Hartford from Above

This is the City of Hartford as seen from the airplane from which I took yesterday's photos.  We are looking northwest.  The high rise buildings are Hartford's downtown.  The Connecticut River is snaking its way past the city.

The Charter Oak Bridge is the southernmost bridge, in the foreground, connecting US Route 91 northbound with US Route 84 eastbound.  Travelers between New York and Boston would usually use this bridge to by-pass the city's traffic.

The middle bridge is the Founders Bridge.  It brings commuters living east of the Connecticut River into downtown Hartford in the morning and back home in the afternoon.

The northernmost bridge is the Bulkeley Bridge, which carries US Route 84 through the city.

Most of this area doesn't flood in the spring, although there is a riverfront park on the Hartford side that was designed to withstand "wet feet" in the spring.  The park starts south of the Founders Bridge and runs north of the Bulkeley Bridge

Connecticut River Valley

The Connecticut River Valley is very fertile.  The river overflows its banks in the spring, as the snowpack in Vermont and New Hampshire melts and raises the river level.  That brings a new supply of silt to the fields adjoining the river.

These photos were taken on a plane arriving at Bradley International Airport, which serves Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts.  We are about ten to fifteen miles north of Hartford, looking due south.  I think at this point East Windsor is on the left (east of the river) and Windsor is on the right (west of the river).

Avon Old Farms

The Avon Old Farms School in Avon, Connecticut, has a unique rustic architecture.  It would be as comfortable in rural England as in a suburb of Hartford, Connecticut.

The architect of many buildings at Avon Old Farms was Theodate Pope Riddle, who was featured in a post from December.

The school is a boarding school for boys in grades 9 through 12.  The best known alumnus, at least to me, is Brian Leetch, who played hockey on three Olympic teams and had an illustrious 18-year National Hockey League career.  Leetch was with the New York Rangers for most of that time and has been called the best American-born hockey player of all-time.

Weekend Reflections: Quaker Diner

Quaker Diner was introduced to you yesterday through my daughter Susie's photos.  She took a couple of nice reflection photos, too.

If you would like to see more reflection photos, James from Newtown Area Photos hosts Weekend Reflections every Friday.

You can see more of Susie's photographs on Flickr.  She has many wonderful photographs, including photos taken on her six-month long trip in 2008 to South America, South Africa and India.

Quaker Diner

Quaker Diner is on Park Road in West Hartford.  It is one of those wonderful and quaint old diners that only the locals frequent. 

My daughter Susie wanted to have breakfast at Quaker Diner when she visited Hartford a few weeks ago. She brought her camera along.




Thursday is Food for Thoughts on Barcelona Daily Photo. Go take a look at other food-related posts.

Watch Out For Icicles!

 This is a tricky time of the year to be walking up to the front door of a house.  Look up!

 

West End

I think this qualifies for Ruby Tuesday. 

The bright red building is The Spigot, an old-fashioned neighborhood bar.  The West End of Hartford was developed mainly in the 1880 - 1930 time period.  It is loaded with marvelous late Victorian and Colonial Revival buildings.

When I took this photo, the temperature was about 4 degrees Fahrenheit.  One thing about winter in New England, though, is that even when it is cold, the sky is usually blue, which makes it OK.