Ghosted The Night Country by Stewart O’Nan (2004) Even if this book was terrible, I'd still kind of love it. Stewart O'Nan has a thing for setting his stories in the very real places that he knows best. I'd previously read Last Night at the Lobster which is set, more or less, at the mall nearest my house. … [Read more...]
James MacDonald Monument
Old MacDonald Had a Firm... Grasp of Impending Realities James MacDonald Monument, Avon You've all seen it. Many of you have passed it 100's of times. I know I sure have. The strangely placed, impossible to read, tall, black monument on route 44 on the Avon side of "the mountain." "The mountain" being … [Read more...]
Talcott Mountain State Park Intro
Talcott Mountain State Park Avon, Bloomfield, & Simsbury Ah, yes. My backyard. Almost literally. Nearly everyone in north central Connecticut can see Talcott Mountain's Heublein Tower on their daily commute if they try. It is the pillar that stands sentry over both the Farmington River and Connecticut River … [Read more...]
Avon: Complete!
Avon: Complete! The North House Here is my list of everything I've done in Avon! I’m very excited to write this page. This is the 17th of what may ultimately be 169 town completion celebration pages! Yes, of course I am fully aware of how absurd that is. But I love it. For those of you who are new … [Read more...]
Schoolhouse No. 3
A, B, C! School - house 3! R-I-P! Avon (Google Maps location) February 2019 Connecticut museum visit #450. This was closed for decades but is reopening in July 2025 as an Avon History Museum. This museum will remain RIP for the foreseeable future. In the world of historical museums, progress can be quite slow. … [Read more...]
Farmington Valley Arts Center
Fusing Art and History Avon (Google Maps location) May 2019 Connecticut museum visit #419. When I wrote about Avon's nearby Climax Road, it reminded me about the Farmington Valley Arts Center. I had poked my head in a few times over the years for various reasons, one being my friend Eina Rieger had an … [Read more...]
Horseguard State Park Scenic Reserve
Horsing Around Horseguard State Park Scenic Reserve, Avon November 2016 In October of 2016, The Hartford Courant's Peter Marteka wrote, Horse Guard State Park Scenic Reserve is one of those [astericked, as in overlooked] places. But after what I saw on my visit, it easily moved into my "Top 10 list of … [Read more...]
J. Foster Ice Cream
Fostering Larger Waistlines J. Foster Ice Cream, Avon May 2019 The Simsbury location closed in October 2020. It’s a bit weird to me to write about something I’ve been to a dozen times already over the course of the last decade. Such is the case with J. Foster Ice Cream in Avon. They have a satellite location in … [Read more...]
Pine Grove Schoolhouse
Pining For the Past Avon (Google Maps location) June 2019 Connecticut museum visit #436. Someone asked me the other day a question I love ("OMG! You read and care about CTMQ?!") and hate ("OMG! If I answer you honestly, you'll think I'm nuts!"). Part of the question was related to the whole "town completion" … [Read more...]
World’s Largest Visible Model of the Solar System (Gone)
Sunsetting World's Largest Visible Model of the Solar System (RIP) Talcott Mountain Science Center, Avon Generally, I’m not too upset about the various things around the state that close. I get to most before their demise and for those that I don’t, well, I'll try to cobble together a page about something if it … [Read more...]