FRIDAY, JULY 17th

We had made arrangements to meet the Hannafin's at Roma's Ristorante in Oakville for lunch at 1:00p.m.

Bob, Lee Ann, Larry & Sally

We ordered and we were enjoying some bread and olives. Larry was eating some Italian bread when a cap on his tooth was dislodged. He asked Sally to call his dentist and see if he could see him to make a repair. Larry got an appointment for 2:30p.m. and was off to Winsted. Lee Ann, Sally and I finished our meal and had Larry's boxed to go.

I had removed the 2 middle seats to add storage room and remove some weight, so the only seat available was the small seat in the very rear. The sienna was loaded with stuff most of which had to be removed to get at the seat.

The stuff in the rear of the Sienna

 That done we headed back to Branch Brook Campground to hook up the trailer and head to Meadow Cottage in Norfolk, CT.

Getting hooked-up.

Sally makes sure everything is AOK.

We arrived in Norfolk around 3:00p.m. and sat out on the porch for a cocktail. Chris & Dr. David Melchinger came by and we all had dinner with plenty of wine and good conversation.

Chris and Larry at Meadow Cottage.

We had a great evening and stayed overnight. Saturday morning we headed home to Newington to get ready for out trip to Frenchville, ME.

More about our trip on Thursday, 7/16/15.
We traveled on Rt. 133 up through Bridgewater and on to New Milford to New Preston. In New Preston we stopped at New Preston Kitchen Goods for a quick look around. They have great things for the kitchen, I recommend it.
From there we headed to the Hopkins Vineyard for our next tasting.


















Next door to the vineyard is The Hopkins Inn and it was time for lunch so we decided to eat.


















We had the crab cake salad. Very good!
After lunch we went across the road to the tasting room and went in. A crew from CPTV was there making a promotional video for the up coming Connecticut Wine Festival. No wine tasting because of the video but we did get a wine glass from the vineyard.

Next it was on to Goshen on Rt. 202 through Bantam and a quick stop for ice cream at Arethusa Farm in Bantam.

The next vineyard was Miranda Vineyard.  We did a tasting and decided to head home. On the way we went to check out several other vineyards that were in the neighborhood. First was Sunset Meadow Vineyard and then Haight Vineyard which was the last stop.

Back to Branch Brook Campground.

Today was filled with action! The morning was bright and the sky a deep blue. I was out early looking for the Heron in the pond. I saw him in the water and he flew up into a tree as I approached.

Next it was off to breakfast at Patti's Place.

 Patti's is on 4 Park Street corner of Main Street in Thomaston. It is the old diner from years gone by.

 Lee Ann ordered Buttermilk pancakes with blueberries and I had scrambled with home fries, both were delicious.

 The service was good and the Owner Patti (center) and Tess (91yrs. old) added to the atmosphere.

 Back to Oscar to get ready for tour. I planned to do a loop of the Connecticut Wine Trail from Branch Brook Campground. The first stop was DiGrazia Vineyard in Brookfield.

To Be Continued.

We left home at 1115 today headed for Branch Brook Camping Ground in Thomaston, CT.

Dick Poinelli came over to help us hook and he has much more experience and his help was very much appreciated. Thanks Dick. When we left Tremont Street we headed to the Shell station at Maple Hill Ave and New Britain Ave to top off the rear tires on the Sienna. There was construction and we had to be careful. We pulled in to the station to the air pump and stopped. The mechanic asked us to pull forward because we were blocking a bay to the garage. We decided to forget it and proceeded on our way.

We arrived at the campground at 1230 and started to set up. The sky looked grey and threatening. Things went well and we were finished by 1320, time for lunch. Well as soon as we were inside of Oscar the sky opened up.

It rained very hard and when it was over we received 1.25" in 2 hours. We were having lunch and there was no concern.

Lunch was left overs from yesterday and very good. We sat out the rain

  and then I went to check the rain gauge, there is a small pond behind our site and there was a Blue Heron in the pond, very special.

It was getting late and time for cocktails so we went to get some ice. We had some refreshment and 2 game of Cribbage which Lee Ann WON! That deck may end up in the pond with the Blue Heron if things don't change.

Dinner was pasta and meat balls, Concha-y-Toro red wine for a beverage. After clean up we walked the camp ground and back to settle in and add to the Blog. Things are going very well, STAY TUNED!
LEE ANN & BOB

We are getting ready for tomorrow's trip. Oscar is on the launch pad.

Our first camping trip is scheduled for July 15-17 at Branch Brook Campground. Here is the weather for our short trip, should be interesting.
Stay tuned!