Visting Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam, CT

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

On Monday (), we decided to get in the car and cruise down to in , CT. This has been on my “to do” list for a while.

We weren’t really in the mood for a hike. We kind of just wanted to see the castle. I read good things about it and heard it was really cool. I also wanted to see if it would be a good place to launch a boat, since it sits right on the River.

It’s a good thing we weren’t in the mood for a hike. Even though there is a trail map, this state park isn’t like the others we have been to. The castle definitely is the main attraction. There is a visitor’s center and everything. The trails lead, in a zig-zag fashion, down to the river. We walked them, but there really wasn’t an opening down there. I kind of popped out of the woods where the water began. It’s not bad in the least, just not a park.

Now, what was really cool was the castle. It overlooks the River like nothing else does. I was surprised to see so many . I mean, I guess it was and everything, but still, it was packed with boats. I think the best part of this river is the fact that it leads down to the Sound. I am guessing that you could get from the castle to the Sound in about a half hour. That’s pretty neat, and really good if you have a boat.

The castle has tours, for a fee. We didn’t take them up on the offer this time, but I think we will do it when the weather gets a little cooler. I am thinking around . It can be spooky, I’m sure, especially because the castle has secret passage ways. I like secret passage ways because I am a secretive and sneaky person by nature.

Here are some photos of the castle and the surrounding area.

Castle and windows at Gillette Castle State Park

Castle and windows at

Boat on Connecticut River

Boat on River

Sailboats on Connecticut River

Sailboats on River

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Food Shopping at Shaw’s in East Hampton, CT

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

In an effort to learn more about the area we now sleep in, I have been suggesting that we visit different grocery stores for our food . So far, we have been to in (very nice, but expensive), our local (pretty ok), Super in Colchester (big and very well priced, but nothing wowed me) and today, Shaw’s in East Hampton.

We have been seeing quite a few Shaw’s grocery stores around in various towns. I haven’t really wanted to go in any of them because I prefer those jumbo super-stores. I like a wide variety. Well, today was different. Laura needed to deposit a check and her bank is in East Hampton, so Shaw’s was the store of choice.

We parked in the parking lot and began walking into the store. I turned to Laura an told her I really liked what I saw. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood and the store looked great. We shopped around for a little while, when I turned to say something to Laura. She kind of had a weird look on her face and hadn’t been putting any groceries in the cart for some time. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that the place had crazy high prices. I started to look around and I quickly agreed. Things were way out of whack. I understand that food prices are going up, but this was a little up, up and away. We did what we had to do and left.

After leaving the store, I stopped on the side of the road to grab some photos of in East Hampton. It looks like a really cool lake and it might be good for the canoe I want to get.

Pretty cool, huh?

After mentioning the canoe idea, I have been informed that this wouldn’t be the best place to go. Apparently the River offers some sort of a canoe rental. I will let you know what we find.

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Posted in Food & Drink, Travels | No Comments »

About Me

This is my blog. Welcome to it. I write a lot of stuff that doesn't pertain to anything in particular, but you may find a common theme in here somewhere. Enjoy. More

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