Return to Connecticut:

We had such a wonderfully peaceful time in our short stay in Brooklyn, Connecticut that we decided to revisit the "Quiet Corner." With so many places to see, returning to a destination is something we rarely, if ever, will do.

We picked a perfect time to head back to Connecticut, during the Fall when all of the leaves were changing. As we left the traffic of the city behind, I sat back and enjoyed the scenery of the autumnal dance of the tree colors. I find it fascinating to discover, in every sense of the word, the mysteries and treasures of a town or area. For instance, everyone knows that Disney World is full of rides, children and Mickey Mouse, while Las Vegas conjures up slot machines, the strip and showgirls, but when we visit a small piece of America, I feel like there is a true adventure that lay ahead. Although, we may research an area, we still feel as if the unknown is waiting to be experienced. Every state and every town, no matter how small, has something unique to offer as far as museums, local history, restaurants, shops and most especially - the people.

So here we find ourselves, once again, leaving the noisy city and entering the quiet corner of Connecticut. Perhaps there's an enchanted spell over this northeastern section of the state because when we approached the area, not only did the trees turn more vibrant colors of red and oranges, but the atmosphere seemed to whisper "relax."

We drove through Willimantic, Connecticut and stopped at the Willimantic Brewery Company and Main Street Cafe. The cafe opened in 1991, but is now in its third location; an abandoned granite and limestone 1909 United States Post Office building. Donald loved the retrofit of the old postal design. The inside, though modernized, used a lot of wooden beams and Post Office memorabilia. In a continuance of the postal theme, the menu featured many items with a reference to the building's former life - "air mail wings," "returned to tenders," and "letters and tomatoes." I appreciated the sense of humor. I had the corn chowder and a build-your-own sandwich, where you could pick a hamburger, veggie burger or grilled chicken breast and add your own toppings to your liking. After driving all morning, they both hit the spot.

Adjacent to the main dining room, which was once the mail-sorting room, is the in-house brewery. Donald ordered the "aero post-ale," from over a dozen ales to choose from and a tuna steak sandwich. This seemed like a lively place that specializes, not only in good food, but good beer and an atmosphere of bringing people together. They are known for movie nights, beer tasting, brewery tours, four-course beer dinners and live music. The time we chose to visit the quiet corner was the Columbus Day Weekend and it happened to also be their 14th Annual Walking Tour Weekend. Over 30 free walking tours were offered throughout and the area was very busy with visitors, as well as extra activities. I thought it was a great way to showcase the area.

Like many towns built up along a river, Willimantic was originally a mill town. A huge mill, Windham Textiles, produced thread here for over 130 years and the stone facility still stands. Unfortunately, like many American businesses, production relocated to a foreign country, citing the cheap labor there. Across from the factory, stands the Willimantic Textile Museum, which opened 15 years ago in order to preserve the great mill background and history of this area, called appropriately "Thread City."

From Post Office to Brewery

This was, at one time, one of the biggest thread mills in the world, producing 40,000 types of thread. Now, if you are like me, you can't even fathom that many types of unique threads, but evidently they created a distinct thread for seat belts, fire hoses, sailing ships, baseballs and much more. Of course, there were threads of every color as well as larger spools for businesses and smaller ones for home use.

The building stands rather majestically made from stones built with hand chisels and hoisted with ropes. The fa?ade is dotted with window after window and our museum tour guide reminded us that at the turn of the century they still relied on natural light in order to work.

The museum is housed in two buildings across from the structure