Along the road to the aviation museum on the perimeter of the airport, this memorial to…read moreConnecticut's fallen firefighters stands in front of the Connecticut Fire Academy. Unveiled and dedicated in 2002, the names of firefighters who died in the line of duty are inscribed on the granite tablets around the base of this memorial. The plaza is shaped the symbol of a Maltese cross, the universal symbol of the fire service. The centerpiece is a six-foot by twelve-foot polished black granite stone bearing the likeness of four firefighters fighting a fire. The centerpiece rests on a base of concrete and gray granite with panels that list the names. Too many names. Atop the base is an eternal flame. There are eight benches around the memorial, one for each of Connecticut's eight counties. To the side, a piece of steel from the World Trade Center that is tribute to the New York firefighters who perished on 9/11. I can not think of a better place for this to have been located than in front of the Fire Academy. [Review 15192 overall, 694 of 2021, number 42 in Connecticut.]

The CT Fire Academy is home for training and educational programs for the state's firefighters. But…read moreits also home to the awesome Fallen Firefighter Memorial that honors all of the Connecticut firefighters that have died in the line of duty. The monument is a 6 foot by 12 foot, 13 ton slab of black granite. The front of the monument contains an etched image of four firefighters standing in a line, holding a fire hose as they battle a blaze. An eternal flame burns in silent memory for those lost. The statue was dedicated in 2001 and contains over 300 names. The reverse of the monument contains a fireman's crest above an inscription that reads "In Memory of those Firefighters Who Have Given Their Lives In the Line of Duty". Around the memorial's base are 20 slabs listing the names of those remembered. There are eight benches surrounding the memorial, one for each county in Connecticut. On September 25, 2011, the memorial was expanded to include a beam from the World Trade Center, as a reminder of the 343 New York Firefighters lost on September 11th. I was greatly affected by the beauty of the granite memorial, the eternal flame, and the steel beam from New York City. Its a lovely memorial.

A great time. This came up on my Facebook feed as a fun and interesting thing to do this summer…read more So I made the 2-hour trek before it got too hot and busy. And had a great time. It's an interesting place and fun to explore the mine. If you're 6 feet or taller, doing the mine is going to be difficult, one of the few times us shorties have an advantage. While it probably wasn't worth the 2-hour drive, it still was a fun time, and not something I regret doing.

"The warden threw a party in the county jail The prison band…read morewas there and they began to wail The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing You should've heard those knocked out jailbirds sing" (Elvis Presley) What an awesome slice of Connecticut and U.S. history! At various times, the grounds housed the oldest copper mine in the U.S. and one of its oldest state prisons. The prisoners sentenced to the jail were mostly thieves, robbers and British sympathizers. One was a murderess (yes, this was a coed prison), and a few were imprisoned for "laziness"! The walk down into the mine put us on several staircases that were very wet (water is dripping everywhere), slippery and uneven. So if you're a little unsteady on your feet, you might want to think twice about the 75 foot descent into the lowest section of the mine. There will be plenty of handrails to guide you, and beware of a few stone "low bridges" you'll have to duck down to avoid. Otherwise you'll take a solid stone slab to the forehead. Another thing to mention is the temperature down there is pretty chilly. So even if you visit on a 95 degree day and you're wearing a tank top and shorts outside, you might want to pack a sweater or sweatshirt for your visit to the mine. It was very cool learning how the mine was built, and we saw remnants of some of the drilled holes where dynamite was lowered into the rock to blast away solid stone. We also saw traces of golden copper and green patina on the rocky walls. We learned that over the years there had been over 70 escape attempts, including one massive jailbreak where over 20 prisoners made it out. Just about all of them were eventually captured, but a few ran into the woods and were never found. After we came up from the mine floor, we explored the grounds and wandered among the remnants of the old jailhouse, guardhouse and prison yard. They were very creepy, and we saw some of the prisoner shackles and chains on display. Our tour guide was great, as was the friendly young lady at the ticket booth and gift shop. The surrounding grounds and view are quite beautiful, and we learned they are used for wedding and prom photos. So who knows, maybe this will be a wedding venue some day!

The Viets family of East Granby operated a farm and livestock business on this site for many years…read more After the business closed, the land came into the possession of the Town of East Granby, who converted it into an almost 500 acre public park with a recreation center and hiking trails. In a beautiful nod to it's prior owners, the Town not only decided to leave the Viets Farm concrete silo standing, but also commissioned the painting of a mural on it to serve as a huge welcome sign to the park. It stands in the main parking lot entrance to the complex on Route 187. The gorgeous color mural covers every square inch of the silo with a lovely farm motif of animals, scenery and a blue sky. The original lettering was left undisturbed: L. H. VIETS & SONS CATTLE & HORSES It really is a gorgeous and very unexpected sight to see!!

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!

This artistic and very original memorial can be found on town owned land that was renovated into a…read moresmall park known as Mulberry Park. It was dedicated in 2007 and stands at the corner of Mulberry and Elm Streets. The park contains a unique memorial dedicated to the Gulf War Veterans in the form of two benches. They are inscribed with metal plates bearing the names of the Gulf war vets from Windsor Locks. The back rest of each bench bears an image of the American flag. The iron frames on the sides of the bench are decorated with the US Shield of an American Eagle. The tribute was planned and installed by Girl Scout Troop 589 as part of a Gold Award Project that also included landscaping and plantings. It's a simple and beautiful tribute. Well done girls !!

The Town of East Granby was not always known as the Town of East Granby. Years ago it was known as…read morethe idyllic sounding Town of Turkey Hills. Well whatever it's name, when the town celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008 a big part of the celebration was the five foot tall fiberglass turkeys that popped up all over town. Sponsors had the opportunity to paint and decorate their turkeys any which way they sought fit. This very cool turkey can be found in front of Town Hall. It differs from the other turkeys because the creative students at East Granby High School though out of the box and added a big rectangle into the turkey so the entire work of art suggest a postcard to represent East Granby tourism. You can see a corner of the postcard on the front with the words "Greetings from East Granby" along with a map of the town. The back of the statue has the text of the fictional postcard extolling the virtues of this little town. The body of the turkey is decorated with all kinds of local images and the back is decorated with the seal of the East Granby Chamber of Commerce.

Had one of the best tours I've ever been given. The people running the house are so knowledgeable…read moreand such hard workers at keeping the place running. I would definitely recommend it if you are visiting! Some of the friendliest people I've met on this trip.

Excellent collection of Victorian clothing and earlier furniture. A pleasantly delivered tour was…read moregiven to me because I only had 15 minutes. I could easily spent five times that amount hearing about the history from the highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic docents.

This monument stands apart from most of the veteran's memorials I have seen due to its vibrant and…read morestriking use of color. It's a simple stone monument adorned by an unfurled American flag in full glorious color. In addition to the bright reds, whites, and blues of the flag, the monument also sports a silver flagpole topped by a gold eagle. The inscription reads "In Honor of Those Who Served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America." There are gold and bronze emblems of the five branches of the armed services at the bottom of the monument. The monument sits on the front lawn of the Poquonock Elementary School at 1760 Poquonock Avenue in Windsor. As you are driving by on Route 75, it sure grabs your attention !!

The Firefighter community has a 200-year old tradition that takes place at firefighter's funerals…read moreknown as "The Ringing of the Bell." A bell is rung three times, and after each set of three rings, a gloved hand envelops the bell to silence it before the next set of three rings starts. After the final ringing of the third set, the bell is left alone until the ring dissipates on its own. At Enfield's Fire District #1 station house, there is a firefighters' memorial and bell. The bell is mounted inside a 6 foot high wall of stacked flagstones. A plaque bears the following inscription: FIRE FIGHTERS MEMORIAL PRESENTED BY ENFIELD VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT.

"If I were a painter And could paint a memory…read moreI'd climb inside the swirling skies to be with you" (Norah Jones) The East Granby Farms Town facility has quite a lot of features - the  Kilbon Recreation Center for community classes, its home for the town's Historical Center, it boasts a baseball field and basketball court, picnic facilities, and some gorgeous scenery for your hiking enjoyment. But none of those are the prominent feature you'll see when you drive into the South Entrance. There, you'll be greeted by an enormous concrete silo painted with an equally enormous farmland mural. You see, when the Town of East Granby converted the old Viets farmstead into a public park, they left the landmark L. H. Viets silo standing and commissioned a mural to be painted on the silo. It covers the silo from top to bottom and is really quite a gorgeous work of art showing farm scenery, farm animals, rolling hills and a blue sky. Definitely worth your time to swing into the parking lot and check it out.