Hartford - Getting Acquainted

After my morning bike ride in Portland CT,  Cris and I ventured into Hartford to check out the Latin Festival. It was a bit of a disappointment but we did spend sometime walking around downtown to get a little more familiar with the city. Later we visited the Parkville Marketplace which was awesome!

Latin Festival

Although the festival was on beautiful grounds, the vendors were few and the latin food choices limited. Even though we heard great pre-recorded salsa music when entering, a terrible latin rock band took the stage and sounded horrendous. The best thing was the kids' Mariachi band - they were so cute1

-Short Video-

Cute!

Our Walk...

Parkville Market

After Cris insisted on having lunch at the Brazilian restaurant in the Parkville section of Hartford, I decided to check out the Parkville Market. We had heard a lot about the place and it didn't disappoint!

The Parkville Market was the first official "food hall" in Connecticut. Formerly the Bishop Ladder Co., a 20,000-square-foot warehouse has been transformed into an international food market. The place was packed!

Further Info

Parkville Market

Connecticut's first food hall, brings a world of cuisine to Hartford

Parkville, Hartford, Connecticut - Wikipedia

Portland - Bike Ride

I did a "road bike tour" of Portland, CT this morning. 

NOTE

This post has been moved to my Bike/Hike Blog

Harvest Time - Glastonbury Historical Society

I joined the Glastonbury Historical Society this year and volunteered at their Harvest Time Event. 

I was positioned at the Native American Atlatl table.

Note how the feathers are attached

Making fire

In addition, there was a Native American storyteller from the Schaghticoke Tribe - she was marvelous!

Carts of yesteryear were on display...

An ice wagon

And there were lots of small items to see as well

Irons!

A quick visit to Gillette's Castle

After donating my bikes and snapping a few photos of the old trains in Essex, we paid a visit to Gillette's Castle nearby... What an interesting place!

It was very gray and overcast but the rain managed to hold off until right when we left!

Further Info

Gillette Castle State Park
The castle was originally a private residence commissioned and designed by William Gillette (1853–1937), an American actor who is most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on stage. Gillette lived at this estate from 1919–1937.

The castle was built of wood, cement, and local Connecticut field stone, supported by a steel framework. In some places, beams were set directly into the stones, anchored only by cement. The walls, in particular, were constructed similarly to a stage set, lacking two-by-four studs and mortar in critical places. Insulation included seaweed and paper!

The interior included secret doors and passageway, as well as intricate unique trick door locks...

READ MORE

The Valley Railroad Company

After donating my bikes to Bikes for Kids ,I just had to sniff around a bit at the train exhibit - it was right next door!

No - "Do Not Hump" isn't a vulgar pervert warning, it's referring to back in the day when train cars were sorted in a yard via gravity!

There were lots of lovely old passengers cars...

and a couple of small switchers....

Someday - I'll have to take a train ride here - it looks lovely!

Further Info

The Valley Railroad Company 

Valley Railroad (Connecticut)

Saying Goodbye (old bikes)

For me, it's never easy parting with old things but it was overdue. Today we drove down to Essex, CT to donate two old bikes to a great organization" "Bikes for Kids"

I donated my 28" red commuter bike and my first decent mountain bike: a Specialized hard tail. I took them off my car bike rack and rode them here :-)

They have an amazing amount of donations but everything goes to a worthy cause (churches and school programs where kids get rewarded a bike and helmet on merit...)

Middletown Main Street Stroll

After a few other activities earlier in the day, Cris and I decided to take a stroll down Main Street in Middletown, CT. It's a lovely small city with a seemingly endless amount of restaurants of every ethic variety available on their main drag.

There a series of 4-panels on a couple of kiosks that wonderfully summarize the interesting history of the city on a side promenade. I of course had to read every one.

Gotta love the weird "hybrid" brass instruments here :-)

And this Italian Restaurant took the prize as the most beautiful due the amazing decor of plants...

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Did You Know?

Originally developed as a sailing port and then an industrial center on the Connecticut River,  Middletown is  now largely residential. Its downtown, based on Main Street, serves as a popular retail, dining, and bar district near Wesleyan University.

During the 18th century, Middletown became the largest and most prosperous settlement in Connecticut. By the time of the American Revolution, Middletown was a thriving port, where one-third of its residents were involved in merchant and maritime activities

Middletown, Connecticut - Wikipedia

 

Shed Delivery - Wow!

On Tuesday, Klotter Farms came to deliver the shed - bright and early at 8AM. Man was I impressed! It was a one man show where the driver skillfully backed up the hilly driveway, thru the skinny side yard and maneuvered the flatbed into position.

Next--after placing a couple of PVC pipes on the gravel bed, with a head held remote control that powered the flatbed--he lowered the shed onto the rollers and finally shifted the shed as needed with a metal bar to put it perfectly in position!

Looking good!