Return of the Mantii

On Saturday we drove by O'Rourke's and noticed their new outdoor seating.



A thought crossed my mind which was "Maybe we should go to O'Rourke's for breakfast tomorrow..." and so a plan was hatched for Sunday morning. It was still Saturday, however, and we were driving by O'Rourke's on our way to Wethersfield, to visit Sit'n'Knit because someone needed needles. It wasn't me, but I did buy some yarn. A nice fall-ish scottish tweed, to go with my scotch.



I am knitting a hat (shocker!) with it, but we'll see how that turns out.



Fall is headed our way, but Sunday turned out to be a beautiful end to summer. We did end up at O'Rourke's with Bethany, with a not too long wait, and the always entertaining Middletown Main Street.



Val and Bethany both ordered specials from the verbal menu, and I had a classic with a twist.

Val's bread pudding (!) french toast


Bethany's fritatta with veggie hash


Alex's Casino omelet (crab & bacon) with gravlax (!) on top


After an extravagant and leisurely breakfast, our penance was a hike through Hubbard Park to Castle Craig.



Hubbard Park is really a nice park, but Castle Craig isn't really a castle. After a very rocky, largely vertical trail, we finally reached the summit, where a parking lot (DOH!) greeted us as we emerged from the trees. And the story of "Castle" Craig.



Which basically was the plan of Ol' Crazy Hubbard, but the view is quite nice.









You can actually go up to the top of the tower, which is cool, and should be really nice for the soon-to-be fall foliage season. I think we'll try the parking lot next time.

Upon our return home, there was yet another Praying Mantis on our front door. I don't know if the locals are used to seeing them so frequently, but I certainly am not, and find myself running for my camera every time I see one.



This one was crawling up the door and grabbed a little white spider for a snack.