Yesterday I went to New Haven. It\nwas my first time really seeing New Haven. The only other time I had been in\nthe city proper was to wait for a train. Going into the city I didn\u2019t have any\ndefinite plans, which is not the autistic way of doing things. I went alone,\nand I was wanting to have a day that was just relaxing and not rushed. Before I\ngot there I was feeling a little anxious\u2014maybe that comes from not having\nplans?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took the train there. New Haven\nhas two train stations: State Street Station and Union Station. State Street is\na little unmanned stop. Union Station is their bigger train station. On the\nticket I was listed for getting off at State Street. The conductor told me that\u2019s\nwhere I would want to get off if I\u2019m going to Yale, which was my sort-of plan.\nSo note that: If you take the train to New Haven and want to see Yale, get off\nat State Street! You can walk from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One factor of the day meant\nadaptive travel for me: the weather. It was very cold out, and I had not\nprepared for it. It was in the low 30s, lower than I expected. There was plenty\nof wind which increased the wind chill. It would have been nice to see things\nlike parks, but the cold meant I was bound for indoor activities. Good that not\nhaving plans meant I didn\u2019t need to cancel anything, and just tell myself I can\ncome back to New Haven in a warmer month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I arrived during the 8am hour, at a\ntime when most of the main museums and attractions would be closed. Of course\nall I really wanted was somewhere to be inside. As I was walking down the\nstreet toward what would be Yale, I came across Elm City Market<\/a>. It\u2019s like one of\nthose combined grocery stores with a caf\u00e9. Thinking \u201cthey probably have heat and\nfood,\u201d I went inside and got myself some breakfast: a granola yogurt parfait\nand an apple cream cheese Danish. I probably sat in there for an hour just on\nmy phone. As I inched closer to 10am, I looked up things to do. I found out about\nYale\u2019s Center for British Art<\/a> that\nopened at 10am and decided I would go there next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once I got to the museum I learned\nthat it was free, which did not disappoint me. I then explored the museum. As\nyou might have guessed, all the artwork was by British artists. They have a mix\nof contemporary and classical art and sculptures. I go to art museums pretty\nmuch anywhere I can find them. I love art and I don\u2019t necessarily remember all\nthe pieces I look at, but I love having the experience at least. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this museum I took time to look\nat the descriptions next to each of the works. I don\u2019t always do that, instead\nI usually think about my own interpretation of the work. The descriptions the\nmuseum provided were really good and I got an insight into the artist\u2019s mind\nand the background of what inspired their art. It was actually really nice to take\nin the art slowly, instead of zooming through it to get to my next visit on\ntime. I would highly recommend this museum to anyone visiting New Haven!<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I was ready to leave the next\nitem on my list was lunch. I used Google Maps to search for restaurants close\nto me. I chose the Cask Republic<\/a>,\nyour typical \u201cAmerican with new twists\u201d place. To my surprise there was hardly\nanyone in there when I arrived or the entire time I was there\u2014on a Sunday\nafternoon! Maybe the cold kept people from venturing out. This place has an\nextensive beer and drinks menu, if that\u2019s your thing. As for me, I just got\ntheir burger and fries, as I like to try that everywhere. It was pretty good.\nThe portion size of fries was generous. They had some very good ice cream on\norder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My next stop was the Yale Art Gallery<\/a>, conveniently directly\nacross the street from the British Art Museum and also free! This museum has\nmore diversity of exhibits: ancient American art, African art, Indo-Pacific\nart, European religious icons, contemporary art, and American decorative art. I\nwas very pleased at the variety of cultural art in this museum! This is no doubt\na top-quality art museum, and I would highly recommend it as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I saw close to the art gallery was\nthe Yale School of Architecture<\/a>,\nwhich has its own architectural exhibits. They were advertising an exhibit in\nJapanese houses. Intrigued, I also went there. They had two exhibits going on:\nthe other was in \u201csacred spaces\u201d, i.e. religious houses of worship. What luck! I\nchecked it out, but I didn\u2019t really understand the architectural models they\nwere presenting. They had Buddhist and Hindu structures, a mosque, a synagogue,\nand an Orthodox church. They even had sound samples where you could listen to\ntraditional religious singing\/chanting. The Japanese houses exhibit was super\ncool. They showcased some of the traditional architecture from around the islands,\nand then they had photos and videos of some newer, funky house designs. It\nfeatured pictures of people living and playing in the houses, and they seemed\nto love it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I was ready to leave, I had a bit of time to kill before my train would leave. I walked back in the direction of the train station. I kept my eyes open for any places where I could get a nibble. I saw a Five Guys where I could get a milkshake, and I did. The staff in the Five Guys were great and enthusiastic, so shout out to them. Then I was on my way to get back to Hartford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the things I liked\/learned\non this little day trip included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nslow and leisurely pace was nice and refreshing. <\/strong>I took my time, discovered new things,\nand didn\u2019t feel the need to rush or be disappointed with missing something. I\ncould just take it all in and experience something new. It\u2019s so tempting to\nwant to go into everything with a plan, but you don\u2019t always need to, even if\nyou\u2019re autistic! There will always be something to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let the unexpected shape your plans. <\/strong>I wasn\u2019t prepared for the cold, and that was okay\u2014I simply chose activities that didn\u2019t depend on the weather, which you can also do it if it rains. If it helps, have in the back of your mind that things like the weather can change your plans and it doesn\u2019t need to ruin your trip! Just find different things to do. And remember, nothing is going away, you can always come back and do different things or try again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking\nthe train around Connecticut is so quick and easy. <\/strong>The train was actually super\ncomfortable, relaxing and cheap. Getting around, it felt like no time at all.\nNow I\u2019m looking to discover all the other places I can go on the train and get\nin more day trips to love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember\nwhat travel is about: fun, discovery and exploration! <\/strong>Anxiety very easily follows with travel,\nwhether you prepare or not. One of the things I\u2019ve learned with travel is so\nmany things will be unexpected, but that\u2019s part of the lessons of growth,\nadaptation and flexibility. Life can never be fully predictable, and traveling is\none way to practice that. In that process, you learn how much you\u2019re able to\ntake. On this visit to New Haven, I saw how much fun I could have when I lived\nin the moment and didn\u2019t think about what I was doing next. Be open to new\nthings, and simply enjoy the adventure of being in a new city, seeing new\nplaces, and challenging yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yesterday I went to New Haven. It was my first time really seeing New Haven. The only other time I had been in the city proper was to wait for a train. Going into the city I didn\u2019t have any definite plans, which is not the autistic way of doing things. I went alone, and … Continue reading Day Trip to New Haven<\/span>