New England Fall

Shortly after we moved to Connecticut in July of 2018, I began thinking about fall! My sister and her family had lived in Philadelphia for 2 years and Rob’s sister JJ and her family had lived in Fairport, New York for over a year and both of them had mentioned many times how beautiful fall was in the East; I was truly looking forward to experiencing a New England fall for myself!

When we moved out to CT, we heard such wonderful things about the fall in the Eastern states, our Spangenberg family even planned a special trip out to the East Coast to visit for our first fall in Connecticut; 2000+ mile drive one way in their RV! We had done research about the peak leaf season, and the most scenic routes to drive to experience the beauty of this expectantly colorful season. But sadly, from what we saw last year (fall of 2018) it was one of the shortest and uncharacteristically falls in Connecticut and Vermont in a long time. I distinctly remember looking out our living room windows every morning in September and October hoping to see bright yellows and oranges lighting up the trees across the street from our little basement apartment, and getting so excited when I saw the first leaves changing, but then the leaves fell within a week of their arrival, leaving the trees bare and ugly. It was so sad and disappointing! We had really worked up our expectations only for them to be let down shortly after the first signs of color began.

It is now late October a year later and the last few weeks we have had a completely different experience with fall! From what I remember, last year around this time, it was overcast, chilly, and the colors were pretty dull. This past week alone has been more colorful than I remember the entire fall season being last year. Hueblin Tower trail is lined with leafy yellow giants, and the view from the top of the hill is like a painting splashed with bold oranges, vibrant reds, golds, and greens. Sleeping Giant trail was dense with rich yellow tones and when the wind rustled the leaves loose from the trees it rained flecks of gold! It was magnificent. The West Hartford reservoir is pure magic right now, with towering trees and radiant colors everywhere you look! I have had my doubts about Connecticut, and it has yet to win me over, but I have fallen in love with this true New England Fall and don’t ever want it to end! Even if Connecticut never fully wins me over, I will forever love and hope to be in the East in the fall. I have never seen anything like this. The colors are heavenly! It is everything you dream of and hope for. It brings sunshine to my soul, it is pure magic!