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CTMQ > Everything Else

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National Stuff
Sports, Thrills, Cruises, Trains, Fairs, Parades, & Events
CT Books, Movies, People, & Stories
Towers, Bridges, Forts, Tunnels, Roads, Canals, Dams, Fishways, Airports, & Ferries
Everything Else
Houses, Communities, Urban Legends, Lighthouses, Libraries, Schools, Businesses, & Theaters
Geography
Animals, Farms, Gardens, Plants, Trees, Rocks, Waterfalls, & Caves
Religion, Remembrances, Statuary, & Outdoor Art
Firsts, Onlies, Oldests, Largests, Longests, Mosts, Smallests, & Bests

NHL: Portland Brownstone Quarries

August 21, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

CT National Historic Landmark Portland Brownstone Quarries Portland Many of us Connecticut residents who hit the museum circuit have heard apocryphal stories about Portland brownstone being pretty much the most important building material of the 19th century. Or something like that. While that's not remotely true, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, National "Stuff", New Post Tagged With: Cool Geology, National Historic Landmarks, Portland

Lakewood Road Post Office

August 13, 2021 by Steve 2 Comments

Stamping Out Architectural Design Lakewood Road Post Office, Waterbury I've become enamored with out of place post offices in Connecticut. We have a bunch of them, so stay tuned over the next few decades as I uncover and expose them all here. Perhaps, when all is said and done, I'll have the definitive collection … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, Houses, Communities, Libraries, & Businesses, New Post Tagged With: post offices, Waterbury

The Blue Oar (Closed)

August 12, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

Eat Here... Oar Else The Blue Oar, Haddam July 2021 The Blue Oar permanently closed in April 2023. Lists and listicles are as much of an epidemic as the COVID pandemic. These lazy lists are endemic across online publications these days. I mostly ignore all of them - especially any about "Best Connecticut … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Best, Unique, & Historic Restaurants & Foods, Food & Drink, New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: "See Before you die" list, Closed/Gone/Former, Haddam, Hoang, unique restaurants and/or food

Book Review: Empire of Pain

July 31, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

Genocidal Sociopaths Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty By Patrick Radden Keefe I don't know how I decided I wanted to read this book. For one, I was able to without tears or breaking stuff. I've not been personally touched by any opioid addiction. Not in my family, and not by any close … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Movies, People, & Stories, Everything Else, New Post Tagged With: books, Connecticut Books

Stevenson Dam & Bridge

July 27, 2021 by Steve 2 Comments

Bridge Over Troubled... Dam? Route 34 and The Stevenson Dam Monroe & Oxford Stop me if you've heard this one before: "the Stevenson Dam is one of only two dams in the country that has a public road over the top." Wait. That's ridiculous, even if I've seen it in print. The actual claim is more specific: "the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, New Post, Towers, Bridges, Forts, Tunnels, Roads, Canals, Dams, Fishways, Airports, & Ferries Tagged With: Canals and Dams, Cool Bridges, Fishways & Lifts & Ladders, Monroe, Oxford

Book Review: The Night Before

July 24, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

Let's Do the Twist The Night Before By Wendy Walker The most impressive bit about The Night Before is the author, Wendy Walker. I don't know her, but I know someone who does (which prompted me to read this book) and her life's path to arrive at being a best-selling author is impressive. Walker holds degrees … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Movies, People, & Stories, Everything Else, New Post Tagged With: Connecticut Books, Connecticut Fiction books

Klan Drive

July 21, 2021 by Steve 4 Comments

OKKKaaaayyy... Klan Drive, Wolcott I'm sure there's a perfectly benign explanation for Klan Drive in Wolcott. Googling "Klan" does not provide this, however. In fact, deep Googling only makes the case that "Klan" is and always was what you associate the word with. So maybe Wolcott's Klan Drive is named … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, New Post, Towers, Bridges, Forts, Tunnels, Roads, Canals, Dams, Fishways, Airports, & Ferries Tagged With: Roads and Tunnels, Wolcott

Torrington Area Model Railroaders

July 14, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

HO-HO-HO! (Scale) Torrington Area Model Railroaders, Torrington December 2014 I went through a period in 2014 and 2015 during which I tried my best to take my sons to every model railroad display worth taking them to. A friend of mine is a big train guy and had been promoting this annual display at the Torrington … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, New Post, Sports, Thrills, Tours, & Events Tagged With: Calvin, Damian, Model Trains, Torrington, Trains and Trolleys

Nepaug Dam & Reservoir Trails

July 13, 2021 by Steve 4 Comments

Damn! Nepaug Dam & Reservoir Trails, Burlington, Canton, & New Hartford December 2020 My favorite fact about this property is that the main paved path here used to be a road open to vehicular traffic. I don't know when this was changed, but I'm pretty sure it was in my lifetime. Yes, Torrington Avenue used to veer … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites, Towers, Bridges, Forts, Tunnels, Roads, Canals, Dams, Fishways, Airports, & Ferries, Town Land Hikes Tagged With: Burlington, Canals and Dams, Canton, New Hartford

Mad River Cascades

July 8, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World Mad River Cascades, Wolcott In case you are unfamiliar with my list of Connecticut waterfalls, it is largely taken from a guidebook of Connecticut waterfalls. A guidebook which includes several "cascades" which the authors know are not waterfalls in any traditional sense. I'm fine … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Biology & Geology, Everything Else, New Post Tagged With: Waterfalls, Wolcott

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