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Connecticut Day Trips

Traveling the globe from my home base in beatuful Connecticut

Saturday Farmers Market in Washington Depot CT

Washington, Connecticut: The Town That Inspired Gilmore Girls [Itinerary]

December 31, 2019 By Elizabeth Larkin Leave a Comment

Some days, you just gotta get in your car and drive to a new town and see the sights. Washington, Connecticut is a really good town to drive to. It’s got a rustic-chic vibe with its mix of locals and weekenders from New York City. There are rolling hills, sprawling farms, and very nice restaurants to eat and drink in.

Washington Connecticut Day Trip

Bryan Memorial Town Hall in Washington CT

You can park your car at the Hickory Stick bookshop and spend an hour or two wandering it’s little “downtown” area. There’s the bookshop, Marty’s Cafe for coffee, some clothing stores and on Saturdays in the spring, summer and fall, a small farmers market.

Washington is famously the setting for the TV show show “Gilmore Girls” and while it doesn’t exactly resemble Stars Hollow, it does have all the trappings of small town life: lots of community activities, a folksy vibe, and tons to do (see my list below). As I say in my Gilmore Girls Guide to Connecticut (coming soon!), Washington is way more rural and outdoorsy than Stars Hollow.

Saturday Farmers Market in Washington Depot CT

The point of traveling to a town like Washington is to just be there, to soak up the small-town atmosphere.

Park at the Byran Memorial Town Hall. There’s a farmers market on Saturday mornings in the spring, summer and fall where you can stock up on local produce. Then hit Marty’s Cafe for a coffee before browsing the Hickory Stick Bookshop. There are other small retailers to dip into as well.

The day I visited I spent about an hour checking out the scene in town before wandering down route 47 towards the intersections of Kirby Road, Whykeham Road, and Parsanoge Lane.

There’ll you’ll find another little town center but this one looks like time forgot it. The buildings are still well kept and blindingly white, but there’s one lonely store and what looks to be an old town square.

I parked my car on a side street ear the intersection, grabbed my camera and roamed the area. There you’ll find the The First Congregational Church, the Gunn Memorial Library and the Gunn Historical Museum.  I didn’t see many people, but there was a fairly regular flow of vintage cars out for a weekend drive.

From there I continued North on Route 47 (enter Hopkins Vineyard into your GPS or Google Maps app) and enjoyed some of the most beautiful scenery Connecticut has to offer: rolling hills, gentleman’s farms and finally, a view of Lake Waramaug on the approach to Warren and the winery.

This would be a beautiful day trip year-round.

PLACES TO VISIT IN WASHINGTON, CONNECTICUT:

Averill Hill Farm
250 Calhoun St.
Washington, CT 06794

For apple picking, pumpkin picking, pizza, apple cider and apple cider doughnuts.

Hollister House Garden
300 Nettleton Hollow Rd
Washington, CT 06793

The Institute For American Indian Studies
Curtis Rd
Washington, CT 06793

Mayflower Spa
118 Woodbury Rd (Route 47)
Washington, CT 06793

I am DYING to try this place. I plan to organize a day trip there with my girlfriends this winter

Gunn Historical Museum
5 Wykeham Rd
Washington, CT 06793

Hidden Valley Preserve
198 Bee Brook Rd
Washington Depot, CT 06794

PLACES TO EAT IN WASHINGTON, CONNECTICUT

The White Horse Country Pub
258 New Milford Turnpike
New Preston, CT 06777

British Pub Food in the Litchfield Hills.

GW Tavern
20 Bee Brook Rd
Washington Depot, CT 06794

The Pantry
5 Titus Rd
Washington Depot, CT 06794

Norimaki
4 Green Hill Rd
Washington, CT 06793

A local Favorite.

Marty’s Cafe
4 Green Hill Rd #1
Washington Depot, CT 06793

The Washington Pizza House
13 River Rd
Washington Depot, CT 06794

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Preppy Connecticut

A Weekend at the Saybrook Point Inn in Charming Old Saybrook

August 23, 2016 by Elizabeth Larkin Leave a Comment

Tall Tales and Three Stories at the Saybrook Point Inn and Marina

“Coast Connecticut is my spiritual home!”

That’s what my friend Michelle said when I asked if she wanted to spend a weekend with me at the Saybrook Point Inn and Spa.

Saybrook Point Inn and Spa
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View from Tall Tales at the Saybrook Point Inn and Spa
Saybrook Point Inn and Spa 1
Tall Tales and Three Stories at the Saybrook Point Inn and Marina

I have always been a snob about Connecticut’s shoreline. Since my parents are New Yorkers who spent their childhoods on the beaches of the south shore of Long Island where big waves rule, I turn my nose up at the Long Island Sound. No waves? No thank you.

But here’s the thing I’ve slowly realized over the past decade: No waves means less tourists and less tourists means that coastal Connecticut is still quaint and relaxed. There is no “scene” you don’t have to worry about keeping up with your neighbors. Your lack of flamingo pool float is just fine. All you have to do on the Connecticut shoreline is show up and enjoy yourself.

View form the Marina at Saybrook Point Inn and Spa

Michelle and several of my other friends figured this out years ago when our group of friends from college began spending weekends at Essex’s Griswold Inn. We’d have a huge group dinner and then spend the night singing along with the band in the Gris’s tap room. No one was dressed up. Parking was relatively easy to find. The town looked like a sophisticated Stars Hollow-by-the-Sound.

Coastal Connecticut is sophisticated without being, well, The Hamptons.

So when the Saybrook Point Inn in Old Saybrook offered me the chance to spend a few days at their seaside resort, I jumped.

Who wouldn’t want to spend a relaxing long weekend in one of Connecticut’s most glamorous-slash-charming towns? The summer home and later year-round home of Katharine Hepburn, this little Connecticut Shoreline gem has enough to keep you busy for a week or more. We only had two days but Michelle and I made the most of them. We rode bikes along the beach, ate delicious seafood, strolled Main Street, stalked the Hepburn House and spent a few hours simply watching boats bob up and down in the Marina at the Saybrook Point Inn and Spa.

SAYBROOK POINT INN AND SPA

The Saybook Point Inn and Spa sits right on a marina where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound. This means that from most guest rooms, the pool, the Marina Bar and the restaurant called Fresh Salt, guests have an unobstructed view of boats going to and from Long Island Sound or up the Connecticut River, or just bobbing in the water.

It’s truly a spectacular setting.

The Inn offers three choices for guests: you can stay in the hotel right on the marina, or in the guest houses across the street called Three Stories and Tall Tales. Both Three Stories and Tall tales have water views.

We stayed in Tall Tales, an Italianate revival recently renovated for looks and comfort.

The Masard Roof of Tall Tales at Saybrook Point Inn and Spac
Tall Tales Guest Room at the Saybrook Point Inn
Room at Tall Tales in the Saybrook Point Inn and Spa in Old Saybrook
Tale Tails at the Saybrook Point Inn and Spa in Old Saybrook CT
Inside a guest room at Three Stories at the Saybrook Point Inn and Spa

The guest house has three floors with six guest rooms total, and the first floor has a seating area and a kitchen so guests can share. Each morning I went down to the common seating area to enjoy a cup of coffee and a pastry while reading a book.

Have you ever wondered what the inside of Martha’s Stuarts Hamptons house looks like? I imagine it looks quite a lot like Tall Tales. It’s light and airy but refined and sophisticated all at the same time. You just feel really taken care of.

The Courtyward at the Tree Stories at Saybrook Point Inn and Spa

Next door is Three Stories with a light pink exterior but a more traditional interior. Three Stories features the same setup as Tale Talls: guest rooms with a shared space on the first floor for coffee and contemplation, but has another floor dedicated to lounging as well with a billiards room with buttery leather couches and fireplaces. Three Stories feels a little more like an old Ivy League Club.

The final guest room option? Saybrook Point Inn also has an option to stay inside a lighthouse on their marina. For reals.

THE SPA AT SAYBROOK POINT INN

In keeping with the “you are being taken care of” theme, the spa at the Inn is super chill and relaxing. I opted for the facial, and then spent a good 30 minutes sipping cucumber water in the spa’s waiting area.

There’s an indoor pool, an outdoor pool (heated so you can use it year-round), and a giant hot tub. There’s also a fitness center and sauna. We opted for the outdoor pool as this was August and had some cocktails and a split a perfectly cooked cheeseburger on a pretzel bun.

DINING AT FRESH SALT, THE POOL AND THE MARINA BAR

Outdoor seating at Fresh Salt at Saybrook Point Inn
Lobster Roll and Saybrook Point Inn

The restaurant at the Saybrook Point Inn is named Fresh Salt as a tribute to the Connecticut River and the Long Island Sound. On our first night, we had a long, boozy dinner of calamari, cod, filet mignon, edamame mashed potatoes, a bottle of cabernet, and Baked Alaska. I’ve always wanted to order Baked Alaska and Fresh Salt’s did not disappoint. It was a rare sugary treat for me.

The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating, and you can order off a smaller menu from the pool or the Marina Bar which is right on the water.

Fresh Salt’s interior restaurant is reminiscent of the Griswold Inn in Essex with a fireplace, stone walls, and a beautiful bar. Outdoors you get the marina vibe with great views and my favorite part: a fire pit-in-a-bar that they called the Fire Bar.

On our second night, we opted to sit outside and split a buttery Connecticut-style lobster roll with sweet potatoes fries while overlooking the marina. It was delicious.

WHAT TO DO AT THE SAYBROOK POINT INN AND SPA

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Yacht at the Saybrook Point Inn and Marina
Cocktails at the pool at the Saybrook Point Inn
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Cheeseburger on a pretzel bun at the Old Saybrook Inn and Spa
Downton Old Saybrook
Go bike riding at the Saybrook Point Inn and Spa
Main Street in Old Saybrook Connecticut
Church in Old Saybrook CT

There’s the spa, tons of quiet places to read a book, and you have the gorgeous shoreline to explore. On our final day we took a long bike ride around the waterfront of Old Saybrook. The Inn provides bikes, and because of the great location, you can bike across a causeway that leads into the Fenwick neighborhood (home of Katharine Hepburn) and a chichi golf and beach club. We took our bikes past the golf course and rode along the seawall a far as we could before heading back.

The Saybrook Point would be the perfect setting for a girls weekend, a romantic getaway, or a family reunion or event.

This is a sponsored post. Thank you to the Saybrook Point Inn for hosting me.

Filed Under: Connecticut, Travel Tagged With: chilling the eff out, CT Shoreline, dinner, Eastern Connecticut, girls day out, lunch, Middlesex County, Mystic Area, Old Saybrook, Preppy Connecticut, quainty quaintness, romantic

Blue Oar in Haddam: A Little Something Special on the River

August 13, 2015 by Elizabeth Larkin Leave a Comment

Blue Oar in Haddam, CT

The drive to the Blue Oar in Haddam is a quick one from Hartford down Route 9, and once you’re off the highway it’s all twisty roads with old Victorian homes and overgrown gardens.

The Blue Oar in Haddam Connecticut

I love Litchfield County, the Quiet Corner is a favorite and I will begrudgingly admit that Fairfield County is beautiful. There are some parts of Hartford that are stunning (NO I AM NOT KIDDING). But there’s something enchanting about the CT River Valley; Chester, Hadlyme, Essex—this is a special part of the state.* If you ever get a case of the Connecticuts (“Why am I here? The taxes are so high! The winters are so cold!”) a visit to the Connecticut River Valley will cure you quickly.

What is the Blue Oar? Well, it’s part-restaurant and part-hang out space situated right on the river. There’s a dock and boats to gawk at, but you’re really there to dine on the river. I went with my friends Suzi and Jon (Mike was in Pomfret working on a car–his loss).

Tips for Visiting the Blue Oar

  1. It’s BYOB, and that includes glassware and bottle openers. The line is long during the summer so you may also want to bring a cooler. The people in line ahead of us were regulars and they had pitchers of mixed drinks, highball glasses and ice with them and they started drinking while waiting to get into the restaurant. It’s a very festive atmosphere.
  2. It’s cash-only.
  3. It’s dependent on weather as there is no inside seating.
  4. When you arrive, you wait in line, they send you to a table. You drop your stuff down and then go wait in line inside the main building to order your food. They give you a numbered sign to put on your table and 1.5 to 2 hours later, your food arrives.

Yes, yes. You’re here for the atmosphere. This is Haddam, not Manhattan and you will wait for your food. That’s why you bring drinks and good friends (or a date) to entertain yourself. The food was meh. We all agreed that next time we’d order simpler dishes (the menu ranges from rib eyes ad scallop entrees to burgers) and we we’d get there earlier. We arrive at 7:15pm and by the time our food arrived it was pitch-black and almost 9pm.

Go, get something simple and enjoy the view.

The Blue Oar in Haddam Connecticut
The Blue Oar in Haddam Connecticut
The Blue Oar in Haddam Connecticut
The Blue Oar in Haddam Connecticut

The Blue Oar
16 Snyder Rd
Haddam, CT 06438
(860) 345-2994

*Purists will tell you that the entire central part of the state (aka the 91 Corridor) is the River Valley but traditionally people think of Chester, Deep River, East Haddam, Essex, Haddam, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook as the true River Valley.

Filed Under: Connecticut, Food + Drinks Tagged With: Eastern Connecticut, good for groups, Haddam, Middlesex County, Preppy Connecticut, romantic

October at Miranda Vineyard

October 23, 2014 by Elizabeth Larkin Leave a Comment

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This visit was over my birthday weekend in October and the leaves had juuuust fallen off the trees so the landscape was barren-esque, bit not so barren as to have no color at all. [Read more…] about October at Miranda Vineyard

Filed Under: Connecticut, Food + Drinks, Travel Tagged With: ct wine trail, good for groups, Goshen, Litchfield County, Litchfield Hills, outdoorsy, Preppy Connecticut, romantic

A Day Trip to Hyannisport

August 4, 2013 by Elizabeth Larkin 1 Comment

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I am not a Cape Cod person by birth or genetics.  My family believes the best beaches in the world are located on the east end of Long Island and anyone who disagrees just doesn’t know what they’re talking about. I subscribe to this myself; however, I have really fond memories of my friend Nancy’s family beach house on the Cape in Chatham, and her wedding in Chatham, and Mike and I just had a really great weekend in Hyannisport. I feel like I’m cheating on Montauk when I admit I like Cape Cod.  I liked the lobster, I liked the boat shoes, and I loved the company. [Read more…] about A Day Trip to Hyannisport

Filed Under: Massachusetts, Travel Tagged With: beaches, good for groups, lunch, Preppy Connecticut, romantic

Summer Weekend in Killington, Vermont

August 2, 2013 by Elizabeth Larkin 2 Comments

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What a strange thing to make the trek to Vermont up 91 and across route 100 from Hartford in June and not in January.  Usually when we drive up it’s freezing and white and snow-y. This time it was a balmy 80 and we stopped for roadside lobster rolls and ice cream along the way. I’ve never been up to Killington in the summer. My trips have been reserved for ski season; but, since friends Helen and HP have an actual real adult house which they own — as opposed to an Animal House-style seasonal rental — we made the trip up for a relaxing June weekend in the Green Mountain State. [Read more…] about Summer Weekend in Killington, Vermont

Filed Under: Food + Drinks, Killington, Travel, Vermont Tagged With: good for groups, Preppy Connecticut, romantic

A Day Trip Walk Around Yale

January 17, 2013 by Elizabeth Larkin 1 Comment

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New Haven is for walkers. Mike and I took a day trip there a few weeks back and must have walked five miles. We walked so much that I nearly broke my Fitbit (if you’re wondering what that is, I plan to write about it in another post, in short:  it’s awesome).  We decided last-minute to drive down to New Haven for the afternoon in hopes of going to Louis Lunch and a movie. We ended up doing a huge figure eight around the New Haven Green and much of the Yale campus.  Everywhere you look, there’s more Yale or Yale-looking structures.  “Is that Yale?” we kept asking each other as we passed new buildings. I concentrated on photographing the halls and libraries (see my previous post on this trip The Quatrefoils of Yale), and Mike concentrated on assessing their architecture and engineering. [Read more…] about A Day Trip Walk Around Yale

Filed Under: Connecticut, Travel, Yale Area Tagged With: a good walk, day trip, good for groups, New Haven County, Preppy Connecticut, romantic

The Quatrefoils of Yale

January 14, 2013 by Elizabeth Larkin 1 Comment

Quatrefoils at Yale in New Haven Connecticut

When I first started traveling to Europe, I became enamored with photographing old churches. This is in no way unique; anyone who’s traveled to Europe can tell you they are so beautiful (think Notre Dame in Paris, the Duomo in Florence) it’s hard not to try to soak up that beauty with your camera. Sadly, that pursuit is usually in vain as it’s a very rare photograph that captures the feeling of seeing a steeple rise in the distance, or standing in the naive and staring up at the intricate details in the vaulted ceilings and spires and thick pillars. Then, of course, there’s the smell of old churches. It smells… like what I guess history smells like. [Read more…] about The Quatrefoils of Yale

Filed Under: Connecticut, Travel, Yale Area Tagged With: a good walk, good for groups, New Haven County, Preppy Connecticut, romantic

Christmastime in Litchfield, Connecticut

December 13, 2012 by Elizabeth Larkin 3 Comments

Christmas in Litchfield - 1

Christmas in Litchfield - 1

I could say that I didn’t take too many pictures in Litchfield because I wanted you to experience it in person, for yourself, but the fact is I just wanted to walk around and window shop. Like Stonington and Essex, Litchfield is the kind of town to just park your car and take a walk around.  I love all three of these towns so much for that reason, and because each is a great jumping off point for a day trip. [Read more…] about Christmastime in Litchfield, Connecticut

Filed Under: Connecticut, Travel Tagged With: a good walk, Bantam, christmas in connecticut, ct wine trail, girls day out, good for groups, Litchfield, Litchfield County, Litchfield Hills, Preppy Connecticut, romantic, shopping

Things to Do Near Winvian in Morris

October 27, 2012 by Elizabeth Larkin 1 Comment

Winivan in Morris, Connecticut - 1

Winivan in Morris, Connecticut - 2

The best place to wait out a major hurricane, freak snow storm, or other natural catastrophe is–by far–a city. Mike and I remained blithely unaware of the doom inflicted on Greater Hartford for a full 24 hours after 2011’s “Snocktober” storm because we were in Hartford. [Read more…] about Things to Do Near Winvian in Morris

Filed Under: Connecticut, Travel Tagged With: Litchfield County, Litchfield Hills, Morris, Preppy Connecticut, romantic

Things to do in Connecticut in October

October 4, 2012 by Elizabeth Larkin 1 Comment

The one outdoor October activity I don’t get is corn mazes.  It’s just walking around with no scenery except corn stalks. A flower maze I could get behind, but corn? Maybe I’m scarred from a way-too-young viewing of “Children of the Corn” at a sleepover birthday party in elementary school, but I’m convinced no one really likes them, because they are super boring. They’re just one of those things we’re supposed to like, so everyone fakes it, even kids. Last year my mom, brother, sister-in-law, 2-year-old nephew, my friend Nancy, her 1-year-old and I all went into the corn maze at Lyman Orchard. Ten minutes in and we were all ready to leave, including the two toddlers. [Read more…] about Things to do in Connecticut in October

Filed Under: Connecticut, Food + Drinks, Travel Tagged With: outdoorsy, Preppy Connecticut, romantic, signs of fall

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Connecticut Day Trips is a blog about travel and life in Connecticut, written and photographed by a native who moved away, moved back, and learned to love it: About/Contact

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Washington, Connecticut: The Town That Inspired Gilmore Girls [Itinerary]

Some days, you just gotta get in your car and drive to a new town and see the sights. Washington, Connecticut is a really good town to drive to. It’s got a rustic-chic vibe with its mix of locals and weekenders from New York City. There are rolling hills, sprawling farms, and very nice restaurants […]

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