There are an amazing number of no-fee, lovely state parks in Connecticut and I spent time in one of them today. It's just north of Brookfield and called Lover's Leap Park because of the bridge (originally wooden planks, rebuilt in 1895 with spiffy red iron sidings) from which, tradition has it, the Pootatuck Indian Chief Waramaug’s daughter, Princess Lillinonah, and her lover plunged to their deaths late in the mid-eighteenth century. One trail leads to the rock formation that gives the park its name and for the most part is an easy walk. There is another alluring branch of the path that heads slightly steeply downward and around to end up at water's edge, and another twist would take you onto a promontory with the scene (seen) here. I will go back soon in appropriate shoes to finish both, since the possibility of losing my camera and/or my neck did not outweigh the pleasure of doing either in flip-flops which were more than adequate for path walking but unlikely to be so for what I could see of the others. I had not planned on this tiny adventure but could not resist once I saw it and did not have sneakers with me, let alone hiking shoes. I am a poor excuse for a well-prepared boy scout, patently, although I did extricate a cigarette end and drink cup, like a good steward.

Another pleasure of the day were sweet ground cover, a frequent late summer treat along with purple clover and lacy white flowers. Some interesting tree root and rock formations suggested serious storm activity now and then. The weather was neither too hot nor too humid for a leisurely walk and the tree cover was enough to keep one from baking but so thick as to not let the sun through. And there were hardly any flying or buzzing things to discourage one even a little. There were two motorcyclists but they just shot through and went around quickly, not disturbing anyone. And there were only two other groups of people walking along while I was there, one a quartet of high school students talking about what subjects they were taking this semester (school starts tomorrow for them) and what they like and loathe. They almost scampered passed me taking their picnic things down this cliff toward the fairly large ledge a bit of the way down that seems perfect for a pleasant hanging-out picnic, if a bit scary to contemplate how easy it would be to hurt oneself and/or fall off. One of the boys stopped, turned and said, "oh, sorry, are we taking your place? were you on your way there?" I hadn't been and I said I hadn't been but how gracious it was of him to ask. He smiled and went on his way. Nice moment. Nice park.

Brookfield also has a well-reputed Craft Center with a shop and a nice sitting / eating / chatting area beside a rushing creek and waterfall. I may have to take a class there to repay them for allowing me the relaxation and delight of spending time in both.

As I made my way north before going home, I stopped in Kent because it's seemed the perfect place to stop for a cup of tea on my way home. It turned out their library was having a great big book sale, than which there is little that's as much fun, to my way of thinking. I resisted the set of Dickens that was too musty even for me but did pick up an early Peter Pan edition with lovely plate etchings and an illustrated sequel to Heidi (you'd think I knew Johanna Spyri wrote other books but I didn't, until then - she wrote 27 others, to be precise!). I also got the book of In a Lonely Place and felt bad that I hadn't thought to find out that one of my favorite movies is based on a book (by Dorothy Hughes who also wrote Ride the Pink Horse, another marvelous noir film); I can't wait to read it. Then I strolled through some of Kent's charming stores, ideal for gift-giving browsing and buying. I topped the day off spooning smooth strawberry gelato, sitting on a wooden bench beside a tree on a bright green expanse of grass. What a nice day.

Labels: places, travel, weather