We had a little adventure yesterday. We went to Rose’s Berry Farm in South Glastonbury to pick some strawberries and raspberries.
This is one of those events we like to do every year but consistently screw up the schedule. We have good intentions, but somewhere along the lines, we miss what we are looking for. At times, we have been pleasantly surprised by some available “pick your own” crop and went about our day full of smiles. Well, I think I have fixed the whole scheduling problem.
A few weeks ago, Laura printed out the berry, apple and pumpkin schedule from Rose’s website. The schedule is accurate for basically any pick your own farm around here. Also, after we go picking, I put the event on my Outlook calendar and make it yearly recurring. That way, we won’t miss it next year.
Anyway, the day went well. Rose’s is a pretty enormous farm. It was much bigger than I expected and we actually needed to get a ride in a truck to go out to the strawberry and raspberry fields. I liked the truck ride. Wait until you see the photos below to see what kind of truck it was.
The strawberries were very tasty, but picked over a little bit. We are pretty late in the season for them and unfortunately, many other people got there before us. We did manage to get a bunch of nice ones though. The raspberries were in plentiful supply. I ate a whole bunch of them while picking. There really are only so many you can eat while on the job, but I did my fair share.
Next up is blueberries in early July. Rose’s has tons of blueberry bushes full of blueberries, but I think we are going to try out a different farm in the area, just to see what they are like. It’s nice to experience some variety.
Here are those pics…
Strawberry field at Rose’s Berry Farm in Glastonbury, CT
Truck ride at Rose’s Berry Farm in Glastonbury, CT
So my brother is in town again. He is here for a week and (at times) likes to see me. I guess he loves me. That’s nice, because I like to see him too.
Last night, we decided to go out to eat at Houlihan’s up in Glastonbury. I kind of like that place and the food is good. The only problem was that when I pulled into the Houlihan’s parking lot, the place was closed. I have no idea why. I sure hope they didn’t go out of business or something like that. My brother was in his car waiting for me. I drove around to meet him and told him that I had another place in mind right down the road.
We drove down Glastonbury Boulevard and made a right into the J. Gilbert’s parking lot. I have actually been wanting to go to this restaurant for some time because it looks pretty cool from outside. I always see a packed parking lot, so I usually avoid it. Last night I wanted to give it a shot.
We walked into the restaurant and found that even though there was a full parking lot, there were a whole bunch of tables open. I guess many of the cars belonged to people who liked to hang out in the bar area.
Okay, so here is my review of the restaurant:
- Good service, good atmosphere, good food, decent drinks
- Definitely not worth the money
Between the two of us, we spent over $100. That’s just crazy because all we had were two drinks, two salads, two entrees and two desserts. The entrees were “light,” if you know what I mean. Don’t get me wrong, everything was very tasty, but a little sliver of this and just a few of that doesn’t really explain the $25 plus price tag for the entree. That kind of ticks me off, because I was freakin’ starving last night. I wanted to be fed.
Listen, if you are an independent restaurant and have a really talented head chef who brought his or her own menu with them when they arrived, go for it and charge an arm and a leg for what you’re serving. The average diner doesn’t know how to put a price tag on that. I am thinking of our last dinner up at the Mayflower Inn. It was so unique it was incredible. I wish I took a picture of it.
But, if you are a chain restaurant, don’t charge so much. What’s going to happen is you are going to get a lot of one time customers who leave to never come back. Eh hem.
I gotta tell you again, really nice restaurant, great service, good food, okay drinks, but no way worth the money.
When my parents were up visiting a few weeks ago, they brought up the idea of going out to get some ice cream. I thought it was a great idea…I just didn’t know where any ice cream places were. I think there are a few Friendlys around, but that’s not the kind of ice cream place they were talking about.
The other night, after our walk, Laura and I decided to get in the car and drive to the next town over to see if there were any obvious ice cream places. If there were, we were going to pull over to eat some. Unfortunately, there weren’t any. It’s odd, there’s a nice lake and a little bit of a vibe. Strange that there’s no ice cream places.
A few hours later, I decided to hop online and look for a famous ice cream place I heard about at Uconn. I didn’t know the name of it, but after a while, I found the one that my friend had told me about. It’s called the “Uconn Dairy Bar.”
Uconn has a big agricultural school and I guess part of that school is making superb ice cream for their students to enjoy. Well, not just their students…people from all over.
Now, you know that once I found the ice cream place over at Uconn, I put a little visit to just that spot on my agenda. We went over yesterday and enjoyed some ice cream. Laura got the pistachio and I got half vanilla and half strawberry. It was pretty damn good.
I was going to call this post, “My Mini-Garden.” Then, I thought of the word “micro” and figured that it sounded much more “green” and “organic,” so I used that. Now I can be like those hippie folk up in Ithaca who live in their “ecovillage.” All I need now is a guitar and a little chair.
Okay, the truth of the matter is that Laura found a squirrel sitting in the bucket where my strawberry plant is planted. He was sitting there, not eating strawberries, but eating the actual plant. We have some very badly behaved squirrels. Very bad indeed. I knew where this was headed, so I had to do something.
I walked around the yard and found all the scrap wood I could muster up. Then, I ran out to the hardware store and got some of that rabbit (or whatever it is) fencing and got to work. After a few hours, this is what I cam up with…
Fenced in mini-garden with strawberry, squash, zucchini, beans, etc…
Fenced in mini-garden with strawberry, squash, zucchini, beans, etc… – pic 2
I know it isn’t perfect, but I needed to figure out something fast on such short notice. I didn’t think the squirrels would actually eat the plants. Geez.
The fencing is stapled nice and tight to the sides. The top part is just a piece of fencing held down by bungee cords. I think it’ll be okay.
I have a feeling it’s going to get mighty crowded in that little garden, but at least I won’t have any issues with the vermin. Next year, I think I will limit my little mini-garden to just strawberries.
I found this funny video on YouTube about bottled water. I’m sure you’ve all heard about the negative impacts all those bottles have on the environment, from the creation of the bottles to their disposal. The actual water inside the bottle isn’t much better. Chances are, you are probably getting filtered water from New Jersey.
After I watched this video, I started thinking, “Are people so terrible for drinking bottled water?” You know, half of the time, people drink bottled water when they are on their lunch breaks from work (or similar situations). They are sitting in some pizza place and really aren’t that turned on by drinking a bottle of soda or juice with their food. What’s left to choose from? Water. They don’t want to go ask for a little paper cup worth of tap water from the guy standing behind the counter, so they buy the bottle. They buy it because it’s available.
My feelings are, if you’re going to beat up on the bottled water industry, you better start beating up on the soft drink and juice industry too. I’m not saying this because I like bottled water, I’m just trying to be fair. I don’t think I have ever even bought bottled water. I wouldn’t exactly say that’s because I’m intelligent, probably just because I didn’t want to spend the money.
Costs add up fast in the produce aisle. Save some of that money by growing food yourself. Most herbs and vegetables grow great in containers – so they’re perfect additions to a sunny deck, patio, or balcony.
Not only can insects be a nuisance in your garden, but they can ruin a perfect picnic or hike. Here are a few totally green, home remedy suggestions to repel insects without using toxic chemicals.
During the early 1900s, Parisian urban gardeners employed the bell jars — called cloches — to protect their plants and raise salad greens early in the season. This was known as a practical guide to “intensive” farming the French way.
Most environmentally aware Americans would love a personal organic vegetable garden, but how many people actually have the time to cultivate one?. Thanks to a San Francisco-based company called MyFarm, Bay Area denizens can pay a weekly fee to have a backyard garden designed and maintained by professionals.
Tea Tree oil is a great multipurpose treatment to use on a number of ailments. Whether you are looking to repel insects in your garden or if you are looking to clear up your acne, tea tree oil is a great alternative.
It has taken me forever to write this post. I don’t know why. I guess I thought it was never really all that important, but the more I think about it, the more I get bothered. Also, since when have I written about only important things?
I would say we haven’t been to Whole Foods in about two months. The last time we went there, I got extremely annoyed. Also, a few times before that, Laura got really annoyed. Both times were really annoying, but my “annoyance” meter is a little taller than Laura’s.
Let me tell you what annoyed me first. Okay, the prices at Whole Foods are high. We knew that when we started going there. I kind of let it go because I felt like I was doing something good for society, whatever that means (you know, the whole organic, green, blah blah blah). The problem is that I always felt like the store was ratcheting up the prices just enough for us not to notice the increases. That is annoying in itself.
During our last visit, we picked up a few items and put them in the cart. When we got to the produce area, I took it upon myself to go grab some asparagus. When I walked over to the asparagus section, I picked up a bunch and then looked at the price. It said $4.99 per pound. I instantly felt my face getting red. I put the asparagus down and walked over to get some “Silk” creamer. When I looked at the creamer, it said something like $3.89. This was for the tall, skinny jug. I put the creamer down and went back to Laura all ticked off. I said, “This place is a freakin’ rip off.” She didn’t dispute that. I asked her if we couldn’t get this stuff someplace else for half the price. I got especially mad at how much this store was trying to charge for a brand name item that costs so much less in other stores.
We paid for what was in the cart and haven’t been back since. I really hate the feeling of being ripped off.
What Laura was getting angry at was the people, meaning the other shoppers. I am sure you can visualize the totally oblivious fellow shopper that walks right in front of you while you are reaching for something off the shelf. These are the same people who cut you off on the highway and when you try to chase them down to “talk about it,” they scurry off like little rats. Needless to say, we felt like the other shoppers were a tad bit on the rude side. I guess we don’t feel too bad for not shopping at Whole Foods anymore.
The other day, we had to go to Wal-Mart to get kitty litter. Wal-Mart is the only place that we have been able to find that sells the scent-free stuff. Our little kitty cat is allergic to the scented stuff.
While getting the kitty litter, we grabbed a few grocery items. When we walked up to the produce area, I saw asparagus for $1.77 per pound. I almost freaked out. Now, I’m not an idiot. I know that organic food costs more than “conventionally grown” food (as Whole Foods likes to call it). $4.99 per pound is a little much of an increase from $1.77 per pound, organic or not. I don’t care what it is, I’m certainly not a fool.
I asked Laura what would be so bad about doing our food shopping at Wal-Mart from now on, as long as it was in the morning to avoid the crowds. She couldn’t find any reason not to.
Since we stopped shopping at Whole Foods, I have gone food shopping at Wal-Mart twice. Both visits were fairly pleasant. I haven’t been annoyed by any fellow shoppers and have actually found them pretty friendly and easy to talk to. I also especially like toying around with the cashiers, something I could never do at Whole Foods because they just don’t do that.
Remember that time I told you about our first visit to Whole Foods? It was the time I walked out of the store after paying $89 for one bag of groceries. Well, I went shopping at Wal-Mart yesterday and got half a cart of groceries for $87. Now that’s amazing.
It seems like I am ripping on Whole Foods an awful lot here. It’s just that I am still annoyed at how they tried to take me for a ride with their absurd prices. I haven’t even mentioned the time that I saw a container of ice cream for $8. I mean seriously. Someone would have to be a moron to pay that much for one of those shrunken down half-gallon sized containers of ice cream. It was a regular brand name too, so you could easily compare prices with another store. I came so close to taking a picture of it with my cell phone to post here. I really should have.
When I got back from my last visit to Wal-Mart, I pulled out a half gallon container of juice. I held it up and asked Laura to guess how much I paid for it. She said $4. I said, “Wrong. One dollar.” Now that is neat.
So, what am I supposed to do? Continue shopping at Whole Foods and get ripped off or contribute to the Wal-Marting of America? I know there are stores in the middle, like Stop and Shop, but I have never really been a fan. I actually prefer Wal-Mart over them. You never know when you might want to buy a kayak and underwear while you are food shopping.
You know, I am starting to feel pretty good about going over to Wal-Mart. The people seem fun and they don’t cut you off while you are shopping.
Since we weren’t able to eat lunch or dinner at the Sharpe Hill Vineyard, we decided to head out towards the Harvest Restaurant in Pomfret, CT. Laura and I had eaten there before and found it very nice.
On our way to the restaurant, we passed a little sign that said something like “State Park Campgrounds.” My parents have a long history of camping, so they really wanted to pull in to see what was going on. I was driving down a kind of busy road, so when we saw the next sign that said, “Mashamoquet Brook State Park Entrance,” they were only too happy to pull in there. I am glad we did, because we discovered a neat new state park with an awesome trail system. There are rivers and lakes and trails all over the place. We have to add this park on our growing list of great Connecticut state parks to hike in.
I took some photos for you to browse through.
Man-made pond at Mashamoquet Brook State Park in Pomfret, CT
Man-made pond at Mashamoquet Brook State Park in Pomfret, CT – view 2
Looking down the road at Mashamoquet Brook State Park in Pomfret, CT
This must be Mashamoquet Brook in Pomfret, CT
Some sort of snake that tried to attack me
Mashamoquet Brook in Pomfret, CT
Some wild flowers mixed in with grass
Sign for hiking trails and Mashamoquet campgrounds
Boy, it’s been a busy few days. My parents landed at the Bradley International Airport, North of Hartford at about 12:30AM, Thursday morning. Laura and I got there at around midnight, so we had a hang around for a few minutes. It wasn’t too bad. Strangely enough, you get to watch some very interesting people while waiting outside an airport.
A few months ago, when my mother and I agreed on this trip, I had a whole itinerary planned out. We were going to go here and we were going to go there. Then, Laura and I went on that little trip to Stonington. It was during that trip that I remembered that I really don’t enjoy driving as much as I used to. I mean, short trips here and there are okay, but the long ones I can do without. Remembering this, I started planning to visit places that were just a tad bit closer than the ones I had previously planned to visit.
On Thursday, we all hopped in the car and drove up to the Red Lion Inn, in Stockbridge, MA. You all know that Laura and I have been there a lot, but my parents never have. I thought I would spare you the photos, since you have seen a million of them already. We had a nice lunch and I even let my father beat me at a game of chess.
On Friday, we had a great time up at the Sharpe Hill Vineyard in Pomfret, CT. None of us had been there before, so we really didn’t know what to expect. Luckily, we were all very pleasantly surprised. I think I heard the phrase, “You know, we could be in Italy right now and you wouldn’t know the difference” more than once.
For those of you who don’t know, Pomfret is up in the “Quiet Corner” of Connecticut. It’s a really cool place that brings you back to the good ol’ days. It’s peaceful, beautiful and best of all, nobody from Hartford tailgates you all the way down the road. Wow.
The Sharpe Hill Vineyard offers two different tastings; they differ based on amount of wine consumed. The first tasting costs $5 and you get to taste five types of wines. Actually, you can taste five of the same wines. They don’t mind. The second tasting offers eleven types of wines for $10. We chose the $5 one because I didn’t want to get tipsy in the middle of the day. Neither did anyone else. We were all very happy with our five choices.
I took a whole bunch of photos, so you can see what the vineyard looks like. It’s really nice and they even had a restaurant. Unfortunately, we were unable to eat there because reservations are taken three weeks ahead of time. Maybe Laura and I will have to make reservations to check out the food.
Here are the photos:
Parking lot of Sharpe Hill Vineyard
Looking past wooden fence up into the vineyard at Sharpe Hill
Purple and yellow Pansies
Purple Pansies with yellow center
Entrance to Sharpe Hill Vineyard
Different view of Sharpe Hill Vineyard parking lot
Up Close photo of purple and yellow Pansies
Tasting room door leading out to the back deck – Sharpe Hill Vineyard
Looking past a table up into the vineyard in mid Spring
Sharpe Hill table area – view 1
Sharpe Hill table area – view 2
Sharpe Hill table area – view 3
Leading off lounge area toward the dining room entrance
Again, looking up towards the vineyard
Sharpe Hill Vineyard dining room entrance
Sharpe Hill Vineyard
Clay frog and a little metal dog sitting on grass
Vines growing very young grapes
Walking up the vineyard
Up close photo of a grape vine at Sharpe Hill Vineyard
