My wife and I got out for a nice ride the other day... before the rains came! May in our area is usually beautiful, when it's not pretending it's summer or raining cats and dogs...
The trees are all flowering and you realize that half the town is cherry and crabapple trees.
We went down to one of our favorite places to ride, a Connecticut State Park called Harkness.
More cherry trees all around the parking and picnic areas...
The grounds were all one big estate, owned by a family that made big money in the 1890's in railroads. The mansion on the site is named Eolia (the wind) and that is apt, because the wind is strong enough to fly kites virtually any day of the year.
We saw a wedding in progress in the main mansion, complete with horse carriage and men in tails. The grounds of the old estate have partly been given to a rehabilitation camp for disabled people, and there are facilities allowing them to enjoy the beach, picnic, or ride horses here.
This flowering crabapple tree is a landmark that can been seen from many miles away. A couple weeks a year, it's spectacular. The estate grounds go right to the water's edge on Long Island Sound. Ferry service to Fisher's Island and Long Island runs constantly from New London.
There is a protected wildlife sanctuary for piping plovers on one end of the property, and lots of other local animals call it home. I've seen families of 25 turkeys and all types of shore birds.
The grounds also have extensive English gardens, some outside the walls in a less formal setting, and some inside terraces and walls by the mansion. There is also a pet cemetary, which can be visited underneath the dome of a Japanese threadleaf maple (sorry no pic of that, you'll have to find it if you visit.)
Of course, no ride would be complete without something acting up, so we found a spot in an old orchard to keep the chainguard from falling off the bike...
Turns out the back chainguard screw was getting into the chain down in 5th gear. A couple washers fixed it right at home.
A day well spent.... whenever you're in the area, come and enjoy this special place. There's so much more to the grounds, you can spend all day exploring the place. There is a small boxwood maze, hidden fountains, a koi pond, sunken gardens, grape trellises with 100 + year old vines, acres of open lawns and stone walls, picnic tables and gigantic copper beech trees.
There is a fee to enter by car, but not by bicycle, and there are a handful of legal parking spaces in front of the gates. One of Connecticut's treasures for sure.
Hope you enjoyed riding along with us!
--Rob
The trees are all flowering and you realize that half the town is cherry and crabapple trees.
We went down to one of our favorite places to ride, a Connecticut State Park called Harkness.
More cherry trees all around the parking and picnic areas...
The grounds were all one big estate, owned by a family that made big money in the 1890's in railroads. The mansion on the site is named Eolia (the wind) and that is apt, because the wind is strong enough to fly kites virtually any day of the year.
We saw a wedding in progress in the main mansion, complete with horse carriage and men in tails. The grounds of the old estate have partly been given to a rehabilitation camp for disabled people, and there are facilities allowing them to enjoy the beach, picnic, or ride horses here.
This flowering crabapple tree is a landmark that can been seen from many miles away. A couple weeks a year, it's spectacular. The estate grounds go right to the water's edge on Long Island Sound. Ferry service to Fisher's Island and Long Island runs constantly from New London.
There is a protected wildlife sanctuary for piping plovers on one end of the property, and lots of other local animals call it home. I've seen families of 25 turkeys and all types of shore birds.
The grounds also have extensive English gardens, some outside the walls in a less formal setting, and some inside terraces and walls by the mansion. There is also a pet cemetary, which can be visited underneath the dome of a Japanese threadleaf maple (sorry no pic of that, you'll have to find it if you visit.)
Of course, no ride would be complete without something acting up, so we found a spot in an old orchard to keep the chainguard from falling off the bike...
Turns out the back chainguard screw was getting into the chain down in 5th gear. A couple washers fixed it right at home.
A day well spent.... whenever you're in the area, come and enjoy this special place. There's so much more to the grounds, you can spend all day exploring the place. There is a small boxwood maze, hidden fountains, a koi pond, sunken gardens, grape trellises with 100 + year old vines, acres of open lawns and stone walls, picnic tables and gigantic copper beech trees.
There is a fee to enter by car, but not by bicycle, and there are a handful of legal parking spaces in front of the gates. One of Connecticut's treasures for sure.
Hope you enjoyed riding along with us!
--Rob
