Franklin, CT comes in at number 11 on my quest to visit every small town my state has to offer.
Franklin was established in 1786, and has a population of 1,863. You can find Franklin in the Northern part of New London County.
First stop: Breakfast at Egg and Cheese. When I was researching Franklin prior to my visit, as soon as I saw Egg and Cheese, I knew this was where I wanted to eat. If this isn’t small town Connecticut, I don’t know what is. And while I think Jairo and Geoff might have preferred we eat 1.5 hours sooner, I was on a mission.
These guys were much more agreeable with some food in their stomachs. The egg sandwiches were perfect, which I think you have to expect from a place that has made them its raison d’être.
Next stop was Ayer’s Gap Preserve, where we hoped to spot some waterfalls in the wild.
We had ourselves a bit of a climb at first, with a little peep of a view.
Our first waterfall of the day!
We were on our motorcycles today, so not really dressed for a hike on a warm day. The logical thing to do was to roll up our pants and soak our feet for a bit.
Another waterfall on our way back down to the bikes.
This picture doesn’t do it justice, but someone has a beautiful homestead/farm right outside Ayer’s Gap.
Our next stop was Arrowhead Winery. This place appears to be a real hub of Franklin activity. Not only is it a winery, but they have a little deli and store inside, and they do a trivia night during the week. The two different wines I had were both good, and I’m told the wine slushy was good too.
Here are the boys, Geoff and Jairo, bellied up to the bar.. It was cool and inviting inside, but we opted to sit on the back deck, along with everyone else. I would say it was very mild for late July, and no one wanted to be inside.
And then, to round out the day, ice cream. I almost never say no to ice cream, and I think this was the first town I have visited as part of my project that had a creamery. And it was right next door to Egg and Cheese! In fact, everything we did today was within about a two mile radius.
I recommend the black raspberry with hot fudge.
I have to say, Franklin really has a lot to offer for such a small town. Connecticut definitely has her charms, tucked away in little corners like this, if you can be troubled to look.
As always, it was another great day in Connecticut.