In this blog I spend Christmas in Connecticut, Go boozy running in the snow, Win at Blackjack against Native American Indians, Take sole control of the Aircraft Carrier USS Intrepid, Visit a Nuclear Submarine called Growler and Touch the Starship Enterprise while managing to avoid every major tourist spot in New York.

Lee-Stuart Evans running in West Rock State Park New Haven

I was lucky enough to be out in Conneticut during a big cold snap at Christmas. This meant the temperatures dropped to about minus 20 Celcius or about minus 4 Farenheit for American readers).

The low temperatures gave me a chance to test a lot of the gear I intended to use in Mongolia  a few weeks later crossing Lake Khovsghol.  There is a blog about that here

Running to a Boozy Brunch In New Haven

On one of the days I got to do a run through the beautiful Countryside and smaller roads around New Haven and Fairfield.  I ran about 11 miles to a Brunch in an Italian Restaurant that do a posh brunch with all you can drink Bucks Fizz.

The beautiful snow fall in Fairfield Conneticut

The low temperatures taught me what combo of buffs, and headwear, jackets and tops works best in low temperature and low humidity and I got to enjoy a landscape that was similar too but far more grand than anything we have in the UK.

Lee-Stuart Evans in a Alpkit jacket running in New Haven in Conneticut.

The Entrance of The Mohegan Sun Casino In Conneticut USA

Oneevening I got to visit The Mohegan Sun Casino. Many Casinos are based on Native American land and owned by Native Americans as it gets round the strict gambling laws in the USA.  Its huge in a way that people form the United Kingdom just have trouble understanding. I’d estimate it is the size of one of our biggest shopping malls in the  UK.  Its total immersion in gambling and its intermingled with bars and restaurants and almost feels like a Disney Epcot Centre ride.  I went there with a very unusual aim. Most people like to go to casinos to blow a bit of money and have some fun. Armed with some Blackjack skills, a rare evening of deliberate sobriety and a small amount of card counting I eventually sat down at a large Blackjack game and increased my money by 30% for about 30 mins of playing….and then did something no one does at a Casino…I walked away in profit.

The Mohegan Sun Casino

On one of the days I got to run up and through West Rock State Park. It has a huge towering ridge overlooking New Haven and Yale University. Its also famous for the Regicides trail which turns out honours two British Judges that signed the death warrant for King Charles I and hit out in the park to escape the wrath and bounty on their heads from his son Charles II when he retook the throne from Cromwell.  I like the link between the UK and New Haven as I’ve run all of the 625 miles of the Monarchs Way last year when preparing for a race on it. The Monarchs Way in the UK was the route that Charles II took after losing The Battle of Worcester and fleeing government forces before  eventually escaping in a ship from Shoreham on the South Coast.

Lee-Stuart Evans at Judges Rock in West Rock New Haven

The Regicides Trail has a plaque at ‘Judges Rock’ overlooking a viewpoint that you can see the Atlantic and Yale University. This Rock was the cave that the judges hid in for nearly a year.

View from the top of West Rock in New Haven

After a loop out round Wintergreen Lake we got back in  New Haven and finished the run in the New England Brewing Company who have a bar attached to their brewery called the Tap Room. They have a huge selection of beers and we enjoyed some coffee IPA and a beer called Fuzzy Baby Ducks as well as some deep fried mozarella balls and dip. The locals were amazed we had been out running in temperatures below minus 10C with a windchill that took it to minus 20 C

You can find out more about the brilliant brewery here

The Tap Room at The New England Brewing Company – pic by Lee-Stuart Evans

The Intrepid Museum in the port on the West Side of Manhatten in New York is literally a museum set up just for me. Its a Sea Air and Space Museum and boasts a WW2 to Vietnam ear Aircraft Carrier , A nuclear Submarine, Concorde and a Space Shuttle. I was lucky enough to have a private tour of the aircraft carrier an hour before it opened to the public with a very knowledgeable guide and got to tour the flight decks ( where aircraft from many eras are parked) and the below deck crew quarters, Flight Control Tower and Captains Bridge.  Its a superb attraction. They even have actual people that served on the ship available to talk you through features on the ship and what life was like on board.

Lockheed A-12

The flight deck has some superb aircraft on it, including the precursor to the SR-71 called the A-12 and a Concorde. The Intrepid is basically a floating museum of stuff I like.

Then it was off to the stern of the ship to a giant hangar. Inside was something that was roughly the same age as me. Something I had pictures of on my bedroom wall. The Enterprise was the first Space Shuttle and named after the ship in Star Trek. It stood there in a giant dark hushed hall with the reverence of a lost religious artifact.

It never actually went into space as it was a test bed for the concept and although used as an engineless glider as part of NASAs testing it was never used ‘in anger’. I was utterly enthralled and charged around it ooohing and aaaahing.

It is without a doubt the coolest aircraft I’ve ever seen myself.

Lee-Stuart Evans finally gets to see The Enterprise

After The Enterprise we went down to the jetty to pier 86 and queued to get on board the USS Growler Nuclear Submarine moored up next to the USS Intrepid . She was a nuclear Submarine designed to fire cruise missles and was used between 1958 and 1964. She was not nuclear powered, using Diesel and Electric Engines.

The USS Growler in New York

Touring the inside of the Nuclear Submarine USS Growler

It was superb to see the submarine exactly as it was in the late 1950s and early 1960s, right down to the retro vinyl seats, cramped conditions and unusual hangar doors that open to reveal the nuclear missles that would have been launched from the surface. Luckily this sub was never used in anger.

Touring a snow covered  Nuclear Submarine USS Growler in New York – Pic by Lee-Stuart Evans

After the sub it was all too much. I had to sit and have lunch and calm down. I was like a child that’s run around a theme park for 4 hours and totally run out of steam.

For visitors going to the USS Intrepid for the day Id advise taking the early pre open tour of the Submarine ( as the queues can be large) then tour the concorde the moment it opens then look round the Intrepid in your own time.

 My final surprise treat was something that many americans consider an important Christmas Ritual.

The Christmas Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockettes is very difficult to describe when you are English. Its like falling asleep in front of the TV at Christmas having had too much cheese.  Its bold, brash, epic, over the top , glitzy smiley loud and VERY AMERICAN.  Imagine New York upstaging every single West End UK musical in one go.

I loved it.

The Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular.

My trip to the USA was amazing fun. I got to indulge a large number of things I love, and realise just how much the USA has to offer to a long distance trail runner.  I also went to New York and avoided all of the usual tourist sites. 

We have a number of challenges running trails in the UK, poor weather, low temperatures etc etc so when  I was happily explaining how I’d like to come back and do some multi day running and camping through the state parks I was met with a mild sense of fear and amusement.

We Brits aren’t used to the concept of going for a run in the countryside and being eaten.  With Bears and Wolves in this part of America  this is simply something you can’t do without far more planning.

I cant wait to go back .