Friday, March 30, 2012

Collinsville, CT - more than I thought!

For years Collinsville has been where I take a right over the bridge, glance quickly at the empty mill buildings, re-focus rapidly on the kayak store, make a left and forget about Collinsville until I go home two days later and reverse the order.

Today was different.

I knew that there was a small store just after the bridge that crosses the wide water falls that specializes in energy efficiency products. I had paused there once before but it was closed and this was the first time that the store was open when I was passing by so I stopped in to see what they had on hand.

After a few minutes, I found what I was looking for but was informed that they only accepted cash or check. (Checks? Who carries their check book with them any more?!) The proprietor informed me that across the road and up the hill was the "Collinsville Savings Society" which had an ATM on the side of the building. Since he had a slight foreign accent, I assumed that in Brussels (or from wherever he hailed) they referred to banks as "societies" as I had never heard this term before. He assured me that it was walking distance and having been in the car for ~3 hours by that time, a little stretching of the legs up the hill sounded pretty good.

Upon rounding the bend and arriving at the foot of the main street on the other side of the road, I found a utterly quaint downtown laid out before me. A market and deli with outdoor cafe seating was on the left side of the street complete with an older fellow unpacking a fiddle and some other tiny stringed instrument. The right side of the street had an old building with a variety of businesses in it including a place called "Flea Circus" which beckoned me with its unusual name and descriptive bullets saying "Items. Objects. Art. Stuff." (or something like that) Further up on the left was, indeed, the Collinsville Savings Society - a bank. As I exited the ATM, the clickety of hard-soled shoes on granite steps caught my attention and held it with his snappy attire including a real bow tie, wing tip shoes, and... I'm pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating... A pocket watch tucked and chained inside his three piece suit. I looked around to see if there were movie cameras because this place TRULY looked like something out of "The Truman Show" or some other film depicting an idyllic small town. It was complete with picket fences, freshly painted white houses with perfect green shutters and blooming daffodils, and a sloping brick-faced main street with a view of the river.

I slowed my pace on the way back down and, having started my day in a very cranky mood, made myself take notice of this little slice of small town-ness right on the path I've beaten between my home and my family's home for years. Right here - a sandwich shop for a good bite to eat instead of at the Dunkin Donuts or MacDonalds just down the road. A "savings society". An energy efficiency store. A gallery or two. Picket fences and idyllic scenery. Right here all the time!

I, of course, had to swing into Flea Circus for a peek and found that it was their first day in business! I was inches from swooping up the perfect baby gift for some VT friends due with baby number 1 in October but it was not for sale (unless I could guarantee the shop owner that when she has babies she can come over and photograph her kids in it). Dying to know what it is, eh K? :-) Well... It's a very old green tin baby tub that looks like a metal recliner. It's very cool! But despite my best efforts, it was not for sale. :-( I did find some very cool, very large metal hooks perfect for our coatrack projects so I scooped them up before heading back down the hill to make my purchase at the energy store and hit the road.

Again, despite being grateful for my brother's successful surgery the day before, I had been having a VERY hard time shaking my deep crankies but this short stop in Collinsville did the trick!

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