There is just something nutty about new things... it just has this amazing way of drawing you in. Showering after an hour long zumba class and getting more then 5 hours of sleep just doesn't seem all that important anymore. As you get closer to your new object of interest, your breathing gets heavy, your palms get sweaty and you know just few more minutes and its yours... You crave it, you need it... you see it everywhere you go... Ahem, talk about addiction, ha!
On the way to these magical group of islands, we had to make a quick stop... at Holy Land USA. This would be a good time to explain that I worship the creators of roadsideamerica.com website as well as whoever wrote Weird NY, Weird NJ and Weird all other states books. My goal in life, other then to have a mansion, avoid a white picket fence and have a personal hairstylist at home is to visit each and every place in those books. Insane and highly unlikely? Yes! But as Walt Disney once said, "It's kinda fun to do the impossible".
But enough about that, let me tell you about the 2nd day of my Labor Day getaway. By the way, in case you were wondering, the name of the restaurant we ate at still remains unknown.
So while someone, let's call him OK (no, those really are his initials) was snoozing away, I did a little digging on the computer and came upon a group of islands. If you know anything about a group of islands and small fishing towns that strive on tourism, you can probably guess that the only way to see those islands is a boat tour but once again I'm jumping 3 hours ahead of myself.
On the way to these magical group of islands, we had to make a quick stop... at Holy Land USA. This would be a good time to explain that I worship the creators of roadsideamerica.com website as well as whoever wrote Weird NY, Weird NJ and Weird all other states books. My goal in life, other then to have a mansion, avoid a white picket fence and have a personal hairstylist at home is to visit each and every place in those books. Insane and highly unlikely? Yes! But as Walt Disney once said, "It's kinda fun to do the impossible".
Back to Holy Land USA - http://www.damnedct.com/holy-land-usa-waterbury/ :
Although the abandoned 18-acre park is now in disrepair, there was a time in the 60s and 70s when the attraction drew 40,000 visitors per year — picture Six Flags for the religious faithful. After receiving a message from his god in the 1950s, local attorney John Greco singlehandedly created the park as an homage to the Holy Land in Israel, fashioning miniature versions of Bethlehem and Jerusalem from chicken wire, plywood, fiberglass and plaster as well as adding dioramas of other key biblical locales. By the time he was done, he had created over 200 unique structures. Holy Land USA officially closed in 1984.
Although the weather was perfect, the company was trustworthy and the camera was fully charged, wearing only shorts and a tank top did not inspire me to go deeper into the abandoned woods. We did spot a weird house in the distance but due to being deathly afraid of insects, bugs and flies we did not venture too deep into the once "alive" holy land. I personally got my adenaline rush just by passing through the gates.
After careful consideration and piercing screams of once again what appeared to be Britney Spears coming through my car windows, we had moved on to our next destination - the islands that I had previously mentioned.
The Thimble Islands is an archipelago consisting of small islands in Long Island Sound, located in and around the harbor of Stony Creek in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut.
This part of our trip in my opinion was OK's favorite part and I don't blame him, after all seeing my smile light up the boat as he gave me the newly acquired pirate cap would've brightened anyone's day.
The tour was perfect, except for maybe owning one of these islands, nothing else could've made it better.
To the right is my favorite island. Of course there were others... Bigger, richer, with pools, tennis courts and marinas but this is one is just small enough not to stand out but big enough to welcome you with open arms. Its bad-ass yet romantic and comes with a dead tree that would make an awesome home for the crows as they put a spell and you lazily sip on a glass of Riesling on a not so sunny day.
I will repeat, the tour was amazing but our lunch proved that just when you think life can't get any better, it does !! http://www.chowderpot.com/index1.html
I wish I had the right words to describe our next stop. Just a side note, I must give credit where credit is due - OK is the man! To stop at a side of a road while cars are driving behind you, to go in reverse on a highway, to make an illegal u-turn after hearing some weird shrieks from the seat next to you are all not easy tasks, BUT not only was he able to live up to my traveling expectations, HE, ladies and gentleman, exceeded them!!! Instead of taking the same, ol', boring I-84, OK made an executive decision and we turned onto RT 1. To some of you this might seem silly and uneventful but I kid you not, this IS what exploring is all about. We found a private beach and immediately went to take pictures on it, we saw antique cars just standing on the side of the road, we saw a river and a tiny lighthouse that was literally someone's backyard, and although all this earned OK some brownie points, none of these prepared us for what we were about to experience next
A GHOST TOWN! - Abandoned village on Johnsonville road in East Haddam CT.
It's as if it was stuck in time. It's did not move, not the grass, not the trees, not the bones of something we found on the ground and told ourselves was probably a remainder of some animal. Due to my spunky curiosity, I believe everyone should visit a ghost town. You can look at pictures, you can read the haunted stories, you can listen to me talk but stepping into a circle of old, rusty houses is an experience like no other. I won't spoil it with my pictures, as I hope you will all make a trip there, but I will tell you this: Go there, park on the side of the road, look into the empty pool with its dirty bottom. Look around the houses with it's cracked open doors, and as you are taking it all in, please don't forget to breath. But remember, you are probably the only there... who is breathing!
 |
| Famous & Yummy |
On our way home, we drove through Gillette Castle and I won't go into too much detail about it here since this is my 3rd time visiting it and it was originally a part of a different trip. I will say, it's pretty cute although right now its undergoing renovations. After realizing I squeal like a schoolgirl upon coming head to head with deer, cow, sheep and other livestock, we were on our way to Mystic, CT. There, we strolled hand in hand through dark streets, passed by closed stores and walked across the draw bridge. But no visit to Mystic would be complete without the smell, the look and taste of Mystic pizza.
On this delicious note, I conclude this trip. I hope you get a chance to travel this road and make your own memories and you don't even have to listen to
Britney Spears - the theme song.
Comments
Post a Comment