Collis P Huntington State Park, Connecticut

Collis P Huntington State Park is a gorgeous state park with a mouthful of a name. It is a state park steeped in history with a truly beautiful story about a famous sculptor. The property is a true western Connecticut dreamscape that I had never even  heard of until I set out on this State Park quest and for that, I am grateful. The park covers 1,017-acres and includes the towns of Bethel, Newtown, and Redding in Western, Connecticut. There are some amazing trail systems through the park, from single track paths to beautiful wide double track trails that traverse the park's lakes and ponds. 

Collis P Huntington State Park Trails

Collis P Huntington State Park

I was in the area for work and decided to set out with Otto to explore the park on a trail run. I saw horseback riders and trail runners, hikers and walkers traversing the park as I made my way through some of the trails. There is a beautiful parking area with a decent amount of parking, a picnic area, pit toilets, and the start of the trail system. There are also beautiful statues adorning the parking lot and you can tell this property was someone's private estate and meant a lot to someone (and now, to a lot of someones). Some of the prettiest parts of the trail passes by Lake Hopewell and there are other ponds and lagoons within the park. 

A Nantucket Day Trip - Fall 2024

A trip to Nantucket has been high (really high) on my New England bucket list. I'm a New England Native in love with the area. I'm a Weekend Wanderer out to explore as much of the northeast as my schedule as a mom/wife/business owner allows.  I've been to Martha's Vineyard, and spent a lot of time on Block Island, but Nantucket was the last one left on my "New England Island Trifecta". Most ACK visitors spend at least the weekend to take advantage of the island and the time it takes to get there. The island is small relative to its Vineyard neighbor, which means lodging is limited and you can expect to book far in advance, and spend a lot to do it. 

Nantucket charm

I toyed around with the idea of visiting Nantucket on a day trip and when a work opportunity came my way, I decided to make it happen. It's a lot of travel for the day, but the small size of the island makes it doable in a day trip and not having to worry about lodging is a second win. 

The work portion of the trip would take about 30 minutes while the travel to get to Nantucket would be four hours between the drive and the ferry, each way. Nantucket is the farthest east of the islands and is the southeasternmost town in both Massachusetts and the New England. This meant that if I was going to Nantucket, I was going to make the day of it and do the highlight reel on a sunny September day. I was also going in the shoulder season, after Labor Day when the crowds die down but warm enough to enjoy the sunshine and time outside on the island and it felt like the perfect way to experience Massachusetts island. 

Before I get into the details let me say a few things. I thought Nantucket was going to be overrated, that the island was more trendy and a socialite destination more than anything else and wouldn't be worth the expense and time required to travel there, especially for the day. Let me tell you no one was more pleasantly surprised than me. It took a little bit but I got the hype of the island, the vibe of Nantucket, and I can understand how special of a place it is, and why people head to this beautiful New England island in every single season. 

Weekender's Guide to Charleston, South Carolina

Adam and I planned to spend our anniversary weekend up in the White Mountain of New Hampshire. I was excited to get away just the two of us in our camper, to go hike some of the bigger mountains without having to drag to kids along (literally). As our anniversary approached, the weather started to look like a complete washout for the weekend and we made the last minute decision to pivot. I quickly set out to Google Flights to see if I find an inexpensive deal out of our local airport (one terminal New Haven airport an easy 30 minutes from our house). We ended up paying $289 for both of us to fly round trip to Charleston, South Carolina and back. And the best part? We pulled into the airport at 5 and we were having dinner under the palm trees by 8pm. Parking and security is about a 2 minute process and flying from one small airport to another with very little driving on either end was a weekend warrior's dream.

***Charleston is typically serviced by a lot of these budget smaller airlines making it an EASY and AFFORDABLE destination

Croton Point Park and Campground, Croton-on-Hudson, New York

Work takes me throughout the Northeast and in early summer, it took me to the Hudson area of New York to evaluate an undeveloped lot (back story: I am an Environmental Scientist who does due diligence work prior to the sale of commercial real estate). Because it was an undeveloped lot, I could get there whenever made sense for my schedule so I decided to make the weekend of it. I dragged the family with me and after a quick google search for campsites in the Hudson area, I stumbled upon a place called "Croton Point Park" and campground. What a funny name I thought, but to this point, I had been thoroughly impressed with New York State Parks and decided to give it a go. It looked like a peninsula on the water and at the price of $60 a night including access to the park, we packed up the camper and headed to the Hudson Valley.

Winnebago Hike 172BH - our camper/trailer one year review

Last year, Adam's online shopping (browsing) hobby turned into the purchase of a new-to-us RV. We always talked about one day getting a camper or RV, disagreeing on the size and the price. I was happy with something very small and basic (pop up style) but Adam was not. I wasn't looking with two kids and house renovations, it wasn't a top priority. Adam loves to look at real estate for sale online and added campers into the mix. Look and you shall find and when Adam brought me to see a barely used 2021 Winnebago Hike in a neighboring town, we left as camper owners. I truly loved it from the moment I saw it, an adventure lovers mobile home that was as big as I was willing to go and as small as Adam was willing to accept. It had everything we needed and a perfect setup for two kids camping in the back country or at a campground. I'll get into all the details about what the camper is like, why we love it, and why it may be a good choice for you. 

We've had the camper for a year and I didn't want to write anything about it until we owned it for a bit. We bought it in the early fall of last year and almost a year and five camping trips later (Portsmouth, Rhode Island; Croton Point, New York; Lake George, New York; Lincoln, New Hampshire; and Catskills, New York) I have some thoughts.