I experienced the strangest thing over a decade ago that still lives with me years later. I was sitting in my basement early in the morning doing some work. The television was on next to me. I wasn’t listening to whatever it was playing on the television, but when I heard some music, I began paying attention. The music was from the movie called “Uncorked.” It’s a movie most people don’t know about, but it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. In this post, I discuss this movie, but I also discuss some thoughts I had that surround how I felt while watching it. This is another good post that I’m glad I wrote. Continue reading…
Madison Center, Connecticut
If you drive along Route 1 on Connecticut’s shoreline, you’ll eventually find yourself in Madison Center. The town of Madison is larger, with the “center” part comprising the village area with some housing directly surrounding it. It’s a lovely place. The residents of Madison Center (and Madison) are quite wealthy and they take very good care of their village. Laura and I drove through a few years ago and found a library, some small shops, nature parks, and an old church. It’s the perfect place to stop the car to walk around for a bit. Contained within the town of Madison is a place called Hammonasset Beach State Park, which may be the most perfect park in all Connecticut. The park borders the Long Island Sound and offers a long soft-sand beach, as well as some rocky coastline. If you’re interested in jogging or walking for fairly long distances for exercise, you may want to check it out. It’s also good for biking and sightseeing. Take a look through the photos in this post and read some of my commentary. Then, leave a comment if you so desire. Thanks! Continue reading…
Essex, Connecticut
Essex is more of an “area” than a town and that area consists of three villages; Essex Village, Centerbrook, and Ivoryton. We’ve only visited one of these places and it’s what I discuss on this page. Essex Village is a magical thing and I can say with absolute certainty that I’ve enjoyed some of my life’s finest and most memorable evenings there. While living in Connecticut between the years of 2008 and 2013, Laura and I made our way to Essex on a number of occasions. If memory serves, we ate dinner at the Griswold Inn each and every time. We’ve walked the streets, visited the shops, strolled through the green, and kissed at night on the dock overlooking the Connecticut River. Again, it’s magical. Please click through to see all the (way too many) pictures I’ve taken of Essex and to read some of the stories I’ve written about it. And if you have any of your own experiences to share, please do so in the comment section at the bottom of the page. Continue reading…
Salmon River, Connecticut
The Salmon River is one of the most beautiful in the state of Connecticut. It’s not a tremendously long river, at only just over 10 miles. There are two other rivers that form this one; the Blackledge and the Jeremy. Both of these merge in the area of North Westchester. The end of the Salmon River flows into the Salmon Cove and then into the Connecticut River. This all happens in the vicinity of Moodus. Laura and I have visited different sections of the Salmon River during our stay in Connecticut and were thrilled with its beauty each and every time. Our visits really never got old. Please click through into this post to read my stories of our experiences as well as browse some of the many photos I’ve taken of the area. Continue reading…
Coventry Farmers Market, Connecticut
There’s a lot more to the Nathan Hale Homestead than a farmers market. It’s actually a historical place. Simply put, this landmark is a historic home that’s located in Coventry, Connecticut. It was once called the Richard Hale House and it’s on the National Register of Historical Places. Interestingly, there’s a museum on the property that you may visit and some have even claimed that the property is haunted, with the main house being occupied by its previous owners. If you’re interested, you can look into all of this. For now though, let me tell you that there’s an excellent farmers market that’s been held every Sunday from June through October since 2003. We visited this farmers market some years ago and I took quite a few photos. Please click through to this post to view those photos and to read some of my thoughts on the day. Continue reading…
Mashamoquet Brook State Park, Pomfret, Connecticut
Mashamoquet Brook State Park is a great little getaway area located in Pomfret, Connecticut. If you’ve never been to Pomfret, I encourage you to visit. It’s situated within the borders of what locals refer to as the “Quiet Corner.” They refer to it as that for good reason. The area has a low population density and not much vehicle traffic at all. It’s relaxing, to say the least. This part of Pomfret in particular is actually a combination of three parks: Mashamoquet Brook, Wolf Den, and Saptree Run. Within its borders are two campgrounds, a beautiful brook, a small lake, and plenty of space to lounge around and relax. It’s also host to an excellent trail system, so if you’re into hiking, you’ll want to stop by. In this post, I show off some photos I took while visiting the area. I also offer some information about the land as well as some reasoning for why I went to this park in the first place. Continue reading…
Raccoons in the Attic
In this post, you’ll find an entertaining, suspenseful, and adventurous story about raccoons. Baby raccoons, that is. Baby raccoons that were born inside an attic I happened to be living under. You see, many years ago, I rented a small house on a lake. Somehow (I’ll tell you all about it inside) a mother raccoon snuck inside the attic of this house and gave birth to the cutest and furriest little animals a guy has ever seen. Unfortunately, the babies needed to go. I had already blocked the mother from coming back inside, which led to a whirlwind of a tale. Click through to read about what transpired as well as what I did about our little issue. And just so you don’t worry, I’ll tell you now that it all turned out just fine – for us and the raccoons. Continue reading…
The Elusive Goal of Freedom
This is an interesting and very introspective post. In it, I describe a time in my life when everything changed. When I shed my, up until that point, whimsical and somewhat irresponsible self and became a much more responsible adult. I’m not sure I like what I became all too much, but such is life. Ah, to be young and carefree once more. Alas, it’s become apparent to me that when one grows up, one can never return to childhood. Those days are long past and responsibility digs its fingers deep into the soul. I talk about this sort of thing in what follows. Give it a read. You may find yourself agreeing with what I have to say. Continue reading…
Learning to Fly
I’m not going to say it was always a dream of mine to learn how to fly. It wasn’t. I actually didn’t give it much thought before earning enough money to pay for lessons. It was an idea I came up with that would help me visit my family that moved from New York to North Carolina. I thought that if I learned how to fly an airplane, I could simply hop in one for quick visits here and there. Unfortunately, flight lessons are much more involved than teaching a student how to “hop in an airplane” for a quick anything. The student needs to learn how to not only operate the actual aircraft, but how to navigate it as well. They also need to learn all about weather, which is a large part of air travel. In this post, I’ve documented each and every flight lesson I took at Orange County Airport (MGJ) in Montgomery, New York. If you’re interested in getting a private pilot’s license, please read through what I shared to make a more informed decision. You may love what you read and you may not – but at least you’ll learn something. Continue reading…
How to Deal With a Bad Neighbor
If you’re about to read this post, you’ve probably dealt with the worst of the worst: bad neighbors. There are very few things in life as bad as having someone living right next to you who you despise. There are terrible people out there and when they’re close by, life can be downright miserable. In this post, I offer some advice for how to deal with a bad neighbor. But that’s not the fun part. The fun begins with the comments. There are hundreds of them in this post and trust me when I say they are entertaining. I wrote this post a very long time ago and it continues to thrive today. Click through to take a look. Continue reading…