What a powerful mix of beauty, creativity, respect, and awe. What a wonderful way to honor…read morefirefighters. This has to be seen to be believed. It really is a memorial garden, a winding path with sets of stairs takes you on a journey of monuments, plaques, artifacts, and sculpted gardens and decorative bricks to create an overpowering effect. The Memorial Garden was dedicated on September 11, 2002 to honor "ALL WHO ANSWERED THE FINAL ALARM". The garden is at the side of Manchester Fire Station No. 5, 331 Tolland Turnpike, Manchester, CT, the garden is a mix of memorials and plantings adjacent to the American flag. The garden currently contains nine different memorials. The first New York memorial was dedicated on September 11, 2002 and is comprised of two retired twin alarm boxes depicting the North and South World Trade Center Towers, engraved in glass, are the names, ranks, and stations of all 343 New York Firefighters lost in the attacks of September 11, 2001. There is a planting of bushes that depict the numerals 9-11 and a grouping of bricks to form the numerals 3 4 3. There are also memorials to firefighters that died in the line of duty all over the country. Remember these catastrophes? A deadly 1999 warehouse fire in Worcester, MA that claimed six lives. A 2007 fire and collapse that took nine firefighters in Charleston, SC. The 2013 Arizona wildfire that consumed 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew. They are all remembered here. There is a beam from the WTC. There are many individual memorials to CT firefighters who dies in the line of duty across the state. There are stones and flowers and plantings and trees. There is an eternal flowing fire hydrant. There's a memorial bench. There's a large memorial stone etched with aerial ladders. There is a bronze bell mounted in stone. Seriously, you could spend a full contemplative hour here, walking the garden, looking at all the exhibits, and reading all of the plaques and monuments.

This monument is Located in Center Park, at 66 Center Street, near the intersection of Center and…read moreMain Streets. It was dedicated on April 18, 1934. An inscription on the base of the monument honors the "Boys of Manchester, Connecticut, who volunteered and served their country in the Spanish American War." The top of the monument contains an image of a sword crossed with an American flag. Below that is a block letter cross with "Puerto Rico, USA, Cuba, and Phillipine Islands" on the outside. In the center, it reads Spanish War Veterans 1898-1902. Below the cross is written: Ward Cheney Camp No. 13 USWV. Camp was a Manchester native who died in the war. I wasn't familiar with the acronym "USWV". I researched it and found it to mean the United Spanish War Veterans, an old organization of American veterans of the Spanish-American War, and military missions in the Philippines and China. I've seen a lot of Veterans Monuments over the last few months, and can't recall another one dedicated to the Vets of the Spanish American War. For that reason alone, I'll give it 5 stars.

Oh demon alcohol, Sad memories I cannot recall,…read moreWho thought I would say, Damn it all and blow it all, Oh demon alcohol (The Kinks) Not only was Henry Daniel Cogswell a millionaire dentist, but he was a crusading teetotaler who thought that building public drinking fountains all over town would help curb the public from the evil temptations of demon alcohol. In 1883, Cogswell donated this fountain to the town of Vernon. Of course, it was topped with a statue of himself. In one hand he held a glass of water, and in the other he held the Temperance Pledge. Seemed that Cogswell was pretty serious about the evils of alcohol. Turns out there were over 30 bars in Vernon at the time, and those that supported them didn't exactly see eye to eye with Cogswell. So it was no surprise when in the middle of the night, someone took down Cogswell's statue, liberated it from its pedestal, and heaved it into Shenipsit Lake. The local constable fished it out of the lake and set it up again, only to see it disappear once more! It was missing until 1908, when it mysteriously appeared propped up against a downtown building. It was put into storage and melted down into scrap during World War II. The fountain had a stone urn in place instead of the statue for years. In 2005, a replica statue was dedicated and it was returned to its rightful spot atop the fountain for a few years. Recently, it was removed, and again replaced with an urn. The replacement statue is being repaired for rust damage, some cracks, and a missing right hand. Cogswell's message still appears to be meeting resistance over 100 years after it was first broadcast. All I can say is "I'll drink to that"!

Yesterday, I saw a marker in nearby Vernon boasting that their fabric was used for the inauguration…read moresuits of two presidents. Just four miles away from Vernon, I found a marker here boasting that blankets made at this mill were used by US soldiers in two wars. The plaque was dedicated by the town of Manchester as part of its sesquicentennial anniversary in 1973. The plaque can be found on the front wall of the building, just to the right of the main entrance at 642 Hilliard Street. It notes the historical significance of a woolen mill built on this site around 1780, possibly making it the oldest woolen mill in the nation. Blankets made here were used by soldiers during two 19th century wars. The huge mill building is just a shadow of what it once was. Today it has a few tenants operating several businesses. The Hilliard Mills are listed in the Unites States list of historic places. The plaque's full inscription reads: 1823 - 1973 One of the early woolen mills in the country was established here by Aaron Buckland in 1794. In 1832 he sold it to Samuel Pitkin who made Elisha Hilliard a partner in 1832. Later in 1871, Hilliard became sole owner. Blankets were made here for soldiers of the War of 1812 and the Civil War

Nice little hiking trail with a loop in and back around Talcottville pond. There is plenty of…read moreparking with an easily accessible trail head We made it to the area JUST before the waterfall BUT there was only a wooden plank across the rock-side with slick conditions that allowed no clear sight of the rushing water/falls. Maybe the summer will yield a safer passage to the foot of the falls. We opted in for a after trail which allowed us to overlook them instead There are abandoned and decrepit building structures that lay hidden under the earth like runes in the jungle.

Beautiful trail to take a walk on. Any time of the year would be a good time to walk here. I alway…read moreenjoy coming here for a nice walk in nature. Also plenty of parking available here.

This very cool statue of a World War I Doughboy stands on the library green at the corner of Main…read moreStreet and Central Avenue, in front of East Hartford's Raymond Library. He is in full uniform and sports the distinctive combat helmet of his day. The monument was dedicated in 1929 to the men and women, from East Hartford, who fought in World War One; both the survivors and those who didn't survive. The inscription reads: 1917-1918 In Honor of the men and women of East Hartford who answered their country's call to service in the World War. To the dead a tribute to the living a memory to posterity a token of loyalty to the flag of their country The plaque is starting to show streaks from water damage, but is still readable. The statue is in excellent shape.

This impressive monument to Manchester's Civil War veterans stands as a guardian to downtown, at…read morethe high profile intersection of Route 6 (Center Street) and Route 83 (Main Street). Dedicated in 1877, it depicts an 8' high bronze statue of a Union soldier standing on a granite base. The clean-shaven youngish looking soldier wears a cape, a long coat and a cap. He is holding the barrel of the rifle in both hands while the rifle's butt rests on the ground. On the front of the base are the Connecticut state seal and a shield with a US flag. An inscription reads: IN MEMORY OF THE SOLDIERS OF MANCHESTER, WHO DIED IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 1861 - 1865. DEDICATED SEPTEMBER 17, 1877 A small plaque in front of the monument reads: SOLDIERS MONUMENT Dedicated September 17, 1877 Re-dedicated June 4, 2005 In honor of those who served in the Civil War of America 1861 - 1865 The monument is in excellent condition in a nice little town green decorated by floral arrangements.

While driving through South Windsor's historic district, I came upon a roadside marker…read morecommemorating the birthplace of Jonathan Edwards. Recognize the name? In the early history of colonial America, you'd be hard pressed to find a more influential thinker, philosopher, theologian, and intellectual. His Puritan heritage led to his greatest and most well known sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". In 1703 he was born right here in what was once known as East Windsor, but today is known as South Windsor (wonder how the great thinker would explain that?). He was an amazing guy -he entered Yale at 13 and graduated at the ripe old age of 17, of course he was top ranked and was class valedictorian. He preached in Northampton and Boston, MA and led a religious revival in colonial America. He wrote dozens of major works exploring the nature of man and theology. Later in life he was President of the College of New Jersey. He died in 1758 from complications after he was inoculated with a smallpox vaccine. In a weird twist of history, he was the grandfather of America's third Vice President Aaron Burr - the same Aaron Burr that killed Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel. Wonder what grandfather Jonathan would have thought of that?

The Civil War ended on May 9, 1865…read more By the time the decade of the 1860's had ended, ten Civil War monuments had already been built across the United States. Six of them can be found in Connecticut. The very first one, built in 1863 (as the war still raged on) is in Kensington, CT, and I reviewed that about two and a half years ago. https://www.yelp.com/biz/americas-first-civil-war-monument-berlin Today I visited one of our state's other historically significant monument in East Hartford's Center Cemetery. It was built in 1868. You can easily walk to it, using the Cemetery entrance on Main Street. It's more or less 100 yards in, but easily visible as soon as you walk into the cemetery grounds. Look for the 25 foot tall brownstone obelisk topped by an eagle with a stack of cannonballs and a cannon near the base. The monument lists and honors the 23 men of East Hartford that died in the war, including this significant listing: Samuel W. Francis, Col'd. Co. C. 30. Reg. C.V. Died at City Point Hospital, Oct. 27, 1863. Aged 30. Francis was a member of a "Colored Company" and his inclusion shows how the monument's designers wanted to acknowledge and recognize African American involvement in the Union Army. You'll also see the CT Shield, the US Shield, and worn images of a sword, flag, rifle, and a backpack engraved onto the monument. Some of the engravings read: THE UNION IT MUST AND SHALL BE PRESERVED ALL HONOR TO THE BRAVE WE MOURN THE PATRIOT DEAD ERECTED BY VOLUNTARY SUBSCRIPTION TO THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE MEN WHO GAVE UP THEIR LIVES THAT THE REPUBLIC MIGHT LIVE. You can also see the names of the battles - COLD HARBOR / ANDERSONVILLE, KINGSTON / SHARPSBURG, PETERSBURG / DRURYS BLUFF, ANTIETAM / PORT HUDSON It's an odd place for this marker and cemetery, right behind busy Main Street.

Soooo there is evidence that dinosaurs once roamed Connecticut and it's located in the town of…read moreWindsor, CT. It's not a protected archaeological site so it's very accessible to the public, although there is no formal parking lot so pay attention to how you park and respect the property. I love these roadside oddities, I find them irresistible on many fronts and seek them out in my travels. These scrapyard works of art exhibits a very creative mind. These colorful creatures are pretty amazing so if you get the chance to enjoy them if only for a few moments I highly recommend doing it...

These are literally just some metal dinosaur sculptures that are on the corner of a residential…read moreroad, and they're fantastic. They're well-made and fun to look at. There's no real parking since it's just a residential street, so you have to park off the side of the road and walk to the corner. I went in the fall and it was really nice, but a bit muddy. There's also a geocache hidden here that was fun to look for and find!