Father's Day GPS Adventure

OK, so I admit that I am probably the last person on earth to not have a GPS in my car. :) My father does, and being a nerd (hey, I say that out of love because I get my nerdiness from him!) he loves to argue with it. He loves to challenge it. He loves to complain that it's not going the right or most efficient way.

My mother read an article in the New York Times a few months back about a couple brewpubs here in Connecticut, and had the brilliant idea to send us all on a GPS-only Wild Goose Chase for Father's Day.

She programmed the GPS for Willimantic, a part of Connecticut none of us has ever really been to, and the Willimantic Brewing Company as our final destination. I learned my respect for GOOD beer from my dad, who brewed his own for years. :)



So, not having a CLUE where he was going, he was only allowed to do what the GPS told him to do. It was torture! But it was a blast.

If you're familiar with Willimantic ("Willi" to the locals) you've seen these guys.



They sit upon thread spools, and are affectionately called The Frog Bridge, or Thread City Crossing, for Windham's rich thread and textile mill history.

The frogs are a sort of inside joke... they hearken back to the Battle of Frog Pond, "a harrowing night in 1754 when townspeople rushed outside with their muskets to defend themselves from an unseen screeching menace. The next morning, they discovered scores of dead frogs, who had fought for the last remaining puddles of water in a drought-stricken lake." Hee hee.



And they're everywhere... even on the brewery's signage. (Which was incidentally in the old post office, hence the postmark look.)


It was a great place!


With TONS of house brews... and more "guest" beers on tap as well!


It was a necessity to get the sampler, and try them out... but they were all delicious!


But I think this was my most favorite detail of all!!!


We all wished it was closer... there isn't anything like it down here on the shoreline, where you can get, say, a growler of a tasty house recipe for super cheap. :) So, we'll just have to make another trip out someday. I know we passed LOADS of cool old buildings I can't wait to go back and shoot... and a lot of farm equipment dealerships. ;)