While driving down busy Farmington Avenue in West Hartford Center, or trying to find a coveted…read moreparking space on a Friday night, it's difficult to imagine that West Hartford really does go way back to the 1670's. This one-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission has the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It's located on the busy corner of Main Street and Farmington Avenue in the heart of West Hartford. The marker relates the origins of West Hartford, how it was carved out of an area of Hartford and bounded by the neighboring towns of Bloomfield and Newington in the 1670's. West Hartford's first settler was believed to be Stephen Hosmer, and he built a mill on Trout Brook Drive in 1679. It was officially named as West Hartford in 1806 and was the birthplace of Noah Webster, the father of American scholarship and compiler of the first American dictionary. The marker was dedicated in 1970 and still looks great.

If you're driving down Route 66 in this neck of the woods, be prepared for two incredible sights…read more-painted rocks that look like living creatures! This one is near the intersection of West Main (Rt 66) and Stone House Road. It's a gorgeous rendition of a bald eagle. This beautifully painted rock outcropping has seen various lives as a whale, a shark, a frog, and a turtle. In 1989, a high school student repainted it as an eagle, and its lived on as an eagle ever since. Over the years, it gets repainted every once in a while and the year it was touched up is also painted under the eagle's beak. This is a freaking gem !!!

When I was little we would drive by this on the journey from New Haven to Hampton to visit family…read more It instantly became the thing my brother and I looked for on the way. I moved to this area and on a backroads drive randomly rediscovered this in all of it's patriotic glory. The eyeballs are slightly more terrifying than as a child I remember them being but it's still 200% 'Merica.

Town of Berlin, CT was incorporated in 1785 and has a population of approximately 20,000. It is…read morelocated in the center of Connecticut and it also has a train station; the train station serves the New Haven and Springfield line. It's a mix of residential and industrial. There is the Metacomet ridge to the west side. There is hiking at the Ragged Mountain Memorial Preserve. The term Yankee Peddler came from this town; peddlers would travel throughout and sell their tinware. Schools are good and there are many small businesses such as cafes and restaurants. My family and I enjoyed exploring the town.

The Avon Veteran's Memorial is located on the Town Green at the intersection of West Main Street…read more(Route 202) and Ensign Drive. It lists 719 Veterans from Avon who served their country from the Mexican War to the Persian Gulf War, and separately honors 41 Veterans who gave their lives in four wars. The inscription that precedes the names of the deceased reads "Avon Remembers, No Greater Gift". The names are engraved on a series of seven panels that fan out in a gentle arc. A central stone podium bears the inscription "Dedicated to veterans of all wars". There are two large flagpoles in the center of the monument. The memorial is often used as a gathering place for Memorial Day and Veterans Day observances and ceremonies. The memorial was erected in 1986, and updated in 1996 by Avon VFW Post 3272. The flagpoles were sponsored by the Avon-Canton Rotary Club.

Courage Sacrifice Honor Determination…read more1959 1975 (Monument inscription) While looking for some background material on this monument, I found an excellent NY Times article from 1985, the year this monument was dedicated.. The small town of Wallingford sent 676 men and women to Vietnam. Twelve soldiers died there. Some of Wallingford's returning veterans wanted to build a Vietnam Memorial to honor the service of their colleagues. There was opposition from some folks of an "older generation of veterans" who didn't think the Vietnam vets deserved a monument. The article quoted a belief of some that "Losers don't deserve a monument". So the vets decided to pursue and fund the monument on their own. They raised $80,000 from T-shirt sales, car washes, garage sales, dinners and raffles. Local artists donated their services to help the monument become a reality. The design is striking- an eleven foot tall tilted V-shaped wedge of black granite. The artist who designed the monument said that the tilted angle represents "an inconclusive end to an undeclared war". The sides of the Wedge bear the names of hundreds of Wallingford's Vietnam vets. Some of the names are shadowed in a gold leaf to represent those Killed in Action. The V-shaped inscription reads: During the 16 years the war continued American Soldiers Sailors, Airmen and Marines fought with heroism and determination under some of the most difficult circumstances ever encountered by American armed forces. Tragically, upon their return home they received virtually no recognition for their service and sacrifice because of the raging controversy over United States policy in conducting the war. 300,000 were wounded in action 75,000 were permanently disabled 58,118 were killed in combat Later, thousands more would die as a result of gunshot wounds and the dioxin code named "agent orange" As of this date, November 11th, 1985, ten years after the fall of the Saigon government and twelve years after the removal of American ground forces from Vietnam, 2,489 brave Americans remain missing in action or held prisoners of war. They Are Not Forgotten

Bond Pond is adjacent to the Farmington Valley Greenway Trail; I stumbled upon it while walking on…read morethat path. It's a beautiful pond with houses lined up along it. It's near the intersection of route 44 and 177 in Canton. It's also popular with boating, kayaking, and fishing. It's a watershed for the Farmington River and Rattlesnake Snake Brook. I am not sure if there is public access. There is a bench right on the trail to sit and view the pond; I'm sure there are ways to walk to the water but I don't know if there is any public parking.

I have to admit, when I read this marker, one phrase leapt out at me and piqued my curiosity…read more What on earth are those references to a "place of noises" and "subterranean sounds" all about? Well apparently, eerie drumming pulsations have been heard here since pre-colonial days. Different witnesses described the sound as everything from a thunderstorm to falling trees to gigantic burps. The native Americans that lived here named the land "Machimoodus" which translates to one very ominous phrase -- "place of bad noises." The Indians blamed the noises on an angry god and the Puritan settlers blamed Satan himself. In recent times, somewhat more scientific explanations were sought and one of those findings included "shallow micro-earthquakes" as the culprit. The marker is located in front of the Town Building. It's a 2-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission, in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It has different inscriptions on both sides. The marker is in pretty good shape with no peeling or chipping and some very minor fading of the blue background. The full inscription reads: East Haddam Incorporated 1734 This land was part of an original purchase from the Indians in 1662 for thirty coats - about $100. It included Machimoodus, "the place of noises", so named from subterranean sounds formerly heard there. Layout of highways began in 1669. The first settlement was along Creek Row in 1685. Ferry service across the Connecticut River began in 1695 and ended with the completion of the swing bridge in 1913. The first Ecclesiastical Society was formed in 1704. Shipbuilding and the manufacture of cotton goods flourished and declined here during the two centuries before the steamboat era ended in the 1930's. From earliest settlement many streams provided water power for mills. The militia served in three wars, with notable contributions during the Revolution. Areas of town are known as Millington, Hadlyme, North Plains, Leesville, Johnsonville, Moodus, Little Haddam, and the East Haddam Landings. Settlers of East Haddam 1685 - 1699 Nicholas Ackley John Bates John Booge Daniel Brainard, Jr. John Chapman Daniel Cone George Gates Thomas Hungerford Samuel and William Spencer Abraham and John Willey Notable East Haddamites The Reverend Stephen Hosmer - first minister Joseph Spencer - major general in Revolution Epaphroditus Champion - Commissary General Nathan Hale - teacher, patriot, and martyr Dyar Throop - first Judge of County Court Jonathan O. Moseley - U.S. Representative William H. Goodspeed - shipbuilder William E. Nichols - inventor & manufacturer Luther Boardman - silver plating & britannia Morgan G. Bulkeley - Governor & U.S. Senator Francis H. Parker - local historian Erected by the Town of East Haddam the East Haddam Historic District Commission and the Connecticut Historical Commission 1979 162 CT towns done, 8 to go

For more than a year, the Drummer Boy statue has been AWOL from its old location on the Bloomfield…read moreVillage Green. But I'm happy to say that the statue has been spiffed up, revitalized, and relocated. It's still on the Village Green but moved to a prominent location at the major intersection of Park Avenue and Bloomfield Avenue. The statue was removed as part of "Phase Two" of a Village Green renovation project. The green was revitalized with new benches and walkways, a gorgeous green lawn, and major repairs to the statue which was in a state of disrepair. Some of the work included removing corrosion by blasting, a new metal coating, and replacement of the drum skin. The Drummer Boy's Drum is a significant piece of Bloomfield's history. Known as "the Brown Drum" they were manufactured on Bloomfield's Brown Street by the Brown family -first Benjamin Brown and then his nephew Eli Brown. The Drummer Boy symbolizes a "march toward liberty, justice and equality" by America's early Patriots.