Four Great Fall Bike Rides in CT (for beginners)

Fall 2020 was the year of bike riding for us.  In the past, trying out some of Connecticut's bike paths were on my bucket list, but there never seemed to be enough time between school, work, extracurricular activities, and busy weekend errands.  

This year, we found the time!  Of course, when I finally made the commitment to begin scanning stores to buy Little Lewie a new bike, most stores were sold out.  (Unsurprisingly, bicycle riding had become a phenomenon in the age of COVID, especially during those early months when there were less cars on the road, and bike riding became the perfect  solution for social distancing.)  Since we weren't prepared to pay $500+ for a bike, we repurposed our old ones.  My rusty old bike got some WD-40, and my mom's bike, with the exception of having flat tires, was almost in perfect condition.  Thankfully, Little Lewie didn't care about using a "girl's bike," and he was actually quite happy with my mom's padded bike seat!

Since we are beginners when it comes to bike riding at best, we chose four great bike paths, each known for being relatively flat, paved, and scenic.  Since Lewie hadn't been on a bike in about a year (the last time was during our Yellowstone trip), he told me that he had forgotton about how much fun bike riding could be!! For me, I enjoyed the time spent with my son and the beautiful scenery around us.  Connecticut is such a beautiful state with so much variety.

Hammonasset Beach State Park - Experience Connecticut's Coast

Being "Connecticut's largest shoreline park," Hammonasset Beach State Park boats over two miles of beach with a well-paved path for walking/biking.   The path follows the beach, some marsh areas, and goes right into the campground.  Since we're beginners and like to bike at a slow, relaxed pace, the ride took us about 45 minutes to go from one side to the other and then back.  Of course, the best part of this trip is being able to enjoy the beach afterwards.  Since we went off-season, the snack bars were closed, and it was too cold for swimming, but we still had a chance to walk on the sand and take in the sights and smells of the ocean.

West Hartford Reservoir - Experience Forest and Lakes

The well-paved trail around West Hartford Reservoir was easy to follow, and we loved that it had separate lanes for walkers and bikers.  Every once in a while we'd have a stray walker veer into our territory, but a quick "Excuse us" would help us get by.  Since we're beginners, this trail was the hardest because it was slightly hilly.  A few times, I had to gasp get off my bike and walk it uphill (red face and all), but going downhill made it so worth the embarrassment!  My favorite part of this ride is when we we followed the edge of the lake before we made another exhilerating downhill turn.  The rush of the wind against our faces was fun!

Farmington River Trail: Canton to Collinsville - Experience a Small New England Mill Town

The Farmington River Trail is one of my favorites.  I've gone on many walks here, but we've never taken our bikes.  The trail is fun because it follows the beautiful Farmington River and then climbs over a cool bridge, which dumps us right into the heart of Collinsville's Historic District.  Having been a mill town since the start of the Collins Company, an axe and tool factory established in 1826, its one of the few nineteenth century manufacturing villages (out of 200+ in the State of Connecticut) that still survives and "has retained [its] historic and architectural integrity of both individual structures and their setting." (Collinsville Historic District)  The best part of this trail is that it can be combined with a fun day of learning.  Bike racks make it possible, so you can stop in Collinsville to eat and to visit the Collinsville Historical Museum, which is located right across the street. (They have a great collection of artifacts and some wonderful docents that help explain the rich history of life in New England back in the 1700's, 1800's,  and 1900's.)

While I've been to the museum before, on this particular bike trip, the museum was closed due to COVID.  However, Lewie and I were able to enjoy a delicious outside breakfast from Lasalle's Market and Deli.  Oh, and they serve ice cream any time of the day, so I may have gotten a chocolate milkshake for breakfast while Lewie feasted on some French toast and chocolate ice cream for dessert. (I can't imagine what could make a bike ride more fun!)

Farmington Canal Heritage Trail: Cheshire to Hamden - Experience an Historical Canal and Railroad Route

The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail is an 80+ mile greenway in New England.  In Connecticut, it spans 54 miles through 11 towns, running from New Haven to Suffield.  The canal heritage trail has an interesting history, especially from 1825-1848 when an actual canal was constructed as a means of water/boat transportation to bring cargo between New Haven, Connecticut and Northampton, Massachusetts. (The decision to create this canal came from the fame and success of the 363-mile Erie Canal.)  It is said, "On average the Farmington Canal was 36 feet wide and four feet deep with a 10 foot wide towpath.  The canal boats themselves were 85 feet long and were pulled along by horses or mules."  Unfortunately, the canal was poorly constructed, which meant it had leaks, and at some points, the banks collapsed.  It was never able to turn a profit, and for this reason, "the shareholders of the Farmington Canal Co. petitioned the legislature for authority to build a railroad," which would replace the commercial operations of the Canal. (History FCHT)

Admittedly, Lewie and I only had a chance to explore about four miles of this route from Cheshire to Hamden.  In this area, "the canal route" is dissected by many side roads where our riding must stop to avoid oncoming traffic.  (In some cases, no cars are coming, and we can cross without stopping.)  We usually begin our trip at Lock 12 Historical Park, which is one of the last existing places where remnants of the canal can be seen.  (A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on a canal waterway). Then we proceed into Hamden before turning around to come back.  I didn't take pictures from this year's journey on the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, but here are some fun pictures from the first time we did it in 2017.  (Lewie was nine.)

There are still more bike routes to explore here in Connecticut, but so far, these are our favorites.  I hope in 2021, we'll be able to find the same time again to enjoy them like we did in 2020.

History Fair 2018

Every year, Lewie's elementary school runs a completely voluntary academic fair.  In first grade, it was a geography fair; in second grade, it was a science fair; and this year, it was a history fair.  At first, he joked with me and said he wanted to do his project on the history of Minecraft; however, when he knew I was not even considering the topic, he immediately selected Abraham Lincoln. 

I knew why he selected our 16th President.  First, we had read some interesting facts about him in the the book, Abe Lincoln at Last!  It was one of Lewie's favorite books from The Magic Tree House Series, so we set out to read it again.  However, we soon learned that Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce wrote a nonfiction companion book to Abe Lincoln at Last called the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Abraham Lincoln. We discussed the differences between fiction and nonfiction and then read the Fact Tracker book to learn more about his childhood, life, and presidency.  The book was a real page-turner.  In less than four days, we read it cover to cover wishing there was more.  As we know, President Lincoln's life abruptly ends after he is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.  When Lewie typed out all his facts, he refused to use the assassin's name:  "I don't want to use his name, Mommy," he said to me rather surprisingly.  "He shouldn't become famous for what he did." 

I was amazed that my nine year-old was so perceptive.  "Okay, we don't have to mention his name," I replied.  "You're right.  He's not the one that's important."

We reread the Fact Tracker book once more to decide what details we wanted to mention, and then Lewie set out to type them.  Since Lewie has been learning to type with the Keyboarding Without Tears Program, he was pretty quick.  I helped him with spelling, and before long, we started formatting the text to make it large enough for his tri-fold display board.  I was so proud to say that he truly typed everything by himself--this was a long way from his handwritten facts last year!

We selected pictures to accompany the text, and the rest, shall we say, is history. (HA!)  Actually, after we made the board, we decided to make a short video, too.  I dressed Lewie in his soon-to-be First Communion outfit, and we put on an Abraham Lincoln beard and hat that we bought from Amazon.  Then, he read the Gettysburg Address.  Although this famous speech is relatively short (only ten sentences), the words are difficult.  Even after practicing it all weekend long, Lewie still struggled with some of the word pronunciation.  However, his mistakes were charming; they were representative of his nine year-old self--a snapshot in time that I will forever savor.

 

The final piece to the project was to teach Lewie how to cite References.  I showed him how to plug in information using the KnightCite Citation Service, and he soon learned how to format both the Fact Tracker book and the movie, Lincoln.  (The movie did show some Civil War violence, but on the whole, it gave Lewie some perspective on this period in history--their dress, their way of speaking, the White House, etc. etc.)

In all, we really enjoyed working on our project this year.  Lewie did a very good job "getting into character," and he learned how history can be fun!  I'm a little sad it's over; I think I'm going to continue seeking out books about Lincoln--what a fascinating life story!

Bucket List Item: A Visit to Henry David Thoreau's Walden Pond!

This weekend, my sister-in-law, Melissa, and her husband, Moises, invited us to Salem, MA to celebrate her birthday (along with their one-year wedding anniversary).  It was our first time going on an overnight trip without Little Lewie.  (Thankfully, Grammy and my Aunty Kiki spoiled him to death, so he didn't miss us one bit.)

Our trip to Salem included all the typical October activities--highlights were our lunch, dessert at Maria's Sweet Somethings, shopping at the Haunted Street Bizarre Bazaar, and going on a historical ghost tour at night.

Pickering Wharf, Salem, MA

Lunch at Victoria's Station

Hot Chocolate, ice-cream, and chocolate candies at Maria's Sweet Somethings

The next day, we decided to avoid the crowds in Salem again.  We were going to head straight home until a nagging voice in the back of my head suggested I see where Walden Pond was located in relation to Salem.  To my surprise, Henry David Thoreau's beloved birthplace (Concord, MA) and the site of his cabin at Walden Pond were only 25 minutes away from our hotel!

A quick decision was made to take the trip, and even though it was pouring in the morning, the ride from Woburn to Concord was absolutely beautiful.  When we arrived, the sky was overcast, but the rain stopped.  It put a delightfully mysterious spin on our visit.  We walked around Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (burial site to Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne)  and then had a DELICIOUS lunch at the Main Street Market & Cafe where Lew had his very first Lobster Grilled Cheese and I had their signature Acai Sorbet Bowl (complete with layered granola, fresh fruit, honey drizzle, and coconut shavings).

After lunch and a little shopping, the time had come to visit Walden Pond.  If we had more time, we would have visited the homes of Emerson and Alcott (as well as the Concord Museum), but alas, I'll have to wait until we come again.  (Since the area is so beautiful and so close, I will DEFINITELY visit again.)

Walden Pond was bustling.  While half of its visitors were tourists, the other half were locals fishing, canoeing, hanging out on the beach, and even swimming.  (Yes, swimming in Oct!!)  It was a balmy 76 degrees outside with humidity at 90%.  The rain had stopped, and the sun even broke through the clouds a few times.  I had pictured the lake to be this hidden gem in the woods untouched by man, but obviously, I was a little out of touch with reality.

After parking, both the visitor center and the replica of Henry David Thoreau's house were 1/8 th of a mile away.  The visitor center was a beautiful, modern building run on solar power.  The replica of Thoreau's house was just that--a tiny, one-room cabin with a bed, writing desk, chair, and fireplace.  A shed was out back to store wood.  While the replica was not the actual cabin, it made you appreciate the simplicity of Thoreau's two year "experiment" in the woods.  He truly did not have much to do other than to live off the land, study nature, and think/write about the human condition.

Across the street from the visitor center was Walden Pond. Families, children, teenagers, and even the elderly were outside frolicking on the beach.  I found a 1.7 mile trail off to the side that circled the pond and led to the actual log cabin site.  The trail, too, attracted many hikers and tourists, but I took my time, trying to soak in the moment.  Occasionally, I would have a few minutes to myself to study the beauty of the area and to reflect.  My focus turned to old, large trees--trees that may have been there during Thoreau's time.  (If only they could talk.)  I know my experience at Walden wasn't his, but it was fun to try and place myself back in his time.

A "replica" of Thoreau's Cabin in the Woods at Walden

His very simple, one-room cabin.

So clean, you could see the bottom of the lake.

The Visitor Center

 Overall, I was impressed by Concord, MA.  What a beautiful, historical, and artistic town!  Even more, I enjoyed my visit to Walden.  Even though it was much busier than expected, I was happy to see the land hadn't been developed and taken over by real estate.  Besides an old beach house and a train track that runs by the lake, the woods were well protected and pristine.

Thoreau only lived to be 45 years-old.  He never married or had children.  Still, his legacy lives on...

"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."

"Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves."

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment."