979 Trans-Am that looked like it had just rolled off the "Smokey and the Bandit" set. That allowed me to explain that his beloved Aunt Laura once owned a couple of Chevrolet Camaros back in the day.

As they have a playful relationship, I stuck up for my big sister."

"See?" I said. "Your Aunt Laura was pretty damn cool."

"What happened?" was the retort. 

Damn. He played that one well.

Laughs aside, we walked around, taking in some of the other cars in the lot. The real show was inside Roger Sherman Baldwin Park across the street. If you're keeping score, that was the site of the Greenwich Town Party a week earlier.

It would be fitting if the Town Party had The Cars as the headline act. OK, I'll see myself out.

As we both have to work, tickets starting at $55 weren't worth it today but it did remind me how WGCH should play a role there in the future. For instance, back in the 2010s a fledgling outfit called the HAN Network visited The Greenwich Concours d'Elegance and broadcast from there.

However, I was not there as I think I was on vacation.

So, although we only looked through the fence at the actual show and saw whatever we could for free, we decided that we needed to go for real in 2024 if the planets align.

We made our way back home to have some time before we hit the road for Dutchess County. 

Still, with temperatures in the 60s there's a hint of humidity in the air and shorts would be OK but it's also rather cool. Regardless of weather and attire, I was happy to be out and walking here in town. While there are hills that we have near us, it still gets me active. There's no question that's a great thing, especially with London a mere 10 days away.

Though my time there will be short on this visit there is still plenty of walking that can be done. Thankfully, I will likely not be huffing the 500 or so up St. Paul's Cathedral this time.

But with a trip to New Jersey for lacrosse and baseball next Friday my focus will be on getting ready for that. I'll turn to London after getting home from Sean's beloved Garden State.

That "beloved" part is sarcasm, incidentally. Sean only likes New Jersey if that means it means he's going to Waffle House.

Thus he's not going with me next weekend.

*****

What a difference a night makes!

I'm back home now from working the Rena...oops...Cider Donuts game tonight in Dutchess County. The Gades won, there was no grief, and all is well.

And we'll do it again tomorrow. The Renegades played in specially designed hats and jerseys as the Hudson Valley Cider Donuts tonight. They'll do that a few more times tonight, and the design was enough to get me to buy a hat.

Tomorrow, they'll close out the homestand in their COPA jerseys as the Fenómenos Enmascarados. I'll be breaking out a jersey for that one.

Come join us at the ballpark. Grab some donuts and enjoy the game.

The Cider Donuts win