Rainy days in Connecticut and another tornado watch...

We left Lebanon under leaden skies and a forecast for more rain. We decided to drive the back roads through the gut of the state, where the foliage is just beginning to change, and found a nice spot at White Pines Camp Ground at Barkhamsted. They’re only charging us an off-season rate of $15 per night including electric, water, cable and wifi so, with the forecast still being crappy, we decided to settle in for a couple of days and take some day trips, the first of which was to the State Capital, Hartford.

Hartford is the first truly integrated city we've seen so far - pretty well divided equally between caucasians and blacks - from the suits and ties to the city workers.

We had a really good lunch at the Steam City Brewery & Café right downtown and then walked to the Capital District where the State Capital Building is the most impressive piece of architecture we’ve seen yet, by far. It’s stunning, both inside and out. In short, truly exquisite in every detail.

Below are pictures of the café where we had lunch and a couple of pics of the capital building that don’t begin to do it justice.




On our way back to camp the radio stations were issuing a tornado watch for the county our campsite is in. Right after we’d heard the warning we came upon a nice surprise in Collinsville where there was a huge old axe factory that had been built right on the river. We got out to walk across the bridge in order to take some pictures when a huge downpour opened up. We ran for the building, which is now an antique mall, and asked the people there if they knew there was a tornado watch. The guy said, “ We don’t really worry about them.” I said, “Ya, but we’re in an RV park and that’s where they always seem to hit.” He replies, “Yes, the debate is still out about which is the cause and which is the effect.”

Smart Ass.

Pictured below is the old axe factory in Collinsville, Connecticut.



Almost every small town has a tag line like: The Hub City or The Birthplace of So and So. We came across the one that takes the cake so far: Cheshire - The Bedding Plant Capitol of Connecticut.

Nothing even close to a tornado ever materialized and we woke this morning to a bright sunny day.

Two things I've taken a little flack for lately are:
1. My choice of reading material, (Memoirs of a Geisha).
2. Too many water pictures - that I seem to be obsessed by water - where are the fall colors?
Of course I have excuses for both.
1. For anyone who has done some RV'ing before you'll know that you can't use libraries because they won't take a book back, for instance, in New York City that you took out in Boston. Because there's a lot of time to read when you're on the road, buying them is too expensive, for my budget anyway. So, you're left with the exchange system that many RV'ers use. At just about every campsite there's a book exchange - Take One Leave One. Most are romance or mystery novels so you may get lucky the odd time, as I did in New Brunswick when I picked up a local award winning author, who's novel kept me enthralled for a week or so. I can't remember his name or the name of the book, which is not at all unusual for me. He's one of those three-named guys. David something something. Anyways, having never seen the movie, Memoirs of a Geisha is worth a read because its both entertaining and revealing.
2. Water photos. Yes, I'll admit to having an affinity for the ocean - always have - and the fall colors are just beginning to appear here. In a week or two, you'll probably all be sick to death of another 'Fall Shot'.

Pictured is some of the colour at our campsite at White Pines,Barkhamsted.








Today we're heading for the Catskills in New York State.