Weekend Wanderings!

Another two days of adventures so I will put day one up today and Sunday will be on Wednesday. A few weeks ago we went to the castle with Nick and he is too young to do much hiking, so we decided to go back and enjoy the day, just at the castle.

We always start out with the castle, the views are spectacular from the balcony area and I was looking forward to seeing the foliage from that viewpoint.

Bill enjoying the views, Bean is people watching as usual. The hills were alive with color, harder to see with the distance but I think I could live here, just love the views and the river.

As we headed to the paths, we went through the picnic area where you can see the cats on the top, the owner loved cats. If you would like to learn more about William Gillette, click on his name for some fun information about his life.

From there we headed down the path which used to be the old railroad trail. The owner built a small scale rail that ran through the property and he took his guests on rides. Covered bridges and train stop platforms, are along the path.

We followed one trail that led to a dead end. I guess the years took their toll on this cliffside, so we had to turn around.

Coming across the road bought us to the other side of the rail trail, some areas are closed, and I don't think I would trust walking across this bridge.

The trail led to the tunnel, it goes under the hill, the owner's guests must have loved staying with him.

It is pitch black inside the tunnel, but my camera has night vision, but spooky, none the less.

We passed by the pond, the drought has really effected the ponds here, but still beautiful with the fall foliage.

Crossing over the bridge by another pond, the grounds are so beautiful.

We decided to head back and enjoy another look at the river and Bill and Bean were having fun exploring the castle alcoves.

As we headed down to the cars, Bean got the attention of a group of sisters. He loves all the attention and I think half the time was spent stopping, to let people pet him. It took 10 minutes for the father to notice his girls were talking to an old guy with a dog, lol. I will never understand parents who spend more time on the phones than enjoying the time with their kids, every moment is precious.

It was a wonderful day and wonderful to spend more time exploring the castle grounds. We headed home and stopped in Norwalk by the river to enjoy the views for a rest break. There were a few families and the kids were feeding the birds, so there were hundreds of birds flying about and swimming around the docks. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and some adventures of your own.

Weekend with Bean!

We had a nice weekend again, so it was a great time to get out and let Bean explore the world outside of our house. We got him a crate so we can use it for him inside while he is training and it is nice for the car since he has his own place to relax.

Our apple orchard is closed for the season, so we went to an orchard in Connecticut. We take the back roads so it is a nice drive with the foliage and the orchard is along the Thames River.

We wanted to make a stop before we went apple picking, so Bean could get out and get some exercise and do his business. There was a park in the same area with a boat launch, so we enjoyed a walk along the tracks and beautiful views of the river. Bill forgot my good camera so I took the photos with my waterproof camera, on this trip.

The orchards were bigger than the one near our house, rows and rows of apple trees. They have a tractor and wagon that will take you into the orchard and pick  you up when you are done. It was a bit slow, so Bill and I walked around, picked lots of apples and walked away with a few bags.

After apple picking, I wanted to go for a short drive to Norwich, which is where we went last week. This time we went to the left and stopped at a waterfall on the Yantic river. The area has rivers running, every which way and was home to a lot of textile mills. The park at the falls was a nice place to stop and listen to the roaring waters as they rushed down the rocks.

Then we walked across the bridge, Bean seemed a bit nervous with the roaring falls, so he got carried most of the way across.

An old trestle bridge makes a stunning photo opportunity with the rich colors of fall.

I wanted to come a round to the other side of the park to see the views from that side and I am glad I did. I found another waterfall coming off a dam near an old mill building. We also saw some beautiful old buildings in the surrounding towns and there are more rivers and towns to explore, so future trips are planned.

Wednesday Wanderings!

Well, it really was the weekend, but I had so much going on this week, that I saved some photos to share with you today. I needed a rest day Saturday, just me and Bill, no plans, just go where we want and explore.

Bean is doing well and fitting in with the family, even Moki loves him and the nuzzle and give each Bean loves to play and runs at top speed when I take him in the back yard. Of course, as with most Border Collies, sticks are too tempting to pass up, so we spend most of the time picking up sticks and chasing after them.

Saturday we went to Groton Connecticut. My husband is a test engineer at the Electric Boat, so he knows all about subs and I decided I wanted to go the the submarine museum. It is free to visit and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed all of the displays. They have a lot of history, as well as submarines through the years.

We were visiting inside the museum on the upper level and a real submarine was passing by. I was disappointed that we weren't outside but we got to enjoy watching it and the escorts as they sailed out of the harbor.

The treat was going inside an older submarine. My husband actually worked on it before it was decommissioned.

Inside was definitely close and the rooms are small, I cannot imagine having to be in one for long periods. Throughout the submarine there were rooms with mannequins, depicting the crew and how life would be for them on the boat. It was a bit unnerving since some were very realistic and I kept thinking someone was standing there, lol.

These guys were just creepy, not sure why they were playing cards with masks on and Bill explained it, but I forgot;) The funny story with this is, I kept thinking I was bumping into people on some of the displays and as I was looking at one side I turned and saw another on the other end, so I walked over to it. I was trying to figure out what the room was, when the mannequin moved, lol. It was a real sailor who was touring the boat in uniform and you could say it definitely startled me;)

After the tour, we went for a drive on the back roads and followed the Thames River up to the city of Norwich. The drive was relaxing and there were beautiful views of the river and foliage. We stopped at the park where the river diverges and enjoyed a stroll on the boardwalk.

We kept going on another back road and found another beautiful park in the town of Occum. We also found a nice boat launch, so a future paddling place. The foliage is still not full but it was still beautiful.

They had a walkway that we followed and were treated to a beautiful view of the dam. The areas and towns following the rivers in Connecticut have beautiful old buildings and river parks, so we will be doing more drives and exploring the back roads.