Monday, August 8, 2011

Litchfield Hills CT and surrounding area

Today is Monday, August 8th.  We are staying in Hemlock Hills Campground in the Goshen/Litchfield area.  It is not a place we will ever want to come back to.  It is down a dirty, muddy road and I think it is 99% full time people who are living in their campers.  There are a lot (and I mean a lot) of children running around. 

We were on our "Tour 10" route today which consisted of 12 stops and a 152 mile loop.  These little towns ran one right after the other.  I am here to tell you that we only saw 1 McDonald's on this entire loop.  The gas stations here do not let you go to the bathroom nor do they sell fountain drinks.  Now I know why the yankees don't drink fountain drinks......they never knew they existed until they came to The Villages!  We went through all these towns, we never saw a police officer or police station.  We did see no littering signs that read "No Littering $219.00 fine."  Van and I would like to know how they came up with this odd amount.

We started out in Litchfield.  This is exactly what you would think of when you think of Connecticut.   The town is full of large historic homes built in the late 1700's and
early 1800's.  Litchfield is where the wealthy started coming here in the late 80's because the Hamptons had gotten too pricey. It is also the home of the first law school in the United States.  Van took pictures of the sign and building because he really thought this was neat.  (see picture below)  We read about a place called "Patty's Restaurant" where the locals went to eat.  It only served breakfast  and lunch.  What a find!  I had the stuffed banana bread french toast with bananas, strawberries and whip cream.  It was the largest plate full of food I had ever seen.  It was also the best breakfast I have ever had.  I couldn't eat it all but I sure was trying to.  (see picture below)

Then we headed towards Norfolk, Canann, Salisbury, Lakeville and Lime Rock.  We then went to the Cornwall Covered Bridge (see picture below) and into Cornwall.  We stopped at Kent Falls State Park to see the little covered bridge and the waterfalls.  We then stopped at this pub/restaurant called Fife and Drum.  Pretty good little place and Van was able to add a beer glass to his collection.  He really wanted to eat at the Wandering Moose Cafe in West Cornwall but it was subject to the "monday" rule.  (see pictures below)  Then onto Kent, Bull's Bridge, New Milford, New Preston and back to Litchfield.

The entire trip was lined with many antique shops.  I was very excited at the prospect at looking at some of these shops.  However, sadly I learned that 98% of  businesses do not do Mondays.  I think Van had this route planned on a Monday to keep me from shopping (ha).

We had to go back into our "real life" mode and get the oil changed in the car.  What was funny about the place we stopped was to begin with, as we mentioned, there aren't any franchises.  We did see a Toyota and Ford dealership on the route and wondered about them being willing to change our Honda oil.  Then we ran into this little business that said "complete car service."  We thought, let's try them.  So while we are waiting on the car, in came the Toyota guys bringing a Toyota car to be serviced at this place.  What a hoot!

We are up and running in the morning to camp at Pine Hollow Campground in Pownal, Vermont.  We will be trying to do our "Tours 14 and 15" for those of you who have our agenda.

We are really beginning to miss you guys and hope everyone is doing okay.

Remember to send us pictures of the progress of the golf cart path if you can.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Guys,
Sorry about Litchfield disappointment. When dropping off Matthew for summer Jazz Camps over the years, we were never impressed with the area, either. Thought your research might have helped you discover what we couldn't see. As you make your way north, if you are close to Lake Placid, NY, that's worth a visit. I love that little city.

We miss you, too, but love following the trip via your blog.

Van Joy said...

No no we loved Litchfield. It was the campground that was not too great. Litchfield was the quaintest town in the loop. We could live here if we were loaded