"Home Sweet Everyone-Is-Ther ..." a Connecticut Travel Page by Kristin

I grew up in the hills of Northwestern Connecticut; specifically, I grew up in Torrington. My third-grade teacher told us that "Torrington" was an "old Indian name" for "town surrounded by hills". Of course, this couldn't be right because a) "ring" and "ton" are basic English, and b) there is a Torrington in England. Regardless.

Torrington is the birthplace of John Brown, the American abolitionist. It is also the site of the world's first condensed milk factory. I think there is only a sign left indicating the site, though, as the factory burned down about thirty years after it was built.

Torrington may be a large city for the area, but it feels pretty small to me. The most compelling reason for me to go back is because the majority of my family is still in the area. There are other compelling reasons, though: namely, the Berkshire Cafe's pizza and salad dressing, and Shiek's grinders and hot dogs (hot dogs are only available on Saturdays).

You can also hike and use the lake at Burr Pond, or take in a show at the Warner Theatre downtown. The Warner was built in 1931 by Warner Brothers as a movie theatre, and all through my childhood I remember the drive for restoration and renovation. The repairs have greatly improved the atmosphere of the theatre and there are many shows to be taken n throughout the year. One of my favorites is the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts' annual production of The Nutcracker, but that's probably because I was in it when I was four!

Torrington is surrounded by some beautiful rural areas. Litchfield, Goshen, Kent, Cornwall - and so on, and so forth. If you're in the area, just pick a rural highway (4, 44, 202, 7, 63) and just drive north or west, and you will see some beautiful scenery on your way to New York or Massachusetts. There are many hidden gems in these hills, such as the Cornwall Covered Bridge, White Memorial in Litchfield, and Kent Falls in Kent. Country and quiet, this area is the epitomy of beauty in Connecticut.

You can get from one end of Connecticut to the other in under two hours, so if you're there for a few days it's easy to explore. New London and Mystic are shore towns in the southeastern corner of Connecticut, the exact opposite of Torrington and its surroundings. Mystic is a quaint town which holds the Mystic Seaport and Aquarium. There is shopping and eating to be done in small, local stores that have been around for as long as I can remember. New London is slightly more "urban" and is home to the Coast Guard Academy as well as beautiful Connecticut College. New London's Fort Trumbell area was the reason for a lawsuit a few years ago ($L[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelo_v._New_London]Kelo v. City of New London%L* relating to the principle of eminent domain - the government's right to appropriate private property for public use. The decision was widely criticized, and the case is worth reading about if you're into that sort of thing.