Lebanon, CT

This afternoon we took a ride to the historic town of Lebanon, Ct. 
In May of 1775 the General Assembly established a Council of Safety to plan the defense of the colonies during the revolutionary war.  Being on the cross roads of the routes between Norwich to Hartford and Boston to New York, Lebanon was the logical place to meet. 

This is a picture of Governor Jonathan Trumbull’s House.  He was the only governor to support the war for independence.  Under his leadership, Connecticut was credited with providing a substantial proportion of the provisions to the continental army.  General Washington himself considered Governor Trumbull invaluable to the success of the struggle for independence.

Governor Trumbull’s store became the War Office.  Nearly 1200 sessions of the Council of Safety met here.  Washington, Franklin, Jefferson and William Williams, Connecticut’s signer of the Declaration of Independence met here at various times.




The First Congregational Church was built in 1706 and was designed by John Trumbull, Jr who became a  revolutionary war artist.  It’s his portrait of Hamilton that appears on the ten dollar bill.


These buildings all surround an area called “The Green”.  French troops were quartered here during the winter of 1780-1781.
Another interesting part of Connecticut’s history.

USS Nautilus

We spent today doing some sightseeing around New London, CT.  First place was the Historic Ship Nautilus and the Submarine Force Museum.  The Nautilus was the first nuclear powered submarine and began its maiden voyage on January 17, 1955. 

The Nautilus departed Pearl Harbor on July 23, 1958 to begin “Operation Sunshine” the first crossing of the North Pole by a ship. 
On August 3, 1958 the Nautilus had accomplished the impossible – reaching geographic North Pole.

When we started the self guided tour, we were handed a phone like recorder.   At various spots during the tour, we would press a number and listen as we toured that area.

This museum is very well done and its all free!!


We also visited the National Submarine Memorial.  This is a memorial to all the submarines and crews that went down during World War II. 

I’ve mentioned before that my uncle was a submariner.  He served during WWII and lost many good friends.  He was very instrumental in getting this memorial built, so it was important to me to see what he was so very proud of. 

At each flag, is the name of the submarine and the date it went down. 
Then around the side is a black wall, similar to the Viet Nam Memorial, with all the names of those lost during WWII on a submarine. 





It was a good day.

Eastern States Exposition

Friday was opening day at the “Big E” and we decided to go.  The Big E is a combination state fair of the New England States.  Each state has a house which is modeled after its capital building.  Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
Each building has information, crafts and foods that come from these states.

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People from all the states compete in the normal categories most state fairs have.  We walked through the buildings full of cows, sheep, chickens and other small animals.
One of the highlights for me was sitting (after all the walking) and seeing Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere and the Raiders.  Who remembers coming home from school to watch “Where the Action Is”?  If you watched the show you would remember this group.  Ed enjoyed watching me bop and sing to the old songs.   

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He still sounds good after all these years!