September 2013 - Funky Monkey Fish

So we were told by some of my fellow co-workers that the months of September and October are the beautiful (and busy) months in Connecticut. Country Fairs, apple picking, leaves falling and corn mazes are all in abundance during these months. We decided to be proactive and hit up the apple picking early on in the season; we didn't want to miss out on our first attempt and grabbing the best apples in the orchard.

Less than 5 miles from the house is Blue Jay Orchards, one of the apple-picking destinations in our part of CT. We got there early, bought our $20 bag (pick as many as you can fit) and made a bee-line straight for the trees. There were a couple acres of apple-tree rows in our picking section containing McIntosh, Cortland and Summer Wonder Fugi apples.

We found there was a proper technique to picking apples, not just the grab-and-yank method I was expecting. Correctly done, there should be a bit of stem left and the only apple to come off the tree is the one you grab, not the 7 or 8 that drop when you use the 'tear-it-from-the tree' method. We piled our bag high with roughly 10-12 of each type and made our way back to the car. I also grabbed a pic of the low-flying geese that decided to do a bombing run when we were out there. Thankfully we weren't hit; not sure I can say the same thing for everyone else out there.

Across the street from the orchard was the Blue Jay Orchards Farmers Market store and gift shop, which actually looked like it might have been a cool barn at one time. You could buy all kinds of apple-infused product; apple butter, apple sauce, apple pies, etc. But that's not all. Love blueberries? They had blueberry jams, jellies and pie. Pumpkin? Same deal. We picked up a couple additional items (including apple butter and blackberry preserves) and hastily left before spending an enormous amount of money. It would easily be possible.

On our way out of the orchard we decided to do a little adventuring, so we took a left out of the orchard (our house is to the right) and decided to just pick a road to drive down. We soon found ourselves winding around Saugatuck Reservoir, a monstrous lake that was something out of a travel guide. Since it was a gorgeous day (the sun was out, it was cool and the views were breath-taking), there were quite a few groups of bikers pedaling around the lake. This made it difficult at times to pass, especially since there were no straight lengths of road and it was very narrow. We did manage our way around as well as get some good pictures in, but they really hold nothing to actually seeing the lake.

Our final stop was the Sycamore Drive-In, a tiny burger joint that is known for having some crazy-good burgers as well as occasional nostalgic car gatherings. Yummy food, good service. What a way to end the day!

So the Fish and I decided that today we would do a little adventuring and head North. We drove East to Farmington, then North to Torrington and then back home...all by using only back roads. It took quite a while since none of the streets actually point towards your destination; we were constantly referring to the Maps app on the Fish's iPhone.

It's beautiful back country and we even had a chance to witness a rogue thunderstorm as we stopped for lunch (at Five Guys Burgers and Fries). It rains hard here...none of that pee-pee rain we used to get in sunny SoCal. We both loved it, but there were times where it was a bit hard to see, even with the windshield wipers on full blast.

Another fun sidetrack; while we were cruising down one of the main roads, we saw a sign that said 'Fresh, sweet corn' and an arrow pointing down a pretty narrow side road. We pulled over, whipped a U-turn and made our way down that road. It was a twisty road, sometimes paved but most of it dirt. The entire 15 minutes of driving down this road, the Fish and I continually had thoughts of scary movies; men with chainsaws, bigfoot and even crop circles. We arrived at a house, set back from the road, and a sign that said 'Fresh, sweet corn here'. We pulled into the driveway and saw a small hut out front, almost like a tiny, 1-car garage. The door was open and a small sign outside the building simply said "Self Service". The Fish and I looked at each other, slowly got out and entered the building. Another sign was posted: "Corn $5/doz" and a small box to the left that had a final sign: "Drop cash in the box". Are you kidding me? Are people out here really that trusting? I could have loaded up the entire stock and walked out. Heck, I could have taken the cash box as well! It was so refreshing to see such trust; people that can actually trust other people. Of course the Fish and I dropped a $5 bill in the box and only grabbed 12 corn. I mean, that's the right thing to do. I don't think in my, uh, 40+ years, I've ever witnessed something like that in California.

We continued our drive and, as we were passing through New Preston, we did a quick turn down a side street to let the build-up of traffic pass by us. As we did, we noticed a waterfall that fed into a small river running along side the road. We stopped, clicked a few pix and then noticed a sign stating that the road we had turned on was a 'Scenic Route'. Taking that road, it led us through a beautiful lakeside community surrounding the ginormous Lake Waramaug. Not only did we get some fantastic pictures of it, but also some of the surrounding houses. Both the Fish and I said, on numerous occasions, that we wanted 'that house' and 'that house'. Come to find out that most of them were million dollar homes. We're going to need to be saving a bit longer.

Anyway, we will for sure be having more back-road adventures in the future. We've seen signs for fresh garlic, apples and berries (as well as a Buddhist Temple) and will be taking advantage of the great deals on fresh produce. We'll keep y'all posted on our finds.

Monthly Archives: September 2013

Apple Picking – Saturday Drive – 9/7/2013

Discovering Connecticut 9/1/2013 – Central and Northwest