We woke up this morning without anything on our exploring agenda. Peggy was looking at the road atlas and noted we were camped right near the border between Massachusetts and Connecticut so we decided, since we had never been in Connecticut, to travel there so we could tell people we had actually been there. We hopped on a little, narrow, cratered Massachusetts highway called 131 and headed mostly south towards the Connecticut border.
Hwy 131 crosses directly into Connecticut with the same numerical designation but miraculously, as soon as we crossed the border, the roads immediately improved. The roadbed was wide enough to drive on and remain in one lane, the striping was excellent, the signage was completely clear about destinations and routes and traffic was actually scarce.
There must be some fundamental difference between the strategies each New England state has about roads because the differences between the quality of the roadway systems is so glaring. I know old Mitt Romney, multi-millionaire twerp and former Massachusetts governor, had a policy to slice taxes to the bone which, unfortunately, had a self-destructing effect on the state’s highways. We noted that Connecticut must collect ample road tax to adequately fund their highway maintenance program because fuel costs 70 cents per gallon more in Connecticut than in Massachusetts.
We moseyed along going mostly west in Connecticut on Highways 12, 44 and 74 where the scenery is quite beautiful. It is a mix of hardwood forests, small farms and rural villages which have a myriad of magnificent wood-framed and masonry buildings. Although most of the wood-framed buildings are basically the same style, they all have little architectural features that make them unique. Most of the masonry structures are municipal government buildings, churches and abandoned factories. They are quite stunning for an architecture fan like me.
Leaving the state highway, we turned onto I-84 which was a gorgeous, multi-lane, well-paved freeway until we crossed back into Massachusetts where the paving is pockmarked with the trademarks of poor design and inadequate maintenance. The change is quite drastic and easily noted by even the most spaced-out of cell phone operating swerving drivers. We rattled our way back to Sturbridge, where we found a seafood joint called Sturbridge Seafood. They had a great tap beer selection and tip-top chowder, fish and chips. It was a bit pricey but the food and drink was stellar so we are in no position to object. We also found an adjacent real discount liquor store which had a superb selection and much better prices than the Big Discount Liquor store in Southbridge we chickened out on yesterday. Our medicinal alcohol supply has been restored to a very robust state and we also have found quite a good bit of porter which blows up both our dresses.