CT Flickr Meetup - May Meetup May 18, 2008

Our next official meetup will be Sunday, May 18th in Northeastern CT. Dot is our local expert this month. Here's the agenda:

**** Please be sure to RSVP for this one, as the vineyard has asked Dot to provide an estimated head count. ****

8:30am - Early Bird start at Bafflin Sanctuary (CT Audubon)
220 Day Road, Pomfret
Click here and scroll down to #18 for more information about the sanctuary and directions.

10:00am - Official Start - Leaving from Bafflin Sanctuary and traveling up Rt. 169
Come meet us at Bafflin Sanctuary (again, scroll down to #18 here for directions).

At this time, we'll head up Rt. 169 through the beautiful town of Pomfret (two exclusive prep schools with great buildings) and on to Historic Woodstock Hill & Common. This area is on the National Historic District Registry and there is a 1 mile (easy) walk around the town common. We will be able to photograph Roseland Cottage, a restored pink 1846 Gothic Revival House with great gardens. The building will likely be closed for the season, but we can shoot outdoors. There is also an arboretum with rare plants, an early meetinghouse, a graveyard with stones dating from 1687, and homes dating from 1776. Parking is available at Palmer Memorial Hall (Woodstock Historical Society) on Rt. 169.

12pm - Lunch - Vanilla Bean Cafe
If we have time, a trip across the road will take us to Martha's Herbary with great gardens and a wonderful shop.

1:30pm - Sharpe Hill Vineyard
There is a self guided tour of the vineyard leading to a spectacular view of parts of CT, MA and RI. The tasting room is open from 11 am to 5 pm. Wine tasting is $5.00 for 5 different samples and the glass may be kept as a souvenir. For those more into wine, there is another tasting for $10.00 which includes their special production wines.

3:30pm - Decision Time!
From the vineyard, Dot has suggested several options. Most likely, we'll be pretty tired by this point (and groaning about work on Monday) so we'll wind up at the We-Lik-It ice cream stand to finish up the day.

Other possibilities include Trailwood - The Edwin Way Teale Memorial Sanctuary, preserved by the CT Audubon Society. An appointment would be required for a tour of Teale's writing cabin, study, and the museum. Or we could walk the trail past a beaver pond, meadows, etc, with no appointment.

Another option is to visit Fenton-Ruby Park and Wildlife Preserve.

Official Website: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ctflickrmeetup/discuss/72157604634836898/