Category: Activities (Page 15 of 32)

Activities are gatherings that occur on a regular schedule, usually weekly, to enjoy a specific pastime.

Wander the Danbury Raid, Tuesday, Oct 27, 2020

October 25, 2020 /

BB3GGJ Minutemen leaving for the Battle of Concord Massachusetts 1775

Our Westport–Ridgefield Wandering will take place on this coming Tuesday, October 27. Our walking focus will be the Danbury Raid, a military incursion of the British that took place in April 1777, during the Revolutionary War.

We will drive to Westport and meet there at 9:30 AM on the 27th at the main Compo Beach Parking Lot.  The shortest and most direct route is to go on I-95N toward New Haven and get off at Exit 17. There go straight at the end of the exit ramp and through the railroad station neighborhood, over the old girder bridge, and then to South Compo Road and onto Compo Beach Road. When I made a trial run the other day, it took about 14 minutes after I entered at Exit 11.

The street address of the entrance to Compo Beach Park is 80 Compo Beach Road. There turn south into the park, past the gate house, which is closed for the season, and continue to the south end of the parking lot, adjacent to two large decorative black metal canons on the south end of the beach. There we will meet our guide, Edward Hynes, and will park and assemble for the beginning of our Wandering. There are public restrooms in the park.

After about an hour and a half walk in Westport, we will end up back at the beach parking lot, from which we will drive north to Ridgefield, following, at least in part, the general route that the invaders followed on their way toward Danbury. The second part of our tour will be centered in Ridgefield and will focus on the actions taken by the Connecticut based militias to attack, harass and deter the British forces as they marched north to their objective: the Continentals’ supply depots in Danbury. After walking through some of the parks and locations of the Battle of Ridgefield, we will have access to some picnic tables there to eat the sandwiches you need to bring.  There are no restaurants nearby.  You may also choose to return to Darien if you prefer.  Below is a list of our wanderers.  If you want to pair with somebody to drive please make your own arrangements.

Finally, please bring a mask, which is required in the parks.  I am assuming we can take off the mask when we do our walking.

If you have questions, you can reach me on my cell phone at 203-554-4201.  Below is the list of wanderers.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Tuesday. Happy Wandering!

 

 

 

 

 

Wander Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Nov 5, 2020

October 23, 2020 /

Your hosts: David Mace & Joe Spain

Mark Shakley and I  just returned from a visit to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge  This is a spectacular venue in Queens (900 acres) looking toward the Rockaways and back to the Verrazano Bridge.  We walked the 1.7 mile loop around West Pond. Along the way we met a number of birders with cameras and telescopes.  We saw a multitude of bird species including several Osprey platforms built by the National Parks Service. Jamaica Bay is part of the Gateway Recreation Area under the National Parks.   We will have a Wandering to Jamaica Bay on Thursday November 5. It is a one hour drive from Darien.  We will take sandwiches and eat on picnic tables at the Visitors Center. Mark your calendar for November 5. If you are interested please email David Mace.
https://npplan.com/parks-by-state/new-york-national-parks/gateway-national-recreation-area-park-at-a-glance/gateway-national-recreation-area-hiking-trails/gateway-national-recreation-area-hiking-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge/gateway-national-recreation-area-west-pond-trail-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge/

Hike Leon Levy Preserve, Oct 22, 2020

October 15, 2020 /

HIKING THE LEON LEVY PRESERVE

SOUTH SALEM, NY

  THURSDAY OCTOBER 22, 2020

9:30 AM

 

 The Leon Levy Preserve, formerly the Bell property, was purchased by the Town of Lewisboro in 2005. It is 383 acres of forest and wetland located in the watersheds of both New York City and Stamford. The preserve has an extensive, well marked, trail system, the ruins of the Black mansion (1899-1979) and other outbuildings. The scenery at this time of year is spectacular and the Preserve encompasses an impressive gorge and numerous large rock outcroppings. 

The hike of about 3+ miles (2 hours) we will take features mostly wide and well maintained trails which range from easy to moderate levels of difficulty. This hike should appeal to hikers of all levels of experience. As always, we welcome spouses, friends and dogs on a leash. No lunch.

 

DIRECTIONS:

The actual address of the Preserve is 2-50 Smith Ridge Road (Route 123) but Google 45 Smith Ridge Road in South Salem, NY which is a private house on the right side of the road. Just beyond that address is a sign for the Preserve on the left side indicating a left turn into the parking lot. The location is well up Rt 123 into NY State past Vista but short of Rt 35. There is ample parking.

 

Contacts:

Dave McCollum and Bob Plunkett

Bob Plunkett

Wander Woodlawn Cemetery, October, 6, 2020

September 17, 2020 /

Woodlawn Cemetery Wandering,   Tuesday October 6

Our first 2020 wandering is now set for Tuesday, October 6 at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.  This National  Historic Landmark founded in 1863 is the resting place for many recognizable names including Fiorello LaGuardia, Herman Meliville, Lionel Hampton, Robert Moses and scores more. We will travel by car to Woodlawn (approximately a 45 minute drive).  You may drive alone or with a group depending on your feelings about pandemic risk.  We will meet at the cemetery at 9:45 am and then begin a 2 hour tour with a guide to see the beauty of the 400 acre cemetery itself as well as the grave markers and mausoleums of many of its famous inhabitants.  You may bring your own lunch since the cemetery has picnic tables which we are welcome to use.  Or you may return home after our walk.  The cost per person is $10 which we can pay upon arrival.  We are limiting the group to 10 members, so first come first served.  If you would like to join us please email David Mace. Once our group is formed we will talk about driving arrangements and a specific destination which can easily be found on google maps.  It should be a grand day.

Current Affairs: Vote by Mail, Oct 15, 2020, 11:00

September 16, 2020 /

Host: Bob Baker

Discussion Leader: John Schlachtenhafen

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ballot-collection-battles-split-by-partisanship-move-through-courts-11590755212?st=4l91j4y2f2frvdw&reflink=article_email_share

Where Americans Can Vote by Mail in the 2020 Elections

Where Americans Can Vote by Mail in the 2020 Elections – The New York Times

Discussion at the Darien Library with Denise Merrill, CT Secretary of State

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpTTSZeZI1s

Mail-Vote Madness in Pennsylvania

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mail-vote-madness-in-pennsylvania-11599865002?mod=hp_opin_po

Secretaries of states caution that election results could take weeks to determine:

https://fxn.ws/2Zd71TM

Testimony before the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. “Protecting the Right to Vote During the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

HHRG-116-JU00-Wstate-FittonT-20200603

Millions of Americans are receiving absentee ballot applications from outside groups. Here’s what you need to know.
The large volume of mailed ballots expected for November’s election has raised concerns that the final result could be significantly delayed, with mailed or absentee ballots having to be verified and counted, in addition to in-person votes being tallied.
A federal judge in Texas ruled Tuesday that the state’s system of verifying signatures on mail-in ballots was unconstitutional and should be immediately corrected in advance of Election Day in November. | Fox News

Book Club: “Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson, November 11, 2020, 2:00

September 3, 2020 /

As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power–which groups have it and which do not.” In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people–including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others–she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity. Beautifully written, original, and revealing, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of America life today

Book Club: “The British are Coming” by Rick Atkinson, October 14, 2020, NEW TIME 2:00

September 3, 2020 /

Rick Atkinson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning An Army at Dawn and two other masterly books about World War II, has long been admired for his unparalleled ability to write deeply researched, stunningly vivid narrative history. Now he turns his attention to a new war, and in the initial volume of the Revolution Trilogy he tells the story of the first twenty months of the bloody struggle to shake free of King George’s shackles. From the battles at Lexington and Concord in spring 1775 to those at Trenton and Princeton in winter 1777, the ragtag Continental Army takes on the world’s most formidable fighting force and gradually finds the will and the way to win. It is a riveting saga populated by singular characters: Henry Knox, the former bookseller with an uncanny understanding of how best to deploy artillery; Nathaniel Greene, the blue-eyed bumpkin who becomes one of America’s greatest battle captains; Benjamin Franklin, the self-made man who proves himself the nation’s greatest diplomat; George Washington, the commander-in-chief who learns the difficult art of leadership amid the fire and smoke of the battlefield. And the British are here, too: we see the war through their eyes and their gunsights, and as a consequence the mortal conflict between the redcoats and the rebels is all the more compelling. Full of fresh details and untold stories, The British Are Coming gives stirring new life to the first act of our country’s creation drama. It is a tale of heroes and knaves, of sacrifice and blunder, of redemption and profound suffering. But once begun, the war for independence can have only one of two outcomes: death or victory.

Golf Oak Hills: September 15, 2020

September 3, 2020 /

Our second 2020 outing is at Oak Hills Park, Norwalk, Tuesday,

15 September, starting at 10:00 AM.

To sign up, email Peter Carnes, picarnes@gmail.com.
Provide your handicap to facilitate pairing.

Tee times will be announced once registration is complete.

Fee is estimated to be $50 (includes cart) payable when you arrive.

Members of Oak Hills pay a discounted price.

Confirmation and coordination will be via email during the week prior to play.

For directions to Oak Hills, go to. https://www.oakhillsgc.com/contact/directions-a-map

Money Matters: Felicia Rubinstein, HAYVN Coworking, Sept 15, 2020, 10:00

August 21, 2020 /

Your host: Doug Campbell

Felicia Rubinstein, Founder & Chief Collaborator at HAYVN Coworking in Darien.

HAYVN is a flexible, women-centered community workspace that provides women (and men) with a place where they can work, connect and grow their business.  We have beautiful shared workspace as well as 1-5 person offices, meeting rooms, a gym and many other amenities.  We also have lots of community programming and events that are for the wider community as well as our membership, such as our twice weekly HAYVN Halftime workshops, our HAYVN Hatch Shark Tank style event for local entrepreneurs and many more.

See: HAYVN.com

Please check out their events calendar:  https://hayvn.com/upcoming-events/

FYI: During the recent power outage in Fairfield County, HAYVN Coworking maintained power and strong Wifi and we were able to host many non-members in desperate need to continue their work from a connected location, we have also designed a “Back to School Special” to support local college students unable to return to campus.
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