June 23 1947

Monday 23rd June. 1947.

Dearest Mummy & Daddy,

This is just the loveliest place and I am having a wonderful time – at last the weather has become summery and I’ve spent the whole day out of doors. Til & Grandma & I set out in the car last Monday morning at 8 o’clock & drove 450 miles that day to Harrisburg. It was a nice sunny day, but not too hot, & we got on fine- I drove about 50 miles in the afternoon, & about 50 more in the evening, so it broke the monotony for Til & helped to give her a little rest. We went via Pittsburgh, & between that city & Harrisburg we were on a wonderful new 4-lane highway called the Pennsylvania Turnpike that goes for about 160 miles straight through the Allegheny Mountains. You pay a toll to use it because it is so much quicker & it is really marvellous because there are no crossroads or intersections, no houses or built up areas, only petrol stations & restaurants here & there & tunnels (6 of them) that go right through the mountains. We entered the highway at about 4, & then had dinner at a restaurant called Midway, & of course had to go on until we had finished as there are no hotels or anything along the road. By the time we got to Harrisburg we were glad to stop & spent the night in a very nice Tourist House. Next day we only had 250 miles to go, but the roads had a great deal of traffic and were mostly narrower & more winding so we didn’t get on so quickly. We didn’t go into N.Y. but skirted around & went across the Hudson by Bear Mountain Bridge, which was lovely scenery- in fact the whole way with the mountainous scenery was beautiful.

We arrived here about 6 o’clock on Tuesday & I fell in love with the place at once. Connecticut itself is lovely, with wooded hills & little towns & a very country look about it, & Poco just fits in. You drive off the road, bordered with little low grey stone walls, along a little lane through the woods, & there in a hollow amongst the trees sits the little white house. It looks so sweet, just like a house in a fairy tale because there is no proper garden or fences or anything, you just walk out of the house into the woods, & here & there are flowers growing in little clumps under the trees, or a rose bush growing up a rock, and the birds singing all the while. There are 4 acres of land- hills and valleys, wooded, & a ridge from which you get a beautiful view of the other hills. Til’s sister, C’Zelma, is the one who has been so ill- her face is still partially paralyzed, & she is still weak & has to rest a lot, but she is much better- her friend who lives with her is Em Smith (from Kentucky) & they both used to teach music, but since C’Zelma’s illness they have given it up, & are going to spend winters with Grandma in Alabama growing nuts, & summers up here. I like them all very, very much- Grandma too – they are fun & like me & are awfully nice to me. We have a nice time just doing as we like- Til & I go into the little town Danbury sometimes in the mornings, & I have bought a pair of dungarees to mess about in! In the afternoon, the ladies rest & I sit under the trees & just love it, then we sometimes go for a drive. One day we took our supper down & ate it by the sea, & twice we have cooked lunch outside on the grill under the trees – I made the charcoal fire & cooked the hamburgers on it!  

Til & I don’t sleep in the bigger house as it only has 2 bedrooms, but there is what they called the Little House – just 2 rooms, one with twin beds in & the other with a piano etc. that Em used for teaching, & we sleep there & it’s fun. On Wed. Til & I are going to New York, & we are going to a theatre matinee to see an opera that one of C’Z’s & Em’s friends is in (a new one) & then we are going to spend the night & shop next day & go to “Great Expectations”. Then Til is returning here & I’m going to Long Beach. I do hope that you are both well & that the weather is good – I wish you were having a holiday in a nice place like this too- 

      With lots of love from Cynthia.