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Essex Church

A church in the quaint downtown of Essex, Conn. Churches of a wide variety of architecture were everywhere throughout rural Connecticut.

Essex Green

A small park just off downtown Essex, Conn., that fronted part of the Connecticut River. Small parks like this were everpresent in many towns.

Puppy Pounches

An old mailbox is put to a new use in a park in Essex, Conn.

Essex birds

A large swan dwarfs other birds in the Connecticut River in Essex, Conn.

Essex Museum

The Connecticut River Museum, to the left, is just off "downtown" in Essex, Conn.

Essex bird

A gull takes flight over the Connecticut River in Essex, Conn.

Sandi in Essex

Sandi in front of the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, Conn.

East Haddam bridge

A bridge crosses the Connecticut River in East Haddam, Conn.

Godspeed Opera House

The Godspeed Opera House is right on the Connecticut River in East Haddam, Conn.

Gillette Castle fence

The Gillette Castle State Park was an odd surprise. This was a castle that had some freaky elements, including stone fencing the featured sharklike "teeth"

Gillette Castle walkway

Walkways at the Gillette Castle were both inviting and intimidating. Imagine the response from visitors when the castle opened in 1919.

Sandi at Gillette Castle

Sandi has a look of "what the ...?" at Gillette Castle

Gillette Castle

Gillette Castle is part Munsters Mansion, part medieval castle. The castle was built by actor William Gillette, known for his roles as Sherlock Holmes. The castle had yet to open for the season when we visited in late April 2010 but the craziness of the exterior made the stop worth our time.

Sandi at Gillette Castle

Sandi makes the Gillette Castle more inviting

Gillette Castle detail

The odd detail of the Gillette Castle is remarkable. This is looking toward a covered walkway on the north side of the castle.

View from Gilette Castle

The view of the Connecticut River from Gillette Castle State Park

Gillette Castle carriage house

The carriage house at the Gillette Castle

Gillette Castle greenhouse

A greenhouse is part of the west side of the Gillette Castle

Gillette Castle greenhouse

The greenhouse of the Gillette Castle includes a small fish pond

Gillette Castle awnings

Check out the stone "awnings" on the west side of the Gillette Castle.

Gillete Castle drive

The front drive of the Gillette Castle.

Guard cats

Scultures of cats stand guard over the carriage house at Gillette Castle

Gillette Castle trees

Old trees offered some protection from the elements at Gillette Castle.

Gillette Castle archway

That's Sandi under an ornate entryway into the grounds of Gillette Castle.

Gillette Castle bridge

Even the bridge leading from the road to the Gillette Castle grounds was out of the ordinary

Middleton church

This church sits at the butt end of a highway that runs through downtown Middletown, Conn.

Old cemeterey

Old cemeteries were everywhere in rural Connecticut, a sign of the area's rich history. In this cemetery somewhere in the southern Connecticut River Valley, we found gravesites dating to the 1790s.

(That's our Prius rental car in the background; we got 50 mpg on our trip).

Headstone story

One of the many detailed headstones at a rural cemetery in the southern Connecticut River Valley.

Young children

Two young siblings died within several years of one another in the late 1790s.

Old headstone

This headstone from 1790 was the oldest we could find in this particular rural cemetery in the southern Connecticut River Valley.

ZZ Top lookin' dude

A ZZ Top-lookin' dude mows the lawn on the grounds of Fort Trumbull State Park in New London, Conn.

The Morro Bay

Imagine a person from Central California seeing a boat named the Morro Bay on the East Coast? Weird sense of home.

Ships through the ages

A ferryboat passes a Coast Guard sailing vessel and the Morro Bay on its way through New London Harbor just off Fort Trumbull.

Tree blossoms

The trees in Connecticut were in full bloom in late April-early May

Yale site

Marker in Old Saybrook. Conn., notes the first site of Yale College, which was in the area from 1701-1716.

Offbeat headstone

An out-of-the-ordinary headstone for a 15-year-old boy buried in Old Saybrook, Conn.

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Patriotic display

Just a little bit of patriotism on display at this home in Old Saybrook, Conn.

It's not a barn

This bright house in Old Saybrook, Conn., stood out in a sea of white homes.

Mystic

Mystic is a pretty tourist hotspot east of New London, Conn. I did a little work here, sitting in a light breeze.

Mystic Seaport

One of several restored sailing ships in Mystic Seaport, Conn.

Mystic Seaport

One of several restored sailing ships in Mystic Seaport, Conn.

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Long Island is a sliver on the horizon from the quaint town of Stonington, Conn.

Bantam Lake

Sandi was dying to jump into gorgeous Bantam Lake, in the Litchfield Hills region of northwest Connecticut. The lake is known for its freshwater canoeing and being a spawning ground for the northern pike.

Church in Washington Depot

The Meeting House of the First Congregational Church in Washington Depot, Conn. The church was built in 1741 in an area that once was incorporated as Judea.

Hopkins Inn

Logan and Sandi just outside Hopkins Inn, which overlooks the gorgeous Lake Waramaug. The inn serves a delicious lunch on a deck that looks out over the lake, which is a state park near New Preston, Conn.

1951 NASCAR race results

I stumbled across an amazing used-book store in Kent, Conn., that had at least a dozen shelves of old racing books. One listed complete results of NASCAR Grand National races in the 1950s, including the 1951 race at Marchbanks Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (and you know why I care about Marchbanks, don't you?). I didn't want the whole book but so grabbed a snapshot of the page.

Kent Falls

Kent Falls State Park is visible from the highway, so presents a nice surprise. It's relatively small for people who have seen larger falls in places like Yosemite but has its own charms. The falls drop 200 feet in a quarter-mile.

Covered bridge

A covered bridge built in 1864 crosses the Housatonic River near West Cornwall, Conn.

Public art

Public art was everywhere in Connecticut, including in the front yards of many private residences. We loved it.

Winsted church

A church in Winsted, Conn., yet another style of architecture

Fire alarm

A fire alarm overnight on May 2 emptied the Saybrook Point Inn in Old Saybrook, Conn. Firefighters didn't find a fire so we were allowed to return to our rooms after what seemed like a half hour. Thankfully the weather was fine. This shot is from my Droid, taken while I obviously was still half asleep. 

Saybrook Point Inn

This is the view from just outside the conference room where we held our newspaper meetings. In fact, this was the view right before I gave my presentation. Would you want to leave a sight like that and return to an enclosed room to listen to a fool like me?

Lake Waramaug

Gorgeous homes ring Lake Waramaug, in the Litchfield Hills region of Connecticut.