CT - Drive to forget the tax bill! 4/20, Sunday luncheon meet and drive

WHAT: CT - Drive to forget the tax bill!

WHEN: Sunday, April 20, 2008 @ 11am till 3pm
RAIN DATE: Sunday, April 27, 2008 @ 11am till 3pm



WHERE: Begin our drive at the commuter lot off route 15 (Merrit/Cross Parkway) in Derby/Ansonia, CT [exit 58, route 34 depending on traveling north or south make sure its traveling West on Rt 34] at 11am and finish at the same location in the mid-afternoon.

For the GPS folks: Plug in this address -
590 Derby Ave
Orange, CT 06477
Google Map Location of the Commuter Lot



DESCRIPTION:
We will travel north on route 34 through the City of Derby, the smallest city in the state of Connecticut. Following the Lake Zoar River onto route 188 through Great Hill reservoir, we continue on route 188 to Quakers farm. Legend has it that before the first settlers came in 1680, there along the road lived a Quaker. He lived in a house by a babbling brook, in an open field, below the mountain. He never married. And so, the area was called Quaker's Farm. As we drive along the road here, you will see many historic homes dating back before the American Revolution.

Next on the scenic itinerary is the Southford Falls State Park. At the turn of the century, this was the site of the Diamond Match Company. Scenic waterfalls are at the southeast end of the Park on the Eight Mile River. Continuing on route 188 we come to route 67 as we make our way to Southbury. A rural small town which borders another town called Middlebury where I grew up! Driving into Southbury we are going to look for their main street which will connect us to route 172 on to a small town called South Britain.

The village of South Britain is a flourishing place, containing a number of neat buildings, a carpet and several hat factories. This village is surrounded by high hills and precipices, and has a romantic and picturesque appearance. Try not to lose sight of our next turnoff which will get us on back to route 67. This will take us to the town of Roxbury.

For those of you unfamiliar to Roxbury, whose Indian name was "Shepaug", a Mohegan name signifying "rocky water", it was home to a small smelting furnace which provided the building material for such world wonders as the Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Central Station in New York City. It is also home to some notable Roxburians; Ethan Allen (January 21, 1738 – February 12, 1789) Early American revolutionary and guerrilla leader, Green Mountain Boys, Seth Warner (May 17, 1743 - December 26, 1784) Green Mountain Boys, Arthur Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) American playwright, Alexander Calder (July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) American sculptor and artist, Frank McCourt Author, Stephen Sondhiem Broadway playwright, Dustin Hoffman Actor, Denis Leary Actor, Mercer Mayer Children's Book Author Little Critters, and Everett Hurlburt (July 31,1863 - July 1971) Inventor of Aqua Velva after shave!

As we are traveling on route 67 we have to be on the lookout for route 199 that will take us out of Roxbury and onto route 47 through a little town called Washington Depot being named in honor of General George Washington, who traveled through the area several times during wartime. Route 47 will take us onto route 109 which is coincidently called Old Litchfield Road which will take us to our luncheon spot for some eats and greets. But before our first stop let us take a slight detour on route 209 to Bantam Lake. At 933 acres it’s the largest natural body of water in Connecticut. Home to once our former governor of Connecticut forced to resign under controversy involving renovations to his Bantam Lake cottage.

As we round out Bantam Lake we drive onto route 202 that will take us to Litchfield Community Field where we will park for our meet and great. A luncheon will be planned with one of the establishments depending on size of the group. Most likely no reservation is needed and we could enjoy the exquisite offerings Litchfield provides us.

After lunch will drive back to our starting point utilizing a few different routes, but not before we stop off for some home-made ice cream at Woodbury’s Dairy Delight to visit my old friend Charlie White who gave me my first part time job in high school. We drive onto route 63 heading south to Watertown. A quick short cut will be taken to avoid Watertown all together. I know you guys really want to visit the Taft School, a private coeducational prep school located in Watertown, Connecticut. The School’s founder Horace Dutton Taft’s brother was William Howard Taft, who was elected President of the United States in 1908. But Ice Cream awaits us in Woodbury!

We will quickly take a right onto route 132 that will merge onto route 47, note we were on route 47 when we drove through General George Washington’s old stomping grounds. This should bring us onto route 6 that will take us to the center of Woodbury where we will stop at Woodbury’s Dairy Delight for some Ice Cream and chatter. Not only does Woodbury offer us some tasty Ice Cream it is also known for its many antique shops and well-known residents have included Marilyn Monroe, yes the actress and Hayden Carruth, an award-winning poet and critic, grew up in town.

After the ice cream meet we will make our drive back to our starting point. We will continue on route 6 back onto Southbury, then onto route 67 that will take us to Southford Falls. Look for route 188 that will take us past Southford Falls State Park and Quaker's Farm. Route 188 will take us back onto route 34 which will inevitably take us back to the commuter lot for some good byes!

SUMMARY:
Driving distance: 95.5 miles
Trip duration: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Driving time: 2 hours, 45 minutes



Participants:

• Paivag - George
• s2kTC01 - Phil
• Tadashi - Ellen * depends on gas prices
• LazyProfessor - Ryan
• PuFF - Raymond
• FRS2K
• wskS2K - Wendy
• ohthunderroad - Walter
• SCD - Joyce
• SBUCK
• Sparkie - Paul
• ilvmys2000 - maybe
• specialque - maybe
• H20, sailing in SC

Last fall when we did this drive we had some time to kill before lunch so we eventually made our way to Limerock and the lower end of the berkshires for some interesting driving. YMMV

I'm down

I have a large crappy tax bill on the 15th - hope it is a fun drive, I have A LOT to forget

I'm in. I would have posted earlier but I thought this thread was "closed" like one of the other posts I saw.

Going to be a collection of all silver cars at this point Lets recruit some NFR, they will add a nice complement to our colors

Silverstone FTW! - I'm in!

I'm gonna be boat racing in S.C. We did very much enjoy that drive last fall though.

shit...i gotta pay my taxes again this year lol i'll prolly definitely be in to forget that bill

I'd love to join y'all and bring some color to the drive, but I've got plans that day.

Enjoy!!

This thread was unpinned as part of our effort to clena up the stickies heading. the event is listed in the meets and events thread.

Just a Reminder!

Maybe I can make the lunch part in Litchfield. Where you meeting? In the center at the green? Several shops and restaurants there.

I'm in....really enjoyed the last one. Will probably bail after lunch like last time...no sense in heading back down south when I need to go east.

I'd like to join in. Walter

This post has been edited by ohthunderroad on Mar 30 2008, 05:07 PM

Had a good time at the Milford (Hooters) meet today, prompting me to attend as many meets as I can. I'll likely attend but cut loose after the ice cream, headed back east like Wendy. Wendy, thanks for sharing your pics they're great! The drive back from Woodbury isn't bad either for us. In fact my wife and I ended up at The Charcoal Chef in Woodbury for dinner tonight. Went to A Josephs in Thomaston but they were closed? Shucks, had to drive the S a but further!

I'm thinking that since I'm probably gonna be headed for a lot of places I've never been it may be a good idea to join the techies and get a GPS or similar portable device. What does everyone reccomend? I don't want to spend a lot, don't need or want bells and whistles, just get me from point A to point B and back. A 12V plug would be nice though, but that's gotta be standard issue. Oh, and I don't have an engineering degree so it should be reasonably easy to operate. Hate learning how to use devises that should be easy!

Would love to attend, but I'll be in VA.

someone needs to stickie this one.

I am on night call the 19th, I am going to try to switch this call with someone so that Skip and I can join you all. We had a great time at Hooters, it was really nice to meet you all. The drive was lovely. Thanks to all that sent photos they came out great. H2O I will miss you and I hope you have a good time at your sailing event.----------Joyce

This post has been edited by SCD on Apr 2 2008, 01:57 PM

I heard the NUVI 650's can be found fairly reasonable..I think Costco has them. I paid way too much for my NUVI 370 but I wanted the European maps. Its got a few more bells and whistles than I really need like an MP3 player but I do like the bluetooth integration with my phone.

I wouldlike to go for a ride with you all, so count me in. Thanks

Hi All,

John (my +1 now with new 2007) and I have plans to attend Weather permitting.

The wives will be riding shotgun.

Sparkie
Northeast CT

i might be able to go, i just need to convience one of my friends to come with me because it's a 2hrs 30min drive to get there, can you put me down as a maybe?

Thanks Joyce
I REALLY wish I was going!

What time do you think you'll arrive at Litchfield Community Field? It's located on N.Lake St off 202 (West St) correct?

My wife may come along if I leave later. She has an obligation but may get home around 12:30 or a bit sooner. We'd probably be up there around 1pm.

George, I'm going to try to make this, but I'm not 100% sure.

Becky can't go, but she wants to know if the jogger guy will be out again this time