“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth”.
(Henry David Thoreau)
My Walk into the Future continues to expand with new adventures. I would like to thank Breeze Airways for helping me find destinations to excite my journey.
Not sure Breeze Airways was thinking about me when the airline began flying to Vero Beach. The first flight arrived in February 2023 and Breeze adds new east coast destinations periodically. They currently fly to White Plains, NY, Hartford, CT, Providence, RI, Long Island, NY and Durham, NC. The routes are adjusted to match the snowbird migrations south. Breeze flies to Virginia Beach during summer months and I took my first Breeze flight for the Virginia Beach 10-Miler race back in September.
I received an email from Breeze Airways to promote low fall airfares and the prices immediately caught my attention. I love being a running tourist but have never ventured into New England states. Never had a real reason to hit New England but wanted to cross off a few states I’ve never visited. I started looking for half marathon races I could sign up for to give me a real reason to fly up. Discovered the Hartford Marathon and Half Marathon races were scheduled for early October and the entry fee was reasonable. Breeze Airways has direct flights from Vero Beach to Hartford so decided I will head up and enjoy New England in the fall.
My roundtrip flight including bag fees was $247. I couldn’t ask for a better price so booked my flight with the intent of running the Hartford Half Marathon and then doing some sightseeing. Well, it turns out my flight would not arrive in Hartford with enough time for me to make it to the race EXPO to pick up my race bib. They did not have same day pickup so my thoughts of being a running tourist were eliminated. No worries, I love adventures and going to Hartford, Connecticut would be an adventure without the need to run a race—what a concept, huh? LOL.
My flight from Vero Beach to Hartford was…a breeze. No issues checking in or on the flight up.
Hartford
Arrived in Hartford, Connecticut with the intention of sightseeing and making my way down to the race sight to watch the marathon and half marathon finish. I discovered getting to the start/finish line was impossible since the race had already started, and streets were blocked. I take this part of racing for granted since I’m normally running and never pay attention to which streets are blocked due to road races. Met a super friendly police officer who gave me directions on activities he suggested I tackle since I was not going to be able to get downtown Hartford for a few hours. I wrote the Basketball Hall of Fame as a possible destination and Officer Friendly recommended I head there and then come back downtown after touring the Hall of Fame.
Springfield, Massachusetts
The Basketball Hall of Fame is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Turns out my hotel was only 25 miles south of the iconic venue. Turned around and headed north with intent to visit the Basketball Hall of Fame and enjoy my first time in Massachusetts. This was a bonus to my trip since I didn’t realize how close these cities are to each other.
The Basketball Hall of Fame is a great place to embrace the basketball greats and their roles shaping the current basketball landscape. I was impressed with the displays and how each era had a place within the Hall of Fame. My favorite NBA player is Julius Erving (Dr. J) so was happy to see his display and read a bit about him during the tour. There is a great display for Kobe Bryant within the Hall, and I came away with a new level of respect for the Black Mamba.
Made my way down to the gym portion of the Hall to put up a few jumpers. I have not played basketball in years and my jumper was beyond rusty—good news, I didn’t hurt myself or anyone else. LOL.
Headed back south to Hartford to get some downtown sightseeing done.
Return to Hartford
The drive from Springfield to Hartford was uneventful but I was happy with my exploration so far. Decided to hit a downtown park before trying to make it back to the race village. I always heard about the fall foliage from friends and wanted to experience the leaf color changes. Made my way to a lakeside park and walked around a bit just enjoying the cool weather and nature. Got a few pictures by the lake and on a walking trail before it got too cold for me.
Left the park and went downtown Hartford just to look around. I had no idea there were still runners out on the course and watched the last marathoner cross the finish line. Surprisingly there were still people there to cheer him on and he looked elated to complete the journey—good for him.
Got a few pictures of downtown Harford before heading back to my hotel to warm up and map out my next adventures.
Providence, Rhode Island
Decided to maximize my time in New England and hit my third state in two days. Providence was only an hour and a half away from Hartford, so I pointed the rental car east and made my way through the Connecticut countryside to Rhode Island. The drive provided a scenic trip with a lot of fall foliage to admire. Googled attractions in Providence and decided to make my way to Roger Williams Park so I could walk around and get some pictures in. The park is huge and has multiple sections including a zoo and walking trails. This was the perfect place to take in a bit of Rhode Island culture and scenery.
Spent two hours in the park before heading back to Connecticut.
Thought about driving up to Boston to extend my tourist trek but decided I will wait to head back up and experience Boston as a separate trip. Yes, Breeze flies to Boston from Vero Beach and I plan to head back up in the spring when it warms up a bit.
My goal is to travel to all the Vero Beach Breeze Airline destinations before 2024 is over. I will look for races as part of my travel plans but will not let that limit me from making my way back up to New England. I still need to travel to Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire to complete my New England adventures. I will turn my travel efforts out west to make sure I visit the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming. Thinking of booking a dude ranch so I can live my cowboy dreams. More to come. LOL.
Where have you always wanted to travel?
Irie!