Stanley Golf Course -- New Britain, CT

Golf Shop 860-827-8570
Tee-Times 860-827-1362
Whinstone Tavern 860-827-0022

Stanley Golf Course
245 Hartford Rd.
New Britain, CT 06053

http://www.stanleygolf.com/

It's approaching the end of the golf season in Connecticut, but pleasant golf can still be had with little luck in the weather department. I was fortunate enough to get a great day for a scramble tournament at Stanley Golf Course in New Britain, Connecticut.

Stanley is one of the better public courses in central Connecticut. On this beautiful September day the conditions were excellent. The course was green all around. Fairways and greens were in good shape.

Stanley is a good course with challenging and score-able holes, but what sets Stanley apart are the carts. The golf carts at Stanley are equipped with GPS units. The units tell you everything about the golf course. All you have to do is drive up to you ball, and the cart tells you how far your drive traveled, how far to the pin, how far to the front of the green, back of the green, sand traps, water, etc. It even gives tips on how to best play the hole. When you first hear about the GPS it sounds like something unnecessary, and perhaps to some extent it is. We've all been playing golf for years without GPS. However, it is definitely a fun feature. Even without the GPS, Stanley would be a fine golf course, but I would recommend checking out Stanley Golf Course to try the GPS.

Campground Review: Winter Island Park – Salem, Massachusetts

Where: Winter Island Park

50 Winter Island Road

Salem, MA 01970

phone 978-745-9430

winterisland@cove.com

www.salemweb.com/winterisland

Many people looking for a beach get-away in the Massachusetts area fight the hoards and travel to Cape Cod. The Cape Cod trip for a middle-New Englander is almost done by default. Although The Cape is nice, for my tastes it’s a bit overrated. Some of the other more popular spots include Rockport/Gloucester, Plymouth, or Newburyport. Others looking for a beach vacation may venture farther north to New Hampshire or the dramatic rocky shores of Maine. All along the North Shore (In local terms, the coast line above Boston is known as the North Shore, south of Boston is the South Shore.) are small spots that can be fun, but with less crowds (Keep in mind that this is a densely populated area. “Less crowds” does not mean zero crowds.). Salem, Massachusetts is one of those interesting North Shore spots. Rich in history (mostly infamous due to the 17th century witch trials), Salem is now a modern port town just north of Boston. Salem has embraced it’s infamous past and offers many activities exploring the sordid history of Puritanical New England. There are even two trolleys that take tourists to the different sites of Salem including the House of Seven Gables, the witch museum, and old graveyard among several others. Although rich in history, Salem is a modern town with shopping, hotels, and restaurants for every taste.
On the outskirts of Salem is a small public-owned camping area and recreation known as Winter Island Park. Winter Island has a rich history of it’s own. Before becoming a park, it was a military-owned island going as far back as the American Revolution. Signs of the military history of the island are still present today. Ammunition bunkers and an old fort can still be found on the island. Today, the primary feature of the island is a large public boat launch. The island also features a lighthouse, a public beach, a picnic pavilion, and a large playscape.
Winter Island Park is not a large park. One could likely walk across the entire park in 30 minutes. It’s not a place to go for a long hike or bike ride. However, take a leisurely stroll along the rocky shore at sunset and you can catch a nice sunset behind the lighthouse.
Camping at Winter Island Park is low maintenance. This is not a park that features tons of organized programs for the kids, or theme weekends. The attraction of Winter Island Park is the beach, rock shore, and open space to enjoy the outdoors. Many of the campers are also boaters, but there are large RV, pop-up, and tent sites available. My family and I spend Labor Day weekend (Thursday through Monday) camping with our pop-up camper at Winter Island Park. We planned on spending at least one day exploring the town of Salem. However, we were having so much fun at the campground that we ended up not venturing outside of the campground for the entire weekend. My 4-year old son spent a lot of time at the large playscape. The whole family enjoyed exploring the rocky shores looking for crabs and shells. We spent one day at the beach. We also used our kayaks to do some exploring. We even flew a kite on one particularly windy morning. We were having so much fun on the island that we never even got a chance to go fishing, although there were several fishermen on the shores near the lighthouse.
My family and I really enjoyed our weekend on Winter Island Park.

Tips:
When camping at Winter Island Park one needs to be aware of the type of camping you plan on doing. The sites right near the shore are not really campsites. They are basically parking spots on the blacktop parking lot near the boat-launch. I suppose these sites would be ok with an RV for boat owners that want to be near to their boats. However, for most campers, you’ll prefer the grass sites away from the boat launch. If you have a large RV, sites 42 to 54 are adequate. However, pop up campers would probably be best served to consider other sites. Sites 54 and 55 give the most room for campers without large RVs. I recommend site 55 for a pop up. This site has water and electricity hook-ups, and is away from the other campers. This site features an entire field in front of your site for recreation. If you have a pop-up and need to consider a site between 42 and 53, go for the corner or end sites. For tent campers, I recommend sites 57 and 36. Be careful of tent site 58 as it is close to the road and has a steep slant.
Don’t plan on relying on the small store at the park. The store mostly just sells candy and t-shirts. However, near the front gate the park sells ices at a reasonable price. It’s nice to be able to buy ice without having to leave the park.
One small negative to the park is the very large power plant that is quite visible across the bay. It visually detracts from the natural setting of the park, but other than that, it’s easily ignorable and did not impact our stay.

Summary of Shot Gun Chokes

With bird season approaching, it's an appropriate time to start to considering upland game equipment.

I found this summary of shot gun chokes on the Kittery Trading Post website. I thought it was a good quick summary and explanation.

The progression goes from least to most choke constriction.

Popular Shotgun Chokes:

Cylinder Bore: This is a straight tube with no constriction at all. It would be the same as if you cut a barrel back four or five inches and removed all the choke in it, leaving just a straight tube.
Skeet 1: This has a .005" constriction and tightens the pattern just a little. It is great for skeet shooting or any type of shooting where the shots are 25 yards or less.
Improved Cylinder: This is tighter than Skeet 1 with about .010" constriction. Great for shots under thirty yards or so or if you want to shoot Foster type slugs in your bird gun.
Skeet 2: This has about .015" constriction and is actually a "light modified". Great for ducks over decoys and some pass shooting under certain conditions. It makes a nice early season pheasant choke for the second shot. Good for almost 35 yards.
Modified: This was the most common choke a few years ago. It usually represents about a .020" constriction. All the guns either came with a full or modified choke. It is midway between the tight and open. (Kind of like ordering a medium instead of a large or small, if you will.) Good out to 35 yards.
Improved Modified: This is a little tighter than modified but not as tight as full. Usually about .025" constriction. Popular with some trap shooters and a good choice for late season pheasants.
Full: This is the standard long-range choke. Usually a .040" constriction. Good for 40 yards or more and was the most popular choke for trap shooting, and years ago, for pass shooting at ducks when we used to shoot lead.

Extra Full or Super Full Turkey Choke: These are the tightest chokes used when you want to put a full pattern on a turkey's head. These will run .045" constriction or tighter depending on the maker. It is too tight for most standard applications but for turkey hunting, it is an excellent choice with the right shot.

Credit given to Kittery Trading Post website for this information.