Journal from Friday, June 22nd
Today my
sore throat turned into a full-blown cold. I knew the sniffling sneezing man
next to me on the airplane was bad news. We drove through New Jersey, New York,
and then Connecticut, but got stuck in bad Friday traffic that was compounded by
a thunderstorm and strong rain. Somehow it was still fairly hot, though better
than the day before. Finally we reached the little town of Guilford and stopped
to look around.
The oldest
stone building in the U.S., built in 1639, is in Guilford. At the time the communities built a
bunch of tiny thatch houses and usually squished them all together with a
protective wall around them. Gilford decided to spread out a bit and
instead of the wall, they added four big stone houses that everyone would be
able to crowd into in case of danger or bad weather. The one that has been
restored and is still standing was for Reverend Henry Whitfield and was three stories tall.
We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but there were a lot of household items that were commonly used during that time, like a light that held a reed dipped in wax, which was cheaper than a candle. There was also a kitchen sink that had a wide spout that would lead outside the house for dirty water to drain out of.
Then we
drove around the cute town, saw the pretty shore, and then meandered through
the neighborhoods of quaint Colonial homes.
And then we
saw it—a monstrosity of metal. In the midst of all the light, tall, square
houses was a dark metal round… thing. We finally decided it was a house, but it
was very long and almost looked submarine-ish. We passed it and talked about it
for a bit and then decided we just had to turn back around to take pictures! I
very much would love to know the story behind this house. Or whatever it is.
Ah ha! I found it. As I was posting this blog, I checked Google one last time and realized I'd been previously searching in Gilford, NH rather than in Guilford, CT. The above picture is of a condominium, dubbed "The Spaceship" for obvious reasons. Here is a New York Times article about it.
Check back on Tuesday for the next leg of the trip.
2 comments:
That IS a bizarre building! Wow. Sounds like a great trip - looking forward to learning about the last leg of your trip!
Thanks for sharing a bit of Guilford history. Absolutely love the colonial house with the slate blue door. As for the condominium? Let's just say it's very unusual! Have a blessed weekend Amy!
Post a Comment