Road Trip: New England
Day 12: Thursday, May 05, 2022 - Hartford, CT
Day's statistics:
Weather: Light rain
Steps: Steve 7,990; Linda 7,547
Drove: 374 miles
Breakfast was an untoasted everything bagel for Linda, and a cinnamin raisin bagel (left over from the previous
motel in the Boston area) for me.
We checked out, packed the car, and headed out to Hartford.
This is our seventh and last capitol on this trip. We will finish this trip with 21 in all.
Our first stop of the day was at - the capitol!
The captal on approach - though we originally thought the boring, pointy building on the left was the capitol.
Here is the capitol on approach.
We passed in front of the capitol, turned left, and then right into the a public parking garage.
As we walked closer, we took our selfie.
And a couple more shots of the capitol, and the grounds.
The "real" entry is not through the doors above, but rather through the doors on the left side of the building.
We entered the build and told security we had a 9:15 scheduled tour reservation.
One of the guards walked us from security at the front of the capital, through the underground passageway, ALL the
way over to the Legislative Office building.
Our tour began here. The coordinator was kind enough to give us a state stamp, on a postcard. But that wasn't good
enough for us because WE HAVE A BOOK! We'll get back to this a little later.
We started off in one of the meeting rooms.
The imprint on one of the wall.
The doors to the room, with in-laid wood.
We entered the atrium. It was pretty large, and large enough that the only way to show it was with a stitch.
In the center of the atrium is this eight foot tall eagle, atop a twenty-four foot tall column - after asking, we were
told the height values had no significance (such as the number of somethings).
And the floor.
We left the legislative building and headed into the passageway back to the actual capitol.
The first thing we encountered was a memorial area.
The statues are in honor of Connecticut women that served, disabled American veterans, and the fallen.
For Iwo Jima.
The names of all the fallen from the state of Connecticut.
As we continued toward the capitol on the moving walkway, we passed some potraits that included Authors Mark Twain and
Harriet Beacher Stowe, and how the capitol looked in 1878 - much like it looks today. Except now it's in color.
Further on were these really old Civil War flags.
We were finally in the capitol.
Our first stop was at this statue of Prudence Crandall and a student, in bronze and finished to look like clay.
It was the idea of some 4th graders to have a state heroine.
We made it to the capitol center.
Some of the stencil work that was around the top of this floor was covered with paint. During a restoration in 1989,
when the stencil work was found, it was redone using the original stencils.
I didn't get a good shot of that, though I may find one.
OK, I didn't find one, but what I did was severely crop one of the statue images to show the detail.
This is pretty much the best shot looking up one can get, due to the fact that
there is a huge statue in the center. The statue happens to be the statue from atop the dome. It was supposed to
be here temporarily, but people have sort of grown to get used to it.
I normally would have cropped or "removed" the person standing there, but it actually helps show how big
this statue really is - about fifteen feet tall.
The floor around the statue.
Some of the architecture.
A statue of Nathan Hale, who uttered "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" and was hanged at
age 21. The statues is from 1880, but it wasn't until 1985 that he was formally recognized as a hero.
A stitch of the atrium where Nathan Hale is located (visible just to the left).
This water fountain was originally used to allow legislatures to water their horses.
And, finally, the House chamber, showing the speaker's chair.
The chamber clock.
Some of the artwork, lighting, and stained glass windows of the chamber.
And a stitched sweep of the entire chamber.
Right outside the chamber is the Columbus urn, here, with a couple close-ups (though I'm not sure why the statuette
on top of the urn was cut in half...), including some of the silverwork showing cherubs fighting dragons.
The seating across from the urn and the doors to the house chamber.
The cannonball tree. With once live cannonballs that were empty, made safe, and reinserted.
The model of statue that is on the top of the dome.
The figurehead of the U.S.S. Connecticut.
This model of the Flagship Hartford was built over two and a half years by an American navel veteran that
only had one arm. It was upon this ship, on August 5, 1864, that Admiral Farragut uttered "Damn the torpedoes,
full speed ahead."
The full ship was steam powered, and the stack could be lowered, disguising it's true capabilities. The ship could
enter into a battle with enemies, then move about under steam power. The phrase from the Admiral was said during a
battle, and the "torpedoes" referred to are underwater mines.
The actual figurehead of the Flagship Hartford.
We made our way back to the security area we first arrived earlier.
On either side were cases with flags from the wars in them.
Stained glass.
Above the entry doors.
Lafayette's fold-up bed. It stores in the trunk, and that made it easier to carry around.
You may have noticed a lack of pictures and discussion of the Senate. The Senate is located on the third floor, and
so far, only the first two floors of the capital are open to the public due to COVID restrictions.
Our guided tour was over. We asked the docent about a stanp and she told us to follow her. She brought us to a
small office, and stamped our book. At least we didn't have to walk all the way back to the other building.
We were able to walk around the capitol on our own. So we captured a couple more points of interesst.
Another Liberty Bell replica - every state has one, some are inside, like this one, and others outside. Finding it
may be a challenge too.
The close-up of some of the marble. While most capitol marble - in all capitols - is polished (see below), including some in
this capitol, there is a small portion of it that is rough-cut (also see below), which provides a different look to it.
An old wall sconce, converted from gas to electric.
After the capitol tour, we departed the capitol through a one-way door near that actually put us at the entrance.
We crossed the street and looked back at the capitol for one last shot, of our one last capitol on this trip.
We were headed to the Supreme Court building.
The building houses a library, a portrait gallery, a small museum, and, of course, the Supreme Court - which we didn't
visit.
After security, we grabbed a quick view of the library.
Then we entered the center room, which included a large number of portraits, as well as cases with historical artifacts.
The skylight of what was once the courtroom.
A close-up of the scroll work and ornamentation near the ceiling.
A large, six-plus foot model of the U.S.S. Connecticut (most of a center antenna was cut off - for better cropping).
A couple sections of the floor - which had an eerie resemblence to the floor in the Pennsylvania State House.
A wall of potraits of governors, supreme court justices, and other legislatures. The wall behind me was similarly fashioned.
After the portrait hall, we continued on.
The rest of the museum contained a number of Connecticut-related artifacts, as well as a decent-size gun display.
The guns are all Colt guns, as Colt was founded in Hartford.
Mostly revolvers.
A couple Colts.
Deringers.
Old clock.
A display case with various ribbons.
At some point, we acquired a shot glass.
Our visit to the capitol was over. Time to move on to the next sight.
We made our way to Elizabeth Park. This park, with over
one-hundred acres, is the old public rose garden.
We finally found a parking space. On the way toward the main gardens, we passed by the main pond, with some seating areas.
A couple of ducks in the pond. I know right? But these aren't just ordinary ducks, they're Connecticut ducks.
An arbor.
Some flowers seen during passing. Though I guess you could say they can ALL be "seen during passing"...
In the visitor's center, we watched a brief video about the park that also discussed how it was almost destroyed
but was saved.
There was a small decorative garden that included a medicinal section, with some greenhouses in the background.
We visited the tulips that were in bloom. Sorry, can't help the people - it IS a public park, afterall...
There are a total of about fourty-three different varieties of tulips and other flowers in this section. Here are some
closer-ups of some of them.
Some details about the tulip garden - no sense it retyping it all...
Beyond (or to the left, depending on your perspective) the tulip garden is this pergola.
The main rose garden has what looks like about 474 different varieties.
The rose garden from the tulip garden.
The main entrance into the rose garden.
The center of the rose garden has a gazebo - a "living" gazebo - that was build in 1903, and rebuild in 2005.
And some other shots of the flowerless garden.
A selfie in the garden - only took five tries because of the people in the background...
This place must be packed - PACKED - when the roses are in bloom.
After the main garden, we headed back toward the car. Along the way we passed the outdoor stage.
More of the same pond we passed when we were walking in, with a bridge, in different ways, including an artsy one.
And a gaggle of goslings right near the car.
Shortly after departing the park, we saw this small tulip garden.
We were getting ready to leave the capital.
We passed by Mark Twain's home, unintentially. And captured a photo of the Harriet Beacher Stowe Center.
We got on the road and were on our way.
Just before heading out, I asked Linda if she was OK (from a food perspective), and she said yes.
There weren't any surprises for her this trip like there frequently is. But of course, there was still time for one.
On our way home we passed through Ridgefield, Connecticut, a town that wasn't really too far out of the way anyway.
Our destination was a restaurant called Southwest Café.
This is an establishment we used to eat at when we were dating. Thirty years ago. One of the two owners is still an owner.
There is table seating - where we were - as well as bar side seating where actor
Harvey Fierstein would
occasionally be seated. Coincidentally, today was another day Harvey visited, though he was outside with his dog.
We didn't see him when we came in - we sat inside - but we were told he was outside in the tent, with his two dogs.
Linda ordered the Chillean cornbread combo, and I ordered the Mission chicken burrito. Sorry, no pics as we were so
caught up in the moment... (awwwww...)
And, like we used to do, we shared a flan. This I got a picture of...
We used to order a bottle of wine with out lunch too, and walk it off in Caldor in the plaza behind the restaurant.
But since we still had hours to drive, we just had water.
On the way back, another state line crossed.
Since we were "heading in that direction anyway", we passed through "our old haunting grounds".
The famous Elephant Hotel, in the town of Somers.
The house I grew up in, though it looks different now than it did when I lived there.
The "Super Deli" where my best friend and I used to get cookies and Yoo-hoo
My old high school.
This section was an add-on, between the entrance and the gym, though I have no idea how long ago it was added.
Katonah United Methodist Church, where Linda and I got married.
The garden apartment building where Linda lived before moving to Delaware.
The town of Bedford Hills (the phone focused on the dash, again).
The Bedford Hills train station (the phone focused on the dash for this one too).
This was taken from the traffic light on the Saw Mill River Parkway, of the Reader's Digest building in Pleasantville,
for no other reason than Steve lived in Pleasantville for a brief time before moving to Delaware.
And the very last picture that was taken on this trip, was of this last "Welcome To" sign.
On the way back, another state line crossed.
Of the twelve state lines we crossed, we captured eight signs. But I am convinced not every state line had a sign.
Admittedly there was one or two (and only one or two) that it was "Oh, there it goes", but the other two or three were,
like the NJ to NY one, that we specifically looked for, but did not see, just didn't exist.
We normally would have stopped at the supermarket before reaching home, but since we knew we could go to the market
the next day, Friday, we didn't bother - at this point, we just wanted to get home.
And that wraps up this trip.
Tune in again later this year for our roadtrip to the Southeast. I know WE'RE looking forward to it. And we have to start
booking hotels NOW, before they all get filled...
Fun fact: Connecticut is home to the first hamburger - it was actually a steam-cooked patty between two slices of toast.