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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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Secrets Papagayo Resort in Costa Rica

February 8, 2018 by Elizabeth Larkin Leave a Comment

Imagine a morning where you wake up refreshed after sleeping 8 solid hours. Instead of having to get ready for work, you put on a bathing suit, grab a coffee, and immediately head down to the beach to jump into the Pacific Ocean. Then you recline into a lounge chair where you drink your delicious Costa Rican coffee.

This is how I started each morning at Secrets Papagayo, a beautiful tropical resort on the Papagayo Peninsula in Guancaste Province, Costa Rica. Mike and I spent a week at this all-inclusive Costa Rican resort a little while back. I’m not sure why I haven’t posted about it yet because it was such a memorable trip. Here’s a recap and my review of Secrets Papagayo.

First off, a big thank you as always to my friend Heather Cross from Vacations by Heather for suggesting Secrets Papagayo and booking the trip for us. Using a travel agent is no cost to and is a huge help. They take care of the logistics, yes, but they can also suggest destinations you may not have through of. Since we’ve been working with Heather for about three years now, she knows what we like and what we don’t. When I told her we wanted to go to Costa Rica, she sent three suggestions as a jumping off point and Secrets Papagayo was the first one on the list.

Once I read the reviews on Trip Advisor I knew Secrets Papagayo was just what we were looking for. I didn’t even look at the other two resorts she suggested. Thank you Heather! If you’re interested in working with Heather tell her I sent you! (And no, I am not being paid to suggest her, I just think she’s great)

Secrets Papagayo Resort

First of all, Secrets Papgayo is only 15 minutes from the airport in Liberia which made our hotel transfers a breeze. I’ve been to some Caribbean resorts that are a one to two hour drive from the airport. I don’t mind it if the destination is worth the drive, but it was nice to find a resort that seemed so secluded so close to an international airport.

Secrets is a much smaller resort than any other Caribbean resort I’ve stayed in and I really liked it. It has a pool with a swim up bar and another pool for water sports like volleyball. The best feature is that you can see the beach from the pool and vice versa. This is perfect if you’re a pool person traveling with a beach person (or vice versa). I am a beach and pool person, and it was so nice to be able to go back and forth a few times a day. Most resorts are more spread out so it’s harder to change up your scenery.

The food and rooms at Secrets Papagayo were both solid. We didn’t spend much time in the room, but the bed was comfortable and the bathroom was clean.

Like at most resorts, breakfast is served buffet style with ala carte options for lunch dinner. You never have to make a reservation at any of the restaurants, with the exception of the hibachi table. As with most resorts, I always think the Asian restaurants are the best. Mike liked the Italian restaurant called Portofino.

Also, the Secrets Resorts are very romantic, but don’t feel like you have to travel as part of a couple. When we were there we met families and large groups of friends traveling together. Note though, it’ is adults only.

One thing I must mention is that the tap water and the shower water is extremely hard and salty. You do not want to ever, ever open your mouth in the shower and strongly suggest using bottled water to brush your teeth.

Things to Do at Secrets Papagayo

We did one excursion off the resort which is called the Super Combo. Every tour company seemed to offer this options. It combined ziplining, a water slide, horseback riding* and a traditional Costa Rican meal, including coffee. Costa Ricans love their coffee. They love it so much that they drink most of what they produce themselves. You can book this at the tour desk. Several other guests did the Arenal Volcano Adventure. They loved it but it’s a 3-hour ride one way from the resort to the Volcano which makes for a long day.

At the resort, there are the usual pool games like volleyball and water polo, and at the beach you can rent jet skis and tour the area. The day we jet skied, a humpback whale and her calf breached about 50 feet away and I think I held my breath for a full 5 minutes.

The resort also offers a small group kayaking trip during sunset that was pretty spectacular.

Getting There

We flew American from Bradley, had a quick layover in Charlotte and then flew to Liberia. I booked a hotel transfer via Amstar.

*I’m now solidly committed to avoiding any activity that involves animals on a trip since finding out that the animals are usually abused. Do your research before doing any activity that involves animals.1

Filed Under: Caribbean, Travel Tagged With: costa rica

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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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Saturday Farmers Market in Washington Depot CT

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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