While it is a short distance (a bit over 100 miles) from Windsor Locks, CT to Quincy, MA where we were spending the night before the cruise, it took us literally all day to get there. It was a beautiful day and we took our usual routing on two-lane roads to see some of the countryside and small towns of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

 About an hour into our trip we were lured by the beauty of Bigelow Pond to stop for a few photos . It reminded us both of Golden Pond from the movie of the same name. Many of our other stops were to check, record and then erase the codes causing the "Service Engine Soon" light that lit on the dash more and more frequently. The same thing was causing the light over and over: "Bank 1 (or Bank 2 or both) running too lean". Hopefully our mechanic will be able to figure out what the problem is when we get home. We also made a stop to get a congratulations card for our granddaughter who successfully completed all 4 tests required to get her GED. We are so proud and happy that she completed this -- with a husband, a 3 year-old and a full-time job, it is quite an accomplishment for her.

 We stopped for lunch at Miss Mendel's Diner, which was in an original old diner. The restaurant was very busy and, although we had a pretty long wait to get it, the food was good. We arrived in the late afternoon at the Best Western Adams Inn in Quincy. There were quite a few people from the cruise staying there (we heard there were 70) because they had a "Stay, Park & Travel" package. You could book a stay at the hotel that included 14 days of parking (and extra days are only $5 per day) and they have a shuttle to take you to and pick you up from the port, airport or train station. We had a very nice room with a view of the river. We decided to just have dinner at the hotel and relax for the evening before we left on the cruise.