Thanksgiving Weekend

 (Airborne Bicycle by Tim Prentice)

Marie’s friend at the CT DOT, Kathy, was very kind and invited us to join her family for Thanksgiving dinner at their home in East Longmeadow, MA. We had a great time. Interesting people, fun conversations, a relaxed afternoon. Of course, we weren’t doing the cooking. Kathy’s husband, Fred, did a fantastic job preparing all the food, keeping us entertained, and even had time to make Marie a couple of “Purple Gecko” martinis.

Since Marie had Friday off as well and it was a beautiful day, we made an excursion around downtown Hartford in search of sculpture and stuff. Here’s what we found:

  Airborne Bicycle is in Pope Park which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted's sons in 1903.

Spinal Clock by George Boghosian

 Large Vertical Motif by David Hayes (1987) is in front of the public library.

This sculpture was done by Frances Laughlin Wadsworth in honor of the founders of the American School for the Deaf in 1952.  The school is presently in West Hartford.

Soldiers and Sailors Arch in Bushnell Park was designed by George Keller in 1886. 

Occupy Hartford site, in the shadow of Aetna, The Hartford, and Travellers insurance

The Corning Fountain was designed by James Massey Rhind in 1889.  Funded by John Corning of Corning Glass Works whose father was a Hartford businessman.  It is topped with a hart, as in Hartford, with statues of Saukiog indians, native to the area.  A gentleman tried to convince us it was also done by Gutzon Borglum (Mount Rushmore) but I could find no evidence of this.

The construction fencing is down, so we were able to get a shot of the Wadsworth Atheneum.

We started our Sunday morning with breakfast at the nearby Quaker Diner on Park Road in West Hartford.  We walked.  Built in 1931 by the Bassilakis family, it's a real throwback without the chrome.  Not a gourmet experience, but we had fun and the place was packed.

Then we off to the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol on Sunday.  While there was no carousel to ride, there were plenty of beautiful carved animals to enjoy.

Lincoln Penny Horse done in 1909 by Marcus Illions

Sea Horse with double saddled racer behind