Sat 18/8 6272 steps
We had to make our way south of New York to return the RV. I found an RV park near Old Mystic, Connecticut, where we stayed the night. On our way there we stopped at Newport, Rhode Island for some browsing and lunch. David did a superb job of parking the RV in a narrow street close to the waterfront. There were so many tourists, everywhere was crowded. We went to the historic Black Pearl restaurant, known for its clam chowder, but it was definitely not the best chowder we have had. My blackened swordfish sandwich, however, was superb, as was David’s fish dish.
From there, we drove through varied surroundings to the Seaport Camp site, in Mystic, apparently made famous by Julia Roberts in the movie “Mystic Pizza” which I haven’t seen.
What I learnt: American restaurants generally have a staffing configuration which appears to defy logic, my logic at any rate. There is the person who seats you, someone who brings you water, then the wait person arrives with menus, then they come back to take your drinks order which they submit to someone else. Then someone brings your drinks. Then the wait person returns to take your order. Then someone else brings your food. Then someone else cleans the table. Then you are expected to tip a minimum of 18%.
Chuckle of the day: When we arrived at the door of the restaurant, there were clearly open tables, but the seating person, told us we could not go and sit down, but had to wait 10 minutes, so the waiting staff could have a rest.
Kim's journey 