Day 11 - Mystic, CT - Avon, CT

Today was our last driving day and we ended like we began with colorful leaves on a beautiful drive.  After heading out of Mystic, we made a stop at Connecticut College in New London.  My niece Lena is considering going to school here so I drove around the campus to get a sense of the place, plus I made a stop at the bookstore for some presents.  We had an early lunch in Middletown at a great Irish gastropub and we were soon on our way to western and northwestern Connecticut.

"Litchfield Hills is the region in northwestern CT that contains everything that is quintessential New England: waterfalls, covered bridges, gently rolling hills, and picturesque New England villages."  It's very small-town and rural and the yellow trees were at peak color today.  After grabbing some cookies and coffee/tea in Kent, we headed north on scenic US Highway 7.  Our first stop was the Kent Falls State Park.  Here there are a "series of waterfalls on Falls Brook, a tributary of the Housatonic River which drop 250 feet in under a quarter mile. The largest cascade drops more than 70 feet into a reflecting pool, before traveling over the lesser falls."  

Further up the road, some red and orange peeked in as we traveled along the Housatonic River.  At Cornwall Bridge we happened upon resplendent Catholic church right along the river and we were able to see the bridge itself up-close.  The current bridge was built in 1994 following the original 1930 design of six open-spandrel arches spanning 674 feet. 

The Housatonic Meadows State Park was next on our journey; lots of fly fishermen were trying their luck at catching trout.  The Appalachian Trail also runs through the park, so we once again crossed paths with it.

A bit further north we came across what appeared to be an abandoned (maybe just for the season?) structure.  Its red color with bright yellow leaves as a background was just begging to be photographed.  The West Cornwall Covered Bridge was our next stop.  "It's a wooden-covered lattice truss bridge and records indicate that a bridge may have been in place in this location as early as 1762.  The current structure is the third one at this site and it was built in 1864, with modernization in 1968 and 1973."  The sun was beginning to get low in the sky and it created a really tranquil scene.

In Falls Village, we detoured to see the old part of town and happened upon the most picturesque farm we've seen on this entire trip.  The red bard buildings stood out against the yellow background foliage, with a beautiful reflection in a foreground pond, along with a wooden fence.  In the Historic District we discovered some amazing architecture, including the D. M. Hunt Library.  

Our time in New England has come to an end and we fly home tomorrow.  We've had a wonderful time and were able to enjoy some amazing sights.  The weather was fantastic (only one day/evening of drizzle) and the food was outstanding.  Travel is so good for my soul, and I am definitely better for having done this trip.

"We should come home from adventures, and perils,

and discoveries every day with new experience and character."

Henry David Thoreau

Day 10 - Newport, RI - Mystic, CT

Newport, Rhode Island was founded in 1639 along the Narragansett Bay.  It became the most important port for the state during the Revolution and it has welcomed members of the Jewish faith quite openly since 1658.  During the mid-nineteenth century, wealthy southern planters seeking to escape the heat began to build summer cottages here.  By the beginning of the twentieth century, America's most famous socialite families were summering here:  the Vanderbilts, Astors, and the Wideners.  We started by visiting The Breakers, built between 1893 and 1895 for Cornelius Vanderbilt II.  He is Anderson Cooper's great-grandfather.  It's a 70-room mansion and is about 125,000 square feet in size.  Opulence and grandeur was important for these folks during the Gilded Age.  While the over-the-top nature of it is somewhat hard to swallow, the design and construction work that went into these structures is pretty amazing.  Interestingly, HBO is currently on-location at Marble House (another Vanderbilt mansion here) filming the second season of The Gilded Age.

A few blocks away was Rosecliff, a mansion built between 1898 and 1902 by Theresa Fair Oelrichs, a silver heiress from Nevada, whose father James Graham Fair was one of the four partners in the Comstock Lode.  The principal architect, Stanford White, modeled the mansion after the Grand Trianon of Versailles.  Unlike The Breakers, ownership of this house changed hands several times until a New Orleans family bought it in 1947.  The original furnishings were all sold off in 1941 so this mansion is much less "cluttered" as only a few pieces have returned.  Upstairs, an exhibition of antiques from several of Newport's mansions were on display along with interpretive information about each piece.  Additionally, modern-day commentary from different walks of life was included.

After a quick lunch downtown (al fresco!), we hopped onto Ocean Drive which circles the southwestern and southern parts of Aquidneck Island.  The wind was really blowing in off the bay causing the surf to be strong and adding a chill to the low 60 degree temperature. 

After crossing the Claiborne Pell Bridge and the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, we headed southwest to the Judith Point Lighthouse.  It's closed to the public, but we arrived at a nearby beach in time to watch teh sunset over the bay.

 

When we arrived at our Mystic, Connecticut hotel, we were met by an ambulance, police car, and fire marshals.  We decided it was best to go have dinner prior to checking in.  Not being overly hungry, pizza sounded good, so we ended up at Mystic Pizza.  Yep, the one made famous by the 1988 movie of the same name.  As we were unloading the car, Carolyn noted the spooky moon and sky, so I , of course, had to get a picture!  Tomorrow is our last full day in New England and we're heading right for peak fall foliage in western Connecticut.