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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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Connecticutters at the Pelican Grand in Fort Lauderdale

August 10, 2016 by Elizabeth Larkin Leave a Comment

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I have a complicated relationship with Florida. To me, it represents everything that’s wrong in America. And yet when I actually go to Florida, I like it.

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So I’m not a Florida person. When Liz Lemon makes fun of Florida (via “30 Rock”), I snicker. But many members of Mike’s family have relocated to there from Connecticut, so I have to keep my snickers in check and go visit. What a wonderful surprise the Pelican Grand in Fort Lauderdale was. When my long-time friend/travel agent Heather suggested three places for us in South Florida when planning this trip, I immediately chose the Pelican. I mean, just look at this place.

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The Pelican is right on the beach and has a nice restaurant with outdoor dining. We ate our breakfasts, lunches and dinners on the hotel’s back porch facing the ocean. There’s a nice a bar, a spa and a zero-entry pool. I never really “got” why people love zero entry pools, but after seeing parents with toddlers getting in and out of the water, I get it. The pool was salt water and open at night, which meant we could take a dip after dinner when it was still 90+ degrees at 9pm (did I mention this trip was in August?). The best part was the lazy river.

The second best decision we made in Fort Lauderdale, after deciding to stay at the Pelican, was to rent bikes instead of a car. We relied on a cab to get from Fort Lauderdale airport to the Pelican (Uber was not operating in Broward County when we visited), and then rented bikes to leave the hotel and go to dinner and do some exploring. We cruised down to Green Isles Taverna on our bikesand then rode back along the Intercoastal Waterway. It was a perfect long weekend in Fort Lauderdale (and a cheap/quick flight from Bradley!).

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Itinerary: Where We Went in Fort Lauderdale

We spent four days at the Pelican in Fort Lauderdale and basically just hung by the pool or floated in the lazy river while enjoying fruity cocktails. At night we went for walks on the beach. This is all by way of saying that we didn’t do a lot in Fort Lauderdale other than what I’ve described above.

Pelican Grand Beach Resort
2000 North Ocean Blvd
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305

Broward Bycle Bike Rentals

Greek Islands Taverna
3300 N Ocean Blvd
Fort Lauderdale, FL 3330850

Filed Under: Florida, Travel Tagged With: romantic

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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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