Lunch Date

The rain we had recently seemed to have put Olive under the weather. She was just not herself last Sunday, which may in part have been because I had to leave her alone while I spent much of the day volunteering at a whale exhibit at a nearby science museum, sponsored by the Cetacean Society International, of which I am a board member. I was grateful that she seemed to be back to her old self on Monday.

Today I had to leave her again for the morning while I did my shift as a volunteer tutor at an adult literacy program in Hartford. I felt guilty about leaving her alone part of the day again, so I started thinking about what we might do together today. This morning's Hartford Courant (newspaper) answered me with a review of a beach-style seafood restaurant in Rocky Hill, a suburb across the river from Glastonbury. The restaurant is called Shad Row, near the launch of a historic ferry between Rocky Hill and the village of South Glastonbury, reputed to be the oldest continuously operated ferry in the U.S. What caught my attention was a note that the place is dog friendly. I decided to take Olive out for lunch. Immediately after finishing my tutoring shift, I drove home, got Olive, and we drove to the place.

The restaurant has no indoor seating, just tables on a deck overlooking the Connecticut River. It is quite casual, despite full waiter service. When we got there it was more crowded than I had expected, though we found a shaded table right away. I poured some water into Olive's canvas water dish, and she made herself comfortable. Some nearby patrons immediately made friends with her, and the restaurant owner even came by to pet her. I thanked her for making the place dog-friendly, to which she responded that she would not have had it any other way. Service was a bit laid back, though prompt and courteous. I played it safe and ordered fish & chips with coleslaw, though next time I might try one of the edgier offerings. I had brought along a dog treat for Olive, which I gave her as soon as my lunch came. Olive was a perfect lady; several patrons commented on what a sweet dog she is and how beautiful she is (as if we didn't already know). A helpful waiter snapped a picture of the two of us on the deck.

After lunch we walked around the grassy area of a nearby riverfront park, which Olive seemed to enjoy. We got home around 2:30.

The review of Shad Row is available online at http://www.courant.com/features/food/hc-alacarte-shad-row-rocky-hill-0604-20150529-story.html

Note: I discovered how to automatically send copies of my blogs to interested people. I set the system up so that the people who were getting my "Life with Olive" bulletins would get this one. As before, if you would rather not get the blog automatically just let me know and I will remove your email address. No offense will be taken.