Leaf Peeping in Connecticut

Autumn of 2010 in New York has been warm, but stormy, and it appears the fall foliage will be less than spectacular this year as many trees have already lost their leaves.  So this past weekend my husband and I decided to take a two hour drive up north to Connecticut to see if this New England state would satisfy our urge for autumn leaf peeping.

There was definitely much more autumn color, but even here many of the tress had lost their leaves from the nor'easter storm that had recently passed through.

There were trees in shades yellows and oranges, but not many were this brilliant shade of red.

Non-the-less, the scenery was beautiful!

We drove up to West Cornwall so that we could drive over their historic one lane red colored covered bridge.

Built in 1864, the West Cornwall Bridge is 172 feet long and spans the Housatonic River

After we drove over the bridge I walked back inside it to take these views from a few of the windows.

The Housatonic River as seen from a covered bridge window, facing west.

The Housatonic River, taken from a covered bridge window, facing east

In 1973 the Connecticut Department of Transportation rehabilitated the bridge by inserting a concealed steel deck to support the weight of traffic.The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. 

We sat by the river for awhile, enjoying the peaceful view.

We then walked through part of the charming town of West Cornwall.

There we saw that in this quaint toll house overlooking the Housatonic River, Ian Ingersoll makes reproductions of Shaker furniture.

A pretty residential home whose front garden's pink roses were still blooming!

Across the street, these attached houses were a pretty shade of pink!

Todd Piker's Cornwall Bridge Pottery Store, is 5000 square feet and covers two floors.  It showcases an ever-changing exhibitions of functional hand-thrown, wood-fired pottery that Piker has been crafting for over 35 years.

There was a farmers market going on in the town square with a wonderful array of fresh vegetables and...

.....a large selection of colorful gourds and squash and......

...delicious home baked goods!

We were tempted to buy that last whoopie pie on the pink dish, but instead bought a large oatmeal cookie to share, as we are trying to be diet conscious.

One of my favorite sights in the town was this colorful sculpture of a rooster standing amid the pink rose bush.  He's made from an old red Mobil Oil drum! I thought he had a lot of personality! What do you think?

I have more photos from our get away that I'll show next time, but for today I'm linking to Susan's Outdoor Wednesday, Sue's Rednesday, Cathy's Adventure Tour Express,  Sandi's Friday Favorites Linky Party, and Beverly's Pink Saturday. Please visit all the blogs to join in the fun!