What a wonderful day! I mapped out a 90 mile day ride that started at our campsite in Portland , crossed the Connecticut river twice, and passed by the Long Island Sound. Along the way were very scenic roads, lots of curves, hills, numerous quaint villages, and a few surprises.
The first surprise was the historic Chester ferry. I didn't see the ferry when I mapped out our route but we ran across signs to the ferry while we were riding thru the quaint town of Chester. It's a small ferry limited to vehicles under 5 tons. As we were crossing the Connecticut river we came across our 2nd surprise. On top of the ridge over-looking the river was a medieval style stone castle. Turns out it was the Gillette Castle that was built by the long ago forgotten actor William Gillette who was the first to bring Sherlock Holmes to life on the stage back in the early 1900's. We spend a couple hours touring the grounds before getting back on the road.
Our route took us down to the borough of Fenwick and along the Long Island Sound. The road takes you right on the shores of the sound. We stopped for lunch in Old Saybrook at Johnny Ad's and enjoyed some clam cake sandwiches. Our route heading back to camp crossed the Connecticut river again but this time on the East Haddam swing bridge instead of the ferry. You are greeted on the other side by the quaint village of East Haddam and it's many historic buildings. Our route back to the campground followed the Connecticut River with more hills and twist to finish out our day.
Very impressed with Connecticut riding!
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