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Mashamoquet Brook State Park in Pomfret, CT

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.

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Sharpe Hill Vineyard in Pomfret, CT

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:

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Visiting Stonington, CT

Since it was a bit cooler yesterday and the sun was shining, we decided that it was a great day to hop in the car and take a trip down to Stonington, CT.

Lately, I have been wandering around Google Earth checking out the Connecticut shoreline. It’s amazing how much neat stuff is around there. I really never knew that, but then again, how would an out-of-stater know about all of the hidden gems in another state. Right now, the Connecticut”ites” are saying, “Yeah right…hidden.”

There are so many neat little fishing/boat towns in this state. Stonington is definitely one of them. It kind of reminded me of Newport, RI and Salem, MA. There were lots of old houses, boats and some pretty cool streets. I took a whole lot of pictures so you can get a feel of what I am talking about.

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Amerimax Gutter Covers – The Verdict Is In

Okay, I have been waiting for this post for some time now. It is a follow up to my previous post, “Cleaning Gutters & Installing Amerimax Gutter Covers.” If you visit that post, you can see some comments going back and forth concerning these gutter covers and other gutter covers in general.

I had these gutter covers installed in June of 2008. When I had them put on, the installer really didn’t want to do it. He said that he hated these things and was always taking them off of people’s gutters. I believed him because when I looked in the back of his truck, there were piles of old wire leaf guards. Also, he is a gutter cleaner, so if everyone got gutter covers, he would be out of business.

There are some issues that drive people away from gutter covers. I would say the two main issues are ice buildup and pine needles getting stuck in the covers. Some of the comments in my other post describe six foot icicles. I will tell you about my experience with these gutter covers and then I’ll talk about icicles.

Amerimax gutter cover with oak leaf

Do you want the verdict? Okay, here it is….SUCCESS.

We went through the summer, autumn and winter and all that we have to show for it is one oak tree leaf stuck in the gutter cover. That’s right, one leaf stuck in the whole gutter system. During the winter, we had a few six inch icicles over the front door. That’s it. These gutter covers didn’t cause ice buildup in the least and handled the heaviest of rainfall. Also, leaves slid off with ease. We have many oak trees around the house and I watched the leaves come down on many occasions. We don’t have any nearby pine trees, so I can’t comment on the pine needle issue.

Let’s talk about icicles. Please read this short article on what causes ice dams and icicles found here.

As I said above, I had some comments describing huge icicles that were allegedly caused by gutters or gutter covers. The truth of the matter is, if a house is properly insulated, you won’t have an ice problem. Ice dams and icicles are caused by warm air leaking through the ceiling of your home and warming the roof. When that happens, the snow melts and water runs down the roof to hit a cold gutter or gutter cover. The water freezes and causes an ice problem. Ice dams and icicles are a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself. The real problem, is heat loss.

Since the house we live in is properly insulated, we didn’t have any ice problems. I will tell you that we live in Connecticut and had about five or six nice snow falls. A few of them were about 12″ in depth. This is valuable information when trying to compare locations with ice issues.

So there you have it. My conclusion is…if your house is properly insulated, go for it and get some gutter covers. It will save you money on gutter cleanings and will make life easier. If you have an insulation problem, get the problem fixed before you install gutters or gutter covers. If not, you may find yourself outside one snowy night tearing them off your house in a frenzy.

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New 5′x8′ Carry-On Utility Trailer

I knew this was going to happen sooner than later. I just knew it.

If you remember back when I purchased this latest vehicle, I told you that I had a nice, heavy duty trailer hitch installed. I even took a picture of it for display on this blog. Well, that trailer hitch has been looking at me all winter. The only problem is, I never got a trailer to go along with the hitch. Because it was winter, I really didn’t need a trailer. I mean, I could have saved a few bucks by picking up the snowblower, instead of having it delivered, but that was it.

Last week, I got a little ticked off at the high price of delivery for the mulch I purchased. $8 per yard just for delivery is ridiculous. I started thinking about all the things I have delivered and thought that I should bite the bullet and go get myself a little utility trailer.

We have a trailer dealer here that’s located fairly closeby. I figured I would try to throw them some business. You know, shop local and all that. Their name is Connecticut Trailers and they are located in Bolton, CT.

Last night, I browsed their website to see what kind of inventory they had. Their dealership looked like a really nice place that was full of trailers and I even picked out the one I wanted. The only thing that kind of threw me, was the price. The trailer I was interested in was a 4′x8′ Big Tex 15LT and it was priced at $1,218. Since the price on their website said “MSRP” next to it, I knew there was some wiggle room. After I looked at a bunch of other dealership websites that offered the same exact trailer, I discovered that the going rate was $850. I decided to visit the dealer this morning armed with this little price discrepancy knowledge.

I walked in the dealership around 11AM and was greeted by a nice sales guy. He took me for a ride on a golf cart to go look at the trailer I was interested in. I asked what the price was and he told me $1,218. I informed him that I was aware of the “real” $850 price that was being offered everywhere else on earth. He said he would check with his sales manager to see if he could get the price adjusted.

When we went back inside, we were visited by the sales guy’s sales manager, who was a very nice lady. We chatted for a while and she let me know that they couldn’t lower the price off of $1,218 because their price includes assembly, delivery and registration. I was kind of thrown for a loop because I would assume that if I visited another trailer dealer and they had a big “$850″ sticker sitting on the trailer, the trailer would be, 1) assembled, and 2) delivered (meaning sitting there in front of me).

Needless to say, I was really confused. I was the only customer sitting in this large dealership full of very nice sales people. I wondered why they weren’t willing to give me a little break, just to show that they are willing to work with a customer, especially since there aren’t trailers really flying off the shelves these days. She was even kind enough to suggest that Home Depot or Lowes might be able to help me if this dealership’s prices were too high for my budget. I though that was nice. You know, I did kind of feel myself shrink down in the chair a little bit after she said that. I wonder if she knew I liked to write on a blog to broadcast everything that happens to me.

I walked out kind of bewildered. Honestly, I still am.

Just for your own personal knowledge, I am the kind of person who runs off the “volume” philosophy, instead of the “get as much as you can for this sale” philosophy. If you think about it, if they gave me $200 off of the trailer, I would have been a happy customer and would be writing this blog post right now showing you pictures of the trailer I got from them, instead of telling you the story this way. My way is…give a nice discount, get the product out the door, let the customer tell their friends and acquire a new customer for service, parts, etc…Make sense?

After that, I did a little research and found a trailer place called The Trailer Depot in Northford, CT. I called them up and they told me they had a 4′x8′ Carry-On utility trailer for $825. I told the guy I was hopping in the car to come get it.

From what I can gather, the Carry-On trailers that I was looking at are a little more light weight than the Big Tex trailers. That’s why there is a price difference. I didn’t care too much about the weight issue because I wasn’t planning on towing anything really heavy. I just need a trailer for mulch, furniture, pellets, etc…

On the way to the dealership, I got to thinking and decided that I would purchase the 5′x8′ model instead. It was a little bigger and only $50 more than the other one.

When I arrived at the dealership, I looked around for a while with the lady who runs the joint and I told her all about the strange stuff that happened that morning. She was a little perplexed as well. I asked her to look up the price for that exact same Big Tex trailer, just to see if I was being told stories or if everything was cool. We went back inside where she did some looking on the computer. She glanced over at me and held up a piece of paper that read, “$975.” She said, that’s how much I can sell you the Big Tex trailer for.

Hold on. $1,218 minus $975 equals $243. How can that be? This place had the trailer in stock and it was assembled. Strange. I asked her about what was concerning me. I said, “How much time does it take to assemble these trailers?” She replied, “What do you mean, put the wheels on? That’s all the assembly that’s required.” At that point, I knew what had happened this morning. I forgot to take the big “IDIOT” sign off my forehead after I woke up. Silly me.

Okay, on a more positive note, I did get that 5′x8′ Carry-On utility trailer this afternoon. The dealer even traded ball hitches with me. I had a 2″ ball and they gave me the required 1 7/8″ ball at no charge. We just traded. They didn’t make me buy it. Amazing.

We registered the trailer with DMV right there and hooked everything up. Everything worked perfectly. As I was leaving, I said, “So I can take this thing on the highway?” The fella replied, “Oh yeah, these are highway rated tires.” I asked, “How fast can I go?” He said, “65, 70.” Good enough for me.

The trailer rides very smoothly. I can basically drive as fast as I want and don’t even know it’s there. Now, I can go get my own mulch, furniture and pellets, without having to pay people to drive the stuff to me. That makes me happy.

Here are a few photos for you.

Oh, by the way, I am going to put short plywood walls on this trailer, so the mulch doesn’t fall out.

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The Health Benefits Of Black Currant

This was something I was totally unaware of, so I am guessing many of you are unaware of it too.

After the tennis clinic this morning, I stopped by Whole Foods to grab some sushi. I also got some ice cream and whipped cream. I have been jonesing for a warm brownie sunday. I mean, I really want one. I explained this to Laura in great detail last night. Ruby Tuesday makes the best one I have ever had, but I am not at Ruby Tuesday, so I have to handle this myself.

I got what I needed and was ready to go to the checkout counter, when I realized that I was a little thirsty. I usually just drink water because buying drinks is a huge rip-off, but I figured that since the sushi was going to cost so much anyway, what’s wrong with treating myself to a little juice? I walked over to the juice area and lifted my hand to pick up a small “Pom” pomegranate bottle. My hand got about half way to the product, when I noticed that the little bottle cost $3.89. What??? That was out of the question. Then, I saw another store brand pomegranate drink and actually picked this one up. It was only $2.99, but still a very small bottle. I decided to put that back down when I saw a 2 quart bottle of black currant juice for lest than $3. That was more along the lines of what I was looking for. I basically bought it because the label said that black currant is high in anti-oxidants.

Currant Affair - Black currant juice

After I left the car and started driving, I cracked that bottle open and gave my new juice a taste. It tasted different, but pretty good. I continued drinking for the rest of the ride.

When I got back to the house, I decided to do a little research on the health benefits of the black currant. As it turns out, the black currant is a pretty healthy food to eat.

Now, let me be clear – the black currant is very healthy, but the drink that I got has a lot of sugar in it. I’m sure if I spent a heck of a lot more money, I could have gotten a more “pure” juice. For my purposes, this did the job.

You can read up of the blackcurrant over here and check out the health benefits here, but let me just tell you that it has an extraordinarily high vitamin C content, good levels of potassium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B5, and a broad range of other essential nutrients (I got that from Wikipedia). It treats diseases, ailments and aches. From what I read on Wikipedia, it’s pretty neat.

I really wish you would read about it. There is a long story about how the black currant was banned from being grown in the U.S. because of the threat it was to the logging industry. It’s pretty interesting reading. Who knew that a fruit was banned from being grown over here? Now that it’s back and grown in New York, Vermont, Connecticut and Oregon, it’s getting some traction again, but still remains fairly unknown.

Well, there you have it. A new food that is really good for you. Next time you are in that expensive juice aisle, you might want to check out the black currant.

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I Wrote A Blog Post Last Night

Have you ever had one of those nights where everything was just way too fun? That’s what happened to me last night.

Around 8:30, I finished up dinner and walked back up to the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher. I did a little tidying up and poured myself a nice glass of Brandy. Then, I took a small sip and walked up to my office for a little work. That is basically where the problems started.

I had a few more small sips of my drink and started getting into my usual 8:30 – 11:00 routine. A little work here and a little work there. I wasn’t doing anything all too serious, so I decided to turn some music on. Of course, I started listening to my new favorite band, “Days Of The New.” Seriously good music. Well, the next thing I knew, I had the music playing way too loudly and my drink was gone. The worst part about the whole thing is that I was halfway through a blog post. Let me just tell you this – it was magical.

I always worry about those types of posts. Good thing I never actually publish them because I mostly tell you what I really feel. Well, this time was a bit different. I finally started working on my story. Remember the one I told you about? It’s the one that’s going to knock your socks off. Yeah, I am trying to make this one worthy…worthy enough to be a chapter in my most unique book that my sister Lauren is going to put together for you.

I saved the post as a draft last night and just took a quick look at it. It’s not long; probably a few hundred words. I was quite surprised to see that it was better than I had hoped for. I would really like to post it, but I’m a little nervous about what people will think. It’s pretty odd at times. I’ll think about it. It isn’t that big of a deal because it’s just a prelude anyway. Maybe I’ll have my mother edit it before I do anything with it.

——

So Rob came over to the house tonight. I told him to remind me to get a picture of the two us us together so I could write about the visit, but he forgot. So, unfortunately all you ladies out there won’t get to see a picture of the two most handsome guys on the east coast. Maybe next time I’ll put the camera on the desk or something to remind me.

I think we had a really good visit. I gave Rob the house tour and then we talked business for a while. That was fun because I like seeing the fire in Rob’s eyes. He is a born entrepreneur…maybe even more than me. Let me remind you that it was Rob who was doing this stuff before me. He’s one of the people who came up with crazy ideas that actually made money long before I ever did anything. All I need to do this time is keep him on the straight and narrow and things should be fine.

After we talked business, we headed out to pick up some pizza and salads. That was cool, because I got to show him the new car and how it drove around these winter roads. I asked him if he saw the “driving in the snow” videos and he told me he hadn’t. So, I am linking to it right here. Michele, please pull him to the computer and have him click this link. Thank you.

The pizza was pretty good. The salads were pretty good. Typical stuff, but Rob liked the thin crust.

After we were done eating, I thought it would be a good idea to load up a big bag with about 42 empty beer bottles. I am giving them to Rob, so he can use them for his beer making. I am also letting him borrow the capper and some caps. I gave him 6 of my prize-winning beers too. We cracked one of the chocolate ones open and I have to tell you that they are tasting much better these days. Very full of body.

As Laura and I were saying good-bye to our dear friend, we made a vow that we wouldn’t let another year go by without seeing each other again. We have way too good of a time together to let these years pass by so fast like this. After all, we are only an hour and a half away.

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Snow Driving In Central Connecticut – 2008 BMW X5

When I went and bought this car, I knew I wanted the “xDrive, intelligent all-wheel-drive,” but never really thought I would use it. At this point in the season, I am beginning to see how it can be handy to have around.

I got a great idea around 7PM this evening. I was getting hungry and it was snowing outside. I would say about an inch already fell. What better way to celebrate our current snowstorm than to go out and get some pizza?

The pizza place is a few miles away. There are no serious mountains to climb or drive down, so I didn’t really see anything wrong with hopping in the car to go for a ride. Actually, I was looking forward to it, because from what I have already experienced, driving in this car is like riding a train. BMW is awesome.

As I was cruising up the driveway, I gave it a little something extra, like I usually do. I didn’t get that normal 4-wheel spin, but I did get some pull. I credit the snow with not being all that slippery for that. As I drove down the road, I did a little zig-zag to see what the roads felt like. Nothin’. It didn’t budge. As I went around the first tight corner, I did feel a little slip, but the car corrected by itself. I think I was getting a little too comfortable.

I was about half-way to the pizza place when I realized that I could be taking pictures of this whole experience. I mean, how often do you get to see pics and vids of someone driving in the snow? Not often. Oh, you are going to love this…

2008 BMW X5 driving in snow storm

2008 BMW X5 driving in snow storm

I couldn’t decide which of those two photos was better, so I posted both of them.

Snow coming down at gas station

Gas prices - central Connecticut

The photo above is for my father. He is always asking about the gas prices here. It’s what fathers do.

2008 BMW X5 tire and rim

That’s just a random shot of the car tire. I was standing there pumping gas with a camera in my hand. What did you want me to do?

2008 BMW X5 dashboard at night

Oh yeah, I got some video for you too. Check ‘em out. And to think, I wrote all this, the same day I wrote about blogger’s block. By the way, that’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and “Thistle & Shamrock” on the radio in the background.

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The Big Vote – 2008

Well, the day has finally arrived.

I would say that I rolled into bed last night around 11PM. I found myself still staring at the ceiling at 3AM. I was having the most random thoughts about today. I finally fell asleep thinking that I am just plain weird. Upon awakening this morning, I read an email from my sister telling me that she had very odd election day dreams last night. After that, I checked out my uncle’s blog and he said the same thing. I guess, either I am not that weird, or all three of us are.

I voted today sticker

The school where the voting was taking place was much busier than I thought. I was on the phone with my idiot friend when I rounded the corner to see police lights. In Connecticut, the police are pretty much required to be there if you are doing anything…voting, construction, etc…they are fairly laid back though. I heard reports on the radio this morning about how crowded the polling locations already were. I figured that this small town wouldn’t have any issues. I am usually in and out.

Traffic on election day 2008

Election day 2008 signs

I drove right by and had to turn around. Me, being me, thought I could find a better spot down the road. When that didn’t happen, I drove into the main parking lot right behind everyone else. While we were waiting in line to find a parking spot, some old man cut around everyone else and parked in an open spot. I wanted to put the car in park, walk over to him and smack him across his chest. I didn’t though because all the cops were around. Watch your back old man.

There were a few differences between New York and Connecticut voting. First, the lines that you go into to check in were alphabetized by street name rather than last name. I helped the woman in back of me find her correct line. She may have been a Republican, so I’m not sure that was such a good idea.

The second difference was that we used paper ballots here instead of the big gray machines from the 1940s. That worked well and was very fast.

After I did what I had to do, I got my sticker and walked outside to enjoy the sun.

Go me.

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Visiting Putnam And Connecticut’s Quiet Corner

Today, we hopped in the car and went for a little ride.

First, we stopped by the local library so Laura could get a library card and pick up a book. The town library is newly renovated, expanded and really very nice. I haven’t been in a library in years. You should have seen me…I was astounded. I went to the back of the fiction aisle and found whole sections of my favorite authors…Ridley Pearson, John Grisham, James Patterson. I was floored. So this is what libraries do…ahhh.

After that little chore was done, we got back in the car and started our trip up to Putnam and Connecticut’s “Quiet Corner.” First off, let me just say that this has got to be the most colorful Autumn I have ever lived through. I have never seen so much orange in the leaves. I am used to yellow and red, but it’s the orange that really gets to me. It is so bright, it knocks my socks off. I have to pull over to put them back on.

I didn’t expect the trip to be so much fun. Usually, I focus on getting somewhere, but today, it was hard to ignore the peace and tranquility of the area. I once asked Laura where everyone was. It was cool driving fast through all those country roads with no one around.

Autumn country road, CT

We went through a bunch of towns, but one really caught our attention. It’s called Pomfret and it hosts the “Pomfret School.” If you don’t know this about me, I’ll tell you that I love private schools. I don’t know why. I guess it’s because everything is so neat and clean and taken care of so well. The students look presentable and the money is just falling out of people’s pockets. I get a big kick out of it. Fortunately, Laura and I have a knack for finding these places. Connecticut seems to be full of them. People must laugh as I do a double and triple take while driving through.

We drove through the school and headed up to Putnam. Putnam, CT is known for its antiques. The story goes like this…”Putnam fell on hard times during the early part of the century and reinvented itself”…you know, the typical tale. I have heard the story before and know the drill. When visiting these places, I use a cautious eye.

We arrived in Putnam and I noticed that the actual main street area was a little smaller that what I expected. It was a cute town though. I definitely noticed that it had fallen on hard times and noticed a few vacant shops. What shops were there were pretty interesting.

Putnam, CT

We spent a little time in probably the largest antique shop in the town. I can’t seem to find the name of it, because it just said, “Antiques” above the roof line. They had some pretty nice furniture at semi-reasonable prices.

Antique furniture in Putnam, CT

Stained glass in Putnam, CT

Antique dealer in Putnam, CT

Looking through window at Montgomery Ward, Putnam, CT

We walked down the sidewalk a bit and took a few pictures of places like…

Clippers Hair Salon, Putnam, CT

and…

Courthouse Restaurant, Putnam, CT

A few more steps and I saw a really intriguing alley. I took some pics of that, but they didn’t come out so well. What did come out well was my pics of an old window and the huge Coca-Cola painting on the side of a building.

Old window

Coca-Cola painting on building

We spent a while in Putnam and decided to head out. On our way back, we grabbed a picture of The Harvest Restaurant sign in Pomfret, so I could remember the name of the place. We have been searching for a nice restaurant like this that offers brunch. Since this restaurant looks nice and is in a nice area, we are going to give it a shot.

The Harvest Restaurant, Pomfret, CT

After we got almost all the way back, we stopped off at Mansfield Hollow State Park for a little hike.

Mansfield Hollow State Park

This is a pretty cool park. It has a large lake and trails all over the place. We walked around part of the lake and up to the rail trail. There was a huge field. I am thinking of getting another super frisbee to throw around. The last time I played with mine, Rob threw it in to a tree. I don’t blame him, the tree was about a quarter mile away and it was one of those crazy frisbees that go really far. Rob is going to have to come over so was can play again.

When we were done with the hike, we headed out and wrapped up a rather nice Autumn day.

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