Campsite Review - Austin Hawes Campground (American Legion State Forest)

Before I start my review, just wanted to say:

I'm back!

Life has been busy and the blog didn't have much direction before, so it fell by the wayside. However, look forward to more campsite and trail reviews as Rob and I continue camping and hiking.

Anyway, American Legion State Forest is on the western side of the Farmington River, just off Route 44 in Barkhamsted. There are 30 sites in the Austin Hawes Campground. They are set up in sort of a figure 8 pattern, with sites both inside and outside the loops. The sites are pretty well spaced out, so you don't feel like you're right next door to someone.

Most of the sites are designed for trailers and RVs, but tents are not out of place. When Rob and I camped at least half of the sited being used were using tents. Since they're designed for large vehicles, most of the sites are large as well. One site (11) is not RV accessible, and has a very sturdy lean-to. We went the first weekend the camp was open for the season, so the site was very clean, and debris from the winter was all cleared away.

There are two large bathrooms (with showers) in the middle of each loop and water pumps scattered along the road at just about every other campsite. The bathrooms were very well maintained for a state park.

The site we picked (5) was about 100 feet from the waters edge. This campground is very popular with fishermen (and we happened to go on the first day of fishing season for CT). However, if you are not a fisherman (or fisherwoman) and do not want to be disturbed, I would suggest selecting a site that isn't near one of the trails to the river. There was a steady stream of people practically walking through our site all day.

The Henry Buck trail is a short walk up the road from the campground. Unfortunately, it's the only trail on the west side of the river, and since there's no pedestrian bridges in the middle of the river, you have to get in your car and drive if you want to hike the trails in People's State Forest. However, the Buck trail is gorgeous, including an idyllic stream and rock outcrops. The terrain was also a pretty good challenge, so Rob and I were satisfied with just having one option. There were a variety of spring wildflowers blooming (as you can see in my photo of a Spring Beauty at left) which was good for Rob's research and good for me photographically.

Overall: Nice campsite with great facilities. Not many options for recreation unless you are a fisher. Would definitely camp there again. Here's the link to the park website where you can find a .pdf map of the campground: American Legion State Forest

Side note: The staff were very friendly there too, and gave us some matchbooks and didn't even laugh when we admitted we totally forgot any fire starting mechanism.

It's Winter!

Well, the first major snowstorm of the year has hit New England. Here in Newington we got about a foot. It started around 1 PM Friday, took a break on Saturday morning, and then started up again Sunday morning. I saw the sky for the first time around sunset yesterday (from the office window). Coming home from work last night there were a couple spots where I could actually see pavement. For an area that gets so much snow almost every year there are a couple things that still surprise me.
First off, is the panic that ensues any time there is a mention of a little snow. Yes, the roads are dangerous any time it snows, and it doesn't hurt to be prepared. But if you listened to the weather any time last week, the forecasters made it sound like we were going to be crawling out of our second-story windows. One of my journalism professors who was a Boston TV veteran would always joke that you can tell how bad the a storm was going to be by counting the references to the blizzard of '78. Someone up there has also come up with the french toast warning system (the "bread, milk, and egg run" habit is even mentioned in the wiki article. Is this an exclusively New England thing, or do other parts of the country do this when a storm is impending). Anyway, my point is, this is no '78, so why the panic? You think we would be used to this by now.
Also, for some reason, after like 80 years of having snowplows around, the city and state departments still haven't figured out how to use them apparently. On my (death defying) drive to work on Friday, I saw more plows just driving around than actually plowing, even though there was already a couple inches on the ground. One of the Herald reporters talked to the New Britain plow guys (*edit* article is here), and they were bragging about how they already put down some special de-icer and whatnot before the snow started, so it would be so much easier to plow. They were apparently over-confident in their ability to plow, because the roads were a grade-A mess even after they plowed (we didn't see the first plow go by until around 6, by the way). I'm hearing all kinds of complaints from friends from Bridgeport to Boston about the horrible job at snow cleanup. Get your act together, plows! You'd think this was a new experience the way you bumble around every year.
I, for one, actually get to enjoy the snow today by sitting in my warm house and not venturing out against my will (although I'll probably be going to Milford tonight). I raise my glass of hot cocoa to all of you who joined me in braving the weather over the weekend for work purposes.

P.S. Here is our hobo snowman:

Navigating public transit in CT

When it comes to convenience in public transportation, Bridgeport has actually done something right. I've noticed recently (i.e. during my rides on five separate buses today) that Bridgeport seems to be the only major city that has a central transportation center. All the city buses and Greyhound buses go in and out of one station.
This (newly updated) station is connected to the MetroNorth/Amtrak station, which is a short walk from the Port Jeff ferry.
Both Hartford and New Haven have their Greyhound and Amtrak operations run from the same location. New Haven has two stations (State Street and Union Station) which may get a little tricky, but it also has the MetroNorth. There is no equivalent commuter rail going through Hartford, even though there's been discussion of one for many years, which makes getting from Hartford to New Haven quite an ordeal.
But in order to get to either bus/rail station from the 'burbs, you have to brave the city bus system. Coincidentally, both cities have buses run by CTTransit. If one looks at either map, it's a tangle of bus lines. To make it even more confusing, both systems are in the process of converting to numbered routes from lettered routes. There are some central areas where several of these routes converge (Traveler's Plaza or Chapel&Church), but there is not one central location where all of the buses stop. For someone unfamiliar with routes and the cities themselves, transfering routes can get kind of hairy. Add to that the fact that these major convergences are nowhere near said bus/train stations, and traveling in and between these two major cities can be downright difficult.
Luckily, what the Hartford system lacks in organization, it makes up in friendliness. I noticed this at first when I started taking the New Britain line to work, and the driver greeted everyone, and everyone said "Thanks" upon getting off. The two bus drivers I encountered today also were very kind in helping me figure out how to get where I needed to be.
Although I will no longer be an avid user of public transportation, I still think that some organization is needed, just to make people's lives a little easier

Thomas Hooker Brewery

Rob and I just got back from a tasting and tour at Thomas Hooker Brewery in Bloomfield. Previous to this, I only tasted the IPA, which wasn't that great. But it's only about twenty minutes away from our house, so we figured we would give it a try.

It ended up being a lot more awesome than we thought it was going to be. For only $5, you get a pint glass, you get to try all of the beers on tap, and you get a tour. They started us off with their watermelon ale. It smelled like a Jolly Rancher. Rob described the aftertaste as "like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." They also had the American Pale Ale and an Irish Red Ale that were both good. Our favorite (or at least my favorite) was the Lager. We were hoping to try the Oktoberfest, which was just named the best Oktoberfest by the New York Times, but they didn't even have any left in the building. That's how popular it's become since that article.

While we were trying all the beers, we got to chat with some cool people who knew a lot about beer. Alexis is the office manager for the brewery, and she told us that the hops are grown up at a farm in New Hartford, probably not far from Sequassen. Josh (or John? Let's call him J) doesn't work for Hooker, but he is a homebrewer, and volunteers to lead the tastings and tours on the weekends.

After trying all of the beers on tap, J led us on a short tour of the facility, showing us where the grains are stored, turned into mash, boiled and brewed. I thought it was pretty interesting. Rob was taking mental notes for his future homebrewing. We also got to try the Blonde Ale straight from the brewing vat. It's a very light beer with an aftertaste sort of like Kix. I liked it a lot.

So afterwards we got hang out, drink more beer, and ended up buying a growler of the Lager. It was definitely a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We'll more than likely end up going there some time again and bringing friends along.

Beer tastings 12-6 every Saturday and Friday's 6-9 (sometimes to benefit a charity).

*UPDATE* Sad News! We went again this past Saturday (2/21) and they are no longer giving away pint glasses as part of the tasting (but you can still buy them for around $4). And, according to Rob's friend who volunteers there, the price might soon go up to $10. It's still worth the money though. Where else can you basically get all the beer you can drink (especially good beer) for only $10?
Also, "J" is really Joe. I tend to remember things better when I don't spend three hours straight drinking.