At the Terryville Country Fair

Yesterday (Saturday 8/29/15) , my son, Richard, and I paid our annual visit to The Terryville Lions Country Fair.  We've gone to this for a number of years (including last year, 2014). We like it because it seems like a real agricultural fair with animals, food, carnival rides, and fireworks.

Some of the rides at the fair.

We arrived ~1 p.m. and stayed until nearly 5:30 p.m. $9 admission per adult; free parking.

Just as we entered, I had to stop and watch the "Women's Iron Skillet Toss." Wow! Where can you see something like that nowadays? I'd like to see  what the winners' husbands look like, if they are still alive.

Map of the Fair grounds.

After a quick tour of the fairgrounds, we grabbed a bit to eat. Richard got chicken on a stick and Mountain Dew soda; I got a hamburger with fruit punch Gatorade. We ate sitting on the bleachers watching the Horse Draw Contest. This consists of pairs of horses trying to pull a sled (boat) containing several tons of concrete weights. We watched the first round where the pull consisted of three (3) tons (3,000#s). The horses have to pull the sled a certain distance within a given time period. When they did, the female announcer would proclaim, "All the way!"  There were 10 teams, some from CT and some from MA, RI, VT, and NY. 

Since we were sitting in the sun (it seemed hotter than low 80s), we took a break by going inside the nearby Hobby Building. The entries always boggle our minds since it looks like some parent or spouse cleaned up a room by scooping up a doll collection, Matchbox car collection, Pez collection, Lego, etc. and took it to the fair. One girl ("Jazz Albuquerque" -could that be a real name?) even displayed her collection of ribbons she had won over the years at various local fairs.

We continued through another building (aptly named The Commercial Building) where people were selling all kinds of household items and the like. The next building (Home & Garden) was dedicated to amateur photography, baking, veggies, flower arrangements, and quilts.

We briefly watched the Lumberjack show but we've seen it so many times, we practically know the lines by heart. We moved on and peeked in several model RV trailers.

Feeding the sheep (or is it the KKK?)

Then we walked through the different animal barns: swine, cows, goats, chickens/ducks, sheep, goats. Some sheep were wearing a covering that made me think of the KKK. We found a rabbit that reminded us of Richard's cat, Spots (see picture below).

A friend for Spots?

Richard did his annual ride on the The Avalanche. Apparently, the amusement company that does this fair is the only one in the state with this ride. I had a challenging time trying to take a picture with my phone because the sun was shining from directly behind the ride at me (not to mention that the phone has a crummy camera). The good part was that I found two (2) tickets on the ground (so it only cost me $2 more to get the required four tickets).

Richard (extreme left wearing orange) on the Avalanche

While sharing a lemon Italian ice, we watched the garden tractor pull (similar to the draft horse pull (see above).but it was set up poorly and we could not see. So after chatting with the man who was at a rebuilt 2 cycle engine from 1902, we moved on. We miss the garden tractor races they had several years ago. We stopped to look at the antique farm tractors and got to vote for our favorites. Richard was a heretic and did not vote for a McCormick Farmall (but I did).

Richard at the antique farm tractors

While Richard got some onion rings, I bought some kettle corn for his mom. Then we watched some more of the Draft Horse pull (they were up top 8 tons now). "All the way!!!"

Richard got a pickle to munch on during the ride home. My car is going to smell like garlic pickles now (well, in some ways, that may be an improvement).

And so it was enough for one day. Not worth staying until 10 p.m. for fireworks. Anyway, more adventures awaited us on the way home. "All the way!"

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Links:

http://terryvillefair.org
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2014_08_30_archive.html
http://www.tufanoamusement.com/rides/ridedetail.asp?ID=5

Written Sunday August 30, 2015

Sunset Tour (Cedar Hill)

Photo by Katie Jackson

This evening (6:30 p.m. start) was my second tour at Cedar Hill Cemetery. (See my post about my first tour in July). This evening's theme was "Sunset." The idea was that the tour would finish at the top of one of the hills in time to view the sunset. And basically, that is what happened.

I had to leave work promptly at 5 p.m., go home and change clothes, and drive to the cemetery. Just made it in time (no speeding).

Foolishly, like last time, I did not take notes nor take pictures. Instead, I just soaked it all in. Some of the graves we visited included:

• General Griffin Stedman

• Katharine Hepburn (actress)

Marker for Hepburn family plot.

• Mark Howard

Mark Howard's pyramid tomb.
(I took this picture in Oct 2015)

Of course, there were others (it was a 90 minute tour) but I have no notes. All-in-all, a fascinating and pleasant evening. Good sunset too.

From the CHF Facebook site. I am on the left (back to camera).

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Links:

http://www.cedarhillcemetery.org

http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/general-griffin-stedman

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Written Friday 27 November 2015 (a good time to catch up a bit).
Added FB pic August 13, 2016 (Sat).

Stratford Lighthouse...Revisited

Advertisement for Open House/Tour.

When my son, Richard, was little (as in elementary school age), we went to the Stratford lighthouse and to our surprise were invited in for our own private tour. The keepers had just moved in and were delighted to have visitors. A few years later we returned to find "No Trespassing" signs all over the place.

So when I saw that there was going to be an open house, I knew we had to attend. The Coast Guard claimed that the last time the lighthouse was open to the public was in 1973 (42 years ago). So who knows if and when we would be able to visit again. Nostalgia time!

Typically, I was not in a big rush so we didn't get there until about 2:30 p.m. I wasn't expecting a big crowd but I was shocked to discover I was wrong (this time). The streets were packed with parked cars. Richard was frustrated and suggested it was not worth our time. But, as usual, I persisted and we were able to get to the top. Little did we realize how long a wait it would cost us.

Waiting in line at the start.

Fortunately, the Coast Guard were very good hosts and didn't throw us out at the time of the scheduled closing (3 p.m.). Instead, they were very polite and hospitable and went up and down the line assuring us that everyone would get a chance to see the lighthouse and go to the top. 

We were out of this picture at the left.

As the weather was a perfect August day (sunny and hot), I quickly returned to the car to retrieve the sunscreen. We had a nice time chatting with the others in line. In front of us was a woman and her husband. She worked at a nearby Stop & Shop and had convinced a young female colleague to come along. Unfortunately, Toria was dressed head to toe in black leggings and LS shirt (because of the cold AC in the store). While this surely was warm, it kept her protected from sunburn.

This gives an indication of the line. We are towards the end of line at right.

They were selling hotdogs, burgers, soda, and bottles of water at very reasonable prices. Around 5 p.m. they sold dogs and burgers 2 for 1 and also gave away the water and soda.

Getting closer. This was the view from the far corner of the fence.

The Coast Guard Commander of the Sector Long Island Sound, Captain Ed Cubanski, walked up and down the line chatting with everyone and answering questions about the Coast Guard and the lighthouse. He told us he lives in the adjacent keepers house.

Capt Cubanski chatting with visitors.

When we reached the lighthouse, it was close to 6 p.m. and there were only a few people behind us in line.

These were the last in line behind us.

At the base of the lighthouse, a Coast Guard sailor gave us an introduction. We were allowed to go up as soon as people before us came down.

This sign is posted at the door of the lighthouse.

These are some of the stairs we had to climb.

The spiral staircase took us to a small room just below the lamp level. There was a seven rung ladder that you had to climb in order to get to the lamp. We had to wait again until people from above descended.

Rules for Visitors sign posted.

Finally, we got to the top. It really wasn't a dramatic view since the lighthouse is only 35-ft high (but about 52-ft above the water). Still, it was a nice view. Unfortunately, we could not go out on the surrounding catwalk. As you can see by comparing the pictures below with those above, the sky had clouded up by the time we reached the top.

View from the top (looking East towards Milford).

Looking directly down (south side) at water's edge.

The light.

When we climbed down and got out, we had to wash our hands due to the lead paint "hazard." When one of Coast Guard sailors asked if the view was worth the wait, I candidly said, "not really." Actually, it was hard to believe that we waited so long but who knows when the next time we will be able to go there? The Captain said he'd like to do this annually but he is only scheduled to be stationed there another year. It will be a while before we will want to return but hopefully one day we will be able to come back (but not have to wait in line for so long).

The newspapers later reported that only about 500 or so visitors were originally anticipated. However, close to 2,300 actually went to the top of the lighthouse this time. And that included Richard and me!

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Links:

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=793
http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/2577502/-Photos-Available-Coast-Guard-opens-historic-lighthouse-to-the-public-for-tours
http://www.uscg.mil/d1/sectlis/docs/bio.asp
http://www.uscg.mil/d1/antLIS/files/lights/spl.asp
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Written Wednesday 30 December 2015 (I just had to eventually get this logged).