Once we got ourselves going (or really once I got myself going since Matt had been into Pfizer in the morning to work), we decided to take a tour of the Thimble Islands nearby. This is a collection of small islands, many of which have homes on them. Some islands are only large enough for 1 home and the largest is 17 acres. The homes range from very simple to a 54 room Tudor house that has a pool, greenhouse, gardens and much more. The tour we took on this small boat was given by a true "Thimble Islander" as he has been born on one of the islands and his family still owns property. He told stories from his childhood and "famous" stories of owners of these islands. It was great.
After walking around town nearby for a bit, we took a scenic drive back towards Guilford. We had plans for the evening, but decided that since it was such a nice day, we would head to the Little Stone House near the marina in Guilford. This is a seasonal small casual restaurant that is basically just a patio to sit outside, enjoy some sandwiches and beer, and occassionally enjoy some live music. We didn't get the live music, but it was great sitting out on the patio, enjoying our beers and relaxing.
I had looked through a recently received copy of a CT visitors guide and we decided we would go to a Bridgeport Bluefish minor league baseball game. Since the Red Sox games are already sold out (although we WILL make it to a game before we leave here!), we thought it might be fun to be at a small stadium where we can actually see the players! We got some great seats online (on the 1st base line, near the batter, about 9 rows back). The crowd looked like many of them were regulars there. They were playing the Long Island Ducks. It was fun to be in a small stadium and see the players, but we both thought they didn't play very well. We were a bit disappointed in the number of errors made and the bad pitching (soooo many pitches were just being thrown into the dirt!) And a lot of times, we were just laughing at the in-between contests for kids (eating contests, hula hoop contests, running around the bases against the Bluefish, etc). A lot of it seemed rather lame. While we had a good time while we were there, we decided to leave at the 6th inning. From what we could see, the Long Island Ducks were finally beginning to dominate, and when we left, they were ahead 4-1 and I couldn't see the Bluefish catching up.
After we left the game, we were planning on going to our favorite Mexican place nearby. So far, we've only found 1 place in New Haven that is decent. The other places we've tried are HORRIBLE... I can't believe East Coast people actually consider some of their "Mexican" food good. Anway, a guy at the company I'm temping at right now used to live in Southern California, and so he knows good Mexican. In fact, he even mentioned to me that his favorite place was El Ranchito in CdM. That is our favorite place too, so once I heard that I knew he knew good Mexican and I could trust his opinion. He told me of this place called Baja's in Orange (close to my work, but about a 20-25 minute drive from Guilford). We decided that since Baja's is on our way back from Bridgeport that we'd give it a try.
The owner greets you, hands you menus and you sit where ever you'd like. First, I was impressed that there weren't hamburgers on the menu. A few of the "Mexican" restuarants we tried would have other items on the menu, which was always a bad sign! Baja's has a salsa bar with about 6-8 mild-hot salsas... For me, the chips and salsa can make or break a meal. Their chips and salsas were amazingly flavorful and fresh. In fact, the owner ended up coming to talk to us for awhile after dinner and told us that they drive to New Jersey once a week to buy their tortillas for the chips. They really were some of the best I've ever had. Matt ordered the fish tacos (his test to see if the place is really good) and loved them. I got a standard taco and enchilada... also very good. The owners are a couple who moved from San Diego... they usually makes us feel better because they know good Mexican food being from Southern California. Later we learned, that he is actually from this CT area, and decided that he wanted to open a restaurant while living in San Diego. Originally he was thinking of opening an Italian place or a Mexican place, but finally someone suggested that because there are already so many of either restaurant in San Diego, to learn how to make Mexican himself and then open a Mexican restaurant in CT where "Mexican is horrible". So that's why he did... he worked for free at a friend of a friend's restaurant and learned everythinbg from their chef. Then he took what he learned and brought it to CT. He's extremely passionate about the food and the quality of the food. He was a really nice guy, and we are thrilled to have found such a great Mexican place... just wish it was a little closer!
So, in all we had a great day. Enjoyed the outside and beautiful weather, and found an amazing place to eat. Of course, I was recording the Olympics, so when we came home, I watched them. I wouldn't dare miss a minute!!
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