[renovating]

Originally Posted by Antonio84

Mid to late October and early November is peak season, but some years its cut short by a freak storm that sweeps the area too early. So, if there are no freak storms, it should be peak when you visit.

I don't remember too many freak storms but trees are usually bare on Halloween. The toilet paper in the bare trees from mischief makers is quite visible!

[KH02]

I agree, all the leaves have usually fallen by Halloween. I went back and checked our Halloween photos from past years to be sure..

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by KH02

I agree, all the leaves have usually fallen by Halloween. I went back and checked our Halloween photos from past years to be sure..

I think it depends to a degree on where in the state you're located. The past 2 years, there have been plenty of leaves still on the trees at Halloween in the area south of the Merritt Parkway.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

I think it depends to a degree on where in the state you're located. The past 2 years, there have been plenty of leaves still on the trees at Halloween in the area south of the Merritt Parkway.

I agree, but I think the first week of Nov is pushing it a bit. The Northwest Hills are the first to go with peaks in the 10-12 range IMO, then central CT with peaks in the 10-16/18 region...a little later in the South and IMO the last to go is Southeast CT.

It gives many opportunities for drives during different times of the month.

Where I live (1000 foot ridge) East of the river, we actually have this weird little micro climate about 1-2 miles large and the leaves tend to be a week behind the rest of the area. My back yard has color long long after the trees at lower elevations are bare. Kind of neat actually.

[AntonioR]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

I think it depends to a degree on where in the state you're located. The past 2 years, there have been plenty of leaves still on the trees at Halloween in the area south of the Merritt Parkway.

Absolutely.

Sometimes we forget that there is no such thing as a Connecticut, but rather, various Connecticuts. "My" Connecticut is the panhandle and down here we have had years where even in the middle of November many trees still had leaves on them, not green leaves, but leaves none-the-less.

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by Antonio84

Absolutely.

Sometimes we forget that there is no such thing as a Connecticut, but rather, various Connecticuts. "My" Connecticut is the panhandle and down here we have had years where even in the middle of November many trees still had leaves on them, not green leaves, but leaves none-the-less.

Photo Tour of Coastal Southeast Connecticut….

Coastal Southeastern Connecticut (southern New London County) is perhaps the least represented area of the State on City Data. As anyone who has traveled throughout Connecticut (ALL of Connecticut) knows too well… it’s quite hard to pigeonhole a certain “Connecticut image”as stated above. What is notable about southern New London County…is it seems to be full of images so extremely OPPOSITE of places in northern Connecticut, especially Litchfield County.

Litchfield County - a place of rugged hills, farms, rural country estates, colonial/New Englandy style home architecture, a landlocked, isolated, high elevation region, with the coldest/snowiest winters in CT… seems in great contrast with coastal New London County – a mostly flat, low lying, urban/suburban region, with a nautical/beach theme, with contemporary coastal home architecture, a region that is mostly vacation orientated, and mild winters with little snow. At times it’s hard to believe they are in the same state only 120-miles apart.

So here are some images traveling from the southeast coast of Connecticut (coastal New London County), from Saybrook Point right to land’s end at Stonington Point mostly along the coastal highways of Route 156, Route 213, and old US Route 1.

(Saybrook): The Baldwin/I-95 bridge heads over the mouth of the Connecticut River near the Saybrook marinas. One of the biggest public boat launches in Connecticut is located under the bridge (dock is just visible):


(Old Lyme): A quite morning at Miami Beach, Old Lyme…




(East Lyme): Coastal eastern Connecticut is full of bridges and roads that go over bays, coves, harbors, and through marshes. Here is the drawbridges (both road/and train) over Niantic Bay…




(East Lyme): Rocky Neck State Park/Beach: A blinding white sheet of some of the softest sand in the United States (morning shot/and packed at noon) is here…






(New London): The New London Harbor Lighthouse is the OLDEST and TALLEST (88 feet) lighthouse on the Connecticut coast, built in 1801. In 1855 the Lighthouse Board installed a fourth-order lens, and new keepers dwellings were built in 1863. The fog signal has been in use since 1874, and was automated in 1947. The lighthouse is still in use toady…



(New London): New London Ledge Lighthouse: The Lighthouse Board established this lighthouse to mark the ledge of undersea rock on which it rests. In high seas in the hurricane of 1903, many boats hit the undersea rocks and sunk. A modern building was built in 1908 of brick and granite trim with a mansard roof. In 1987 the light was automated and is still in use today. However, the New London Ledge Light does have a tragic story and a haunted history. The ghost of a former light keeper named "Ernie" jumped off of the roof of the lighthouse after his wife ran off with the Block Island Ferry captain. Some believe that Ernie still haunts the lighthouse, and tales of strange events from former US Coast Guardsmen, boaters, and even residents along the coast keep the legend alive. Many have reported having the sheets ripped off of their bed, doors opening and closing on their own, televisions turning off, the foghorn being turned off and on, as well as boats being untied and left adrift. Some claim to have even seen a figure washing the lighthouse decks…



(New London): New London Harbor Lighthouse from the beach. Coastal Connecticut seems to be the spot on the East Coast where the more colonial architecture of New England starts to become mixed with modern, contemporary, and even Mediterranean style homes and hotels. These styles seem to fit with the coastal location. At times, homes and buildings in coastal Connecticut seem much closer to Bermuda than farmhouse New England (lol)…






(New London): The old Lighthouse Inn in New London… hopefully it will soon be brought back to its former 1920’s grander….




(New London): Ocean Beach Park New London…and the Boardwalk…




(New London): The Ferry is big business between Long Island, NY and southeast Connecticut…




(Mystic) : Mystic village at Exit 90 – off I – 95. Whalers and sea captains brought their cargo to/from Spain, Portugal, and the West Indies here. Today it’s a little funkier and a little less nautical, but it still gives you an idea of what coastal life was like 200 years ago. (lol)…



(Mystic): The Mystic Aquarium…




(Mystic): Many of the same styles you see preserved in Mystic… you’ll in many of the old port cities on the East Coast like Newport, RI, Charleston, SC, and Key West, Florida…



(Stonington Village): Turning of old US 1 and heading down water street you see the greatest collection (in one spot) of pre-1900 buildings in Connecticut (besides the Yale campus). Stonington’s first banks opened with the Custom House in 1838. Sea captains and merchants walked these narrow streets 150 years ago...




(Stonington Point): Stonington Harbor Lighthouse built in 1840, was used until 1889, when the Lighthouse Board replaced it with the Stonington Breakwater Light. It has survived British bombing, cannons from the Civil War, and the tidal surge of the 1938 hurricane. It is now a Maritime Museum…



(Stonington Point): This is where Long Island Sound ends and the open Atlantic begins. At this exposed point your get the feeling that you are one step away from heading “out to sea”. To your southeast is Napatree Point just over the state line. Many people seem to migrate here at day’s end. There seems to be finality when you reach this point in Connecticut…this is lands end in Connecticut.




Watching waves from Hurricane Bill this past August at Napatree Point, RI…just over the CT/RI State line. You’ve now reached the open sea and the crashing waves of the restless Atlantic. Looking south the next landmass is Grand Turk Island in the Bahamas… 1300 – miles due south.

Should we swim for it?






...

[GrotonMan]

Awesome post Wavehunter. Love the pictures and commentary.

[AntonioR]

On Friday I had a nice surprise. As the airplane I was in began its final approach into the Westchester County Airport, the airplane flew right over southwestern Fairfield county! I managed to take a few pics.

Here are short descriptions of each photo, from left to right:

1. Expensive estates in New Canaan.

2. Westhill High School in Stamford.

3. Downtown Stamford

4. Downtown Stamford

5. I-95 in Stamford.

6. Cummings Park and West Beach. In the upper left corner Cove Island Park is partly visible.

7. Beautiful homes in Shippan Point, Stamford.

[Cambium]

Just a wild turkey roaming around in Norwalk. LOL

[itscolduphere]

Farmington Valley; some from Sept. 08, some from last week...