Connecticut College Arboretum

Established in 1931 750-acre Connecticut College Arboretum includes their 25-acre Native Plant Collection located in the larger Bolleswood Natural Area.  The Native Plant Collection trail is broken down into 9 main stations with a few additions. The main trail is roughly 2 miles long and can be completed in 1 hour at a leisurely pace.

As we headed down the hill we entered Stage 1, described as a typical forested wetland which has water present at or near the surface for most of the year.  The ground definitely looked like it would normally be swampy but with our current drought the ground was,at best,damp. The Marsh Marigold with its buttercup-like flowers were flourishing.  

As we continued along the marked trail, we entered the second stage filled with various types of  magnolia's. Here two stoic 79yo tulip trees planted in 1936 have grown tall.  The fast growing tulip tree grows perfectly straight and love moist wet forested areas. Around the base of these impressive trees are the Roseshell Azaleas planted in the 40's.

Stage 3 takes us to the conifers. The Gries Memorial Native Conifer Collection was established more recently in 1988 then the majority of the collection.  It's relatively young age is a result of the previous grove of red pines secumming to an insect infestation in the early 80's. The refreshed conifer collection now includes red and white spruce, hemlocks, cedar trees and various pines. 

Along the large Pond is the fourth stage, a dam responsible for the 3' deep pond. The dam built in 1934 allowed the seepage fed pond to devlop its own natural ecosystem and is host to many creatures like crayfish and tadpoles. 

As we continue along the dam we reached Stage 5 filled with many deciduous trees and herbaceous species like oaks, birches, maples, dogwood and mountain laurel. Typically you would also find Eastern Hemlocks but the Asian Hemlock Wooly Adelgid insect has decimated the trees. 

It was here we had an option, we could continue along the main path or deviate and follow the bog path. We decided to check out the bog and took the path to Stage 5a. A bog is a fairly uncommon feature found in Southern Connecticut.  Bogs develop when glacial depressions fill with water and over time plant material accumulated and formed deposits of peat as thick as 3'. Shrubs like cranberry, highbush blueberry, and leatherleaf can be found along the bog edges. The bog was fairly dry thanks to the current drought. 

The sixth stage includes native nut trees like the Hickory Tree. Their hard shell fruits are edible and provide food for many of the local wildlife. Here you could also appreciate the rocky out croppings from which much of the granite buildings on campus are built from. 

As we made our way along the path we reached the one man made  structure. Stage 7 was a gift by the Buck family in 1937 and is known as Buck Lodge. It's used by the college for recreational gatherings and meetings. 

The eighth stage puts you under a massive White Pine planted in 1940 to replace the loss of another large pine in 1938. It sits on the edge of the outdoor theater once used by Connecticut a College for Comomencement exercises. As we admired the open area we discussed the possibility that my Grandmother who was an alum of Connecticut College may have received her diploma in that very spot. 

The final stage, stage 9 is the home to the arboretum's native Holly collection. With both male and female trees I have never seen such big holly trees. The female trees have red berries where the male trees do not. 

That wrapped up our self-guided tour of this impressive collection of native plants on this beautiful late summer early fall day.

Crave Meadery

With only a few hours before work we decided to check out a local Meadery in Blackstone.  Located in a small building right on the town boarder with Woonsocket is Ken Tubman's Crave Mead. The building is nothing fancy and is clearly a working meadery that offered tastings to educate and encourage the community to try something differently instead of just a retail operation. As their slogan says "Rethink your drink!"  

Our tour began with a quick explanation of how Ken got into the mead making business.  As an avid bee enthusiast and keeper who enjoyed making wines and beer he thought what better thing to do then combine his too biggest interests and put his tasty honey to good use.

Our first sample was the paddy mead. The dry mead is made from roughly 1/2 lb honey, water, and yeast.  He uses 4 different yeasts as each yeast creates a different taste depending on what he is trying to create. It had a nice and sweet but refined flavor that I really enjoyed. The dry mead is also the base for all his other flavored meads and ferments for roughly 2 months before it's ready to be bottled and sold. 

As his business grew he stopped using his own wildflower honey and began sourcing it locally from a bee keeper in Bellerica, Ma. The honey is a dark wildflower honey and really adds a great flavor to his mead.   If he is making a flavored mead he then adds either juice or fruit and allows it to ferment for another month or two before bottling. 

We tried 4 flavored meads next.  The first flavored mead was a pear nectar which was dry and slightly bitter but lighter then the dry mead.  Neither Grace or myself cared for this one. It was good but the original dry mead had a more balanced natural taste. 

The second flavored mead we tried was a pomegranate sour cherry mead. The sweetness of the pomegranate was a nice compliment to the very sour cherry taste. This would be a great wine to mix with fruit to make a sangria. 

The third mead we sampled was the blueberry mead. This was a very balanced flavorful blend which received many nods of approval from those in the sampling group. It was a natural taste with a sweetness that complimented the flavors.

The last flavored mead we tried was a strawberry mead which was made with 1lb of strawberries per gallon of dry mead. This was my favorite by far. It was light and refreshing with a nice strawberry flavor that wasn't overpowering. As a lover of anything strawberry it was no surprise that I would pick this as my favorite. 

As a special treat he offers us a chance to taste his just approved blend of mead and wine called Pyment which is a mix of Cabernet and mead; 2/3's Cabernet and 1/3 honey wine. This tasted more like the Cabernet then a mead and had that bitter taste I don't like about many red wines. While I can see how some might like this I felt it strayed too far from what a mead is about. 

Before leaving we each picked up a bottle. I went for the Strawberry Mead and Grace picked up a bottle of the Blueberry Mead. The bottles are $16 a piece and because we used a groupon for our tour we were able to take home a small 8 oz bottle of the honey they use to make their mead. 

It was a cool experience and we got to sample a great product that I doubt I would have otherwise discovered. Having tried mead before I knew I would like it and Crave Meads unique blends were definitely a treat. 

Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum

Located just off the Congress Street Bridge in historic Boston, is a floating museum unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. The little known fact is that the current museum floating in the Fort Point Channel is roughly only a few hundred yards from where the Tea Party took place on December 16,1773. 

Authentic tea ships, live actors, high-tech interactive exhibits, multi-sensory documentary called “Let it Begin Here,”  and an original tea crate from the Boston Tea Party are just part of the experience. 

After entering a town hall style room we are each given the identity of a early American revolutionist and a feather to use as a symbol to others fighting the English that we are part of the cause. Next we participated conversation with Samuel Adams who explained that they offered Governor Hutchinson an opportunity to send the three tea ships back to England with their cargo but he refused and said they must be offloaded before returning back to England.

He also used his words to enrage the crowd calling on one such colonist asking James Brewer how he managed to pay for the new windows he needed on his house.  With the Townshend Acts in place he revealed that it was at the cost of feeding his family. 

After a spirited debate about what to do we headed down the gang plate towards the Eleanor, one of three ships that were in Boston Harbor that fateful night, where we boarded and systematically destroyed every tea crate. During the destruction one revolutionist was  knocked unconscious. That identity belonged to Grace's mother.  Try thought that he was dead and brought him to a barn to be buried the next day only to find him in the pub the following morning.

The Eleanor was a small and very cramped ship where crew shared the hold with its cargo. Before disembarking the historic vessel we each took the opportunity to throw a crate of tea into the harbor. 

Once off the ship we entered the museum its self where observed a discussion between two colonist woman. One a Tory and one a rebel arguing their perspectives. It was a riveting example of the opposing perspectives in the colonies. 

Next we entered the portrait gallery where one of only two surviving crates from the Boston Tea Party is on display.  The Robinson Half Chest as it is known washed up in the salt marshes where it was saved by a young man who hid it away to protect against any loyalist reprisals before it got passed along many generations before being given to the museum for display. Next like the portrait hall of Hogwarts the portraits of John Handcock and King George III came to life as the corresponded about the affairs of the colonies. 

Next we enjoyed the multi sensory "Let It Begin Here" presentation recalling the ride of Paul Revere, the Battle of Lexington and Concord and thus the start of the revolution. Once done we exited into the Tea house where visitors could sample the various blends of tea that were destroyed. While I didn't sample any of the tea I did enjoy a cinnamon scone fresh from the oven.  
 

Farmington River Tubing

After a roughly 1.5 hour ride from home we finally arrived at our destination. Named for the river we would be rafting down Farmington River Tubing is located in the town of New Hartford in a small wooded state parked called Satan's Kingdom State Recreation area. After parking amongst the trees we stepped up to ticket booth where we signed waivers and paid the small $20 rental fee. 

The rental includes a river tube, life jacket, a shuttle bus ride back to Satan's Kingdom from the take-out point as well as lifeguards at the 2nd set of rapids. They also require a deposit to ensure you return the equipment and they accept car keys which worked out well since you don't want them getting wet. 

For our river rafting adventure the river was running smoothly with a water flow of 370cfs and an average water temp of 56-degrees.  Given the mid 90-degree temperature and sunny skies the  refreshing water was a perfect way too cool down. It would be considered a Class I River since the cfs was below 800.

After collecting a life jacket and river tube from the mountain or tubes in the pile we made our way down a small hill to the rivers edge where we one at a time entered the water. from the rocky shoreline. Refreshing it certainly was. Once we were all in our tubes we allowed the river current to pull us down river. It wasn't long before we reached the first of the rapids which was just before the Route 44 bridge. 

We enjoyed the serenity of the river for a little while before reaching the second set of rapids They are the largest and everyone should expect to get wet going through this section of river. Given the more aggressive nature of this set of rapids they have a couple life guards stationed to help any rafters who might get into any trouble. 

Once past the second set you casually float along the river for a while  floating along with many other rafters dotting the river.  As we made our way we passed a rocky out cropping where a small group had set up camp and where having what appeared to be a BBQ. They were launching themselves off the rocks into the cool refreshing waters and clearly having a great time. 

They didn't appear to have Farmington River Tubes and it appears that you can lunch a tube on your own should you want to. As we continued on we took a break along the rocky shore to take a few photos with the beautiful scenery behind us.

A short distance farther down river was the third set up rapids. The river was wider then the last two sets of rapids but appeared shallower and as a result the rapids slightly more rough. I nearly flipped when I passed over one rock and came down into a wave it was a blast.

As we wrapped up the third set up rapids we traveled along the river to a fork where you could go left or right. We decided to go left since a large group of rowdy kids where going right. The water level here was very shallow and we could feel the rocks below us rubbing. Once we joined back together we could tell that our side was a shorter distance since we had increased the distance between us and the other group.

The water here was moving fairly slow and you could just lean back and enjoy the sun and scenery. about a third of a mile father down was our take-out location denoted with a red inner tube suspended in a tree. We also found ourselves trying to come ashore with a large flock of swans who seemed less interested in us then we were in them.

Once ashore we made our way to one of the dark blue busses and loaded both ourselves and our tubes neatly inside. Seats on the left and the right for the tubes to line up. It was a short ride back to Satan's Kingdom where we turned in our rafts and retrieved our car keys. After a quick dry off we were on our way.

The experience is advertised as 2.5 mile ride down the wild and scenic Farmington River with three sets of rapids. I really enjoyed the relaxing nature of the river most it was a nice way to de-stress and cool off on a hot summers day. The rapids added a bit of excitement that made the entire experience a blast. I would recommend Farmington River Rafting to anyone looking to have fun outdoors on a hot summer day.  Suitable for ages 10+ and those comfortable in the water since you are mostly on your own. The water depth stays fairly shallow and occasionally you do rub along the river bed. (no white swim trunks). 

 

 

New London, CT Sailfest 2015 Fireworks

Every year we spend the Saturday after the Fourth of July at Fort Trumbull for the annual Sailfest Fireworks Extravaganza. This year we returned once more for a family tradition that has been occurring for most if not all of my life.

We set up along the river bank just below Fort Trumbull in an area for many years was ignored and sparsely known providing amazing views of the harbor and the exploding fireworks above. This previously hidden gem of a location has increasingly found more and more visitors.

Being outside the park the rules and regulations about loud music and open flames allow grills and amateur DJ's to set up and blast music and have barbeques. These character's and their parties leave the air heavy with the wafting smells of burnt food and terrible vocals of wannabe heavy metal singers.

All that combined with inconsiderate people who show up at the last minute and stand along the edge of boardwalk blocking the view of many who came early to get great seats has turned this previously family friendly event into a much less appealing activity.

Thankfully the fireworks never disappoint and generally make up for the added and unpleasant changes we have witnessed over the years. Please take a moment or 20 to watch this years presentation sponsored by the Mashantucket Pequot Indians'.

NYC High Line

The HighLine was built by the New York City Railroad between 1929 and 1934 to eliminate the dangers of street level city rail traffic.  The elevated trains carried meats, produce and dairy to warehouses and factories at the third floor level and the route became known as the "Life Line of New York".

In 1999 a group of community residents rallied to safe the decaying structure. Today the HighLine is an urban oasis along Manhattan's West Side. The elevated track is now a city park winding its way through the trendy Chelsea and Meat Packing District where apartments go for between 2 and 20 million USD. It's tracks still remain but are now part of a mixed surface of wood, concrete and stone walk ways surrounded by lush green areas filled with grass, flowers, fountains, art installations and viewing platforms allowing visitors great views down many of the cities streets. 

We started at W 34th street. The path looped along the Henry Hudson Parkway until it went up W 30th St. We followed it all the way to the end at Gansevoort Street where we had a delicious lunch in the Gansevoort Market before making the track back to W 34th street.  Its a great venue to relax and enjoy on a summer day.