A Local Jaunt

(See that Churrascaria up in the corner there? We have QUITE the Brazilian population here, and there are little Brazilian delis and bakeries all up and down Main Street. Mmmm.)

Last weekend, we headed out to nearby Bethel, CT to have us a little Local Fun. Autumn on the East Coast is magical, and nowhere is it more so than the tiny towns that surround us here in rural New England. The pictures above are of our (rather) picturesque Main Street, in the town where we live. (For any music buffs out there - Charles Ives was actually born and raised here, and the apartment building where he lived is still standing on Main Street.)

We stopped off at the Sycamore Drive-In Restaurant in Bethel, CT. Can you say ca-yuuute? The inside is tricked out in true vintage fashion, with an ancient jukebox in the back and loads of 50's paraphernalia along shelves on the walls. They serve a tasty thin beef patty on a squishy white bun, with at least 15 different toppings formulations to choose from. (We went the Dagwood route, and were not disappointed.) The fries were great, but lost a lot of their oomph after a few minutes sitting on the table. (Read: Eat the fries first!) The onion rings were also awesome, and the housemade root beer in a frosty mug made me believe in American soda again.

As we wound our way back home, I shot a few more pictures out of the moving car.

(A house. Just a house. But this house is so typical of the houses you find near "downtown" in the rural towns here. It's so very different to the houses I've seen in other areas of the country, I thought I'd share. I have no idea how old this house is, but I'd wager it's Rather Old.)

This is a cemetery. We have lots of cemeteries out here. Lots. They are everywhere, and they are old. (Incidentally, the trick or treating here is INTENSE. A friend of mine lives on a main-ish street, and prepares for upward of 300 trick or treaters each year. She turns off her lights when she runs out of candy, not when she runs out of trick or treaters.)