Book Barn - Niantic Connecticut

The Connecticut Shoreline is home to some adorable coastal towns. Stonington, Mystic, Groton Long Point and Niantic are some of my favorite small shoreline towns East of the Connecticut River.  One little coastal town that always sort of surprises me in its charm is the little section of East Lyme called Niantic.  In Niantic, you can find some historic homes, the Children's Museum and ocean views. Home to an old little independent movie theater with only five screens, a boardwalk where you can find runners and walkers, and an array of seafood shacks and restaurants on the water. Oh, and it is also home to the "famous" Book Barn. 

The Book Barn was started in 1988, in its original location, an old shingled barn in Niantic. The barn experienced a fire in the early 1990's, but has been up and running ever since. What started as "Three book cases and a couch" now spans eight stores with over half a million books.

There are a few things that make this not just your "average used bookstore".

Connecticut Breweries

There are a few states that are known for their awesome breweries. For example, we have California, with (as of 2013) 268 craft breweries, and Washington with (as of 2013) 136 craft breweries. Its a little hard to compete with those numbers.  But my East Coast loving friends, we can't let the West Coast get all the attention. Vermont also makes the ranks of a state with good local beer, home to big names like Long Trail, Magic Hat, and Harpoon. 

But what you probably didn't realize, is that the little state of Connecticut, sitting between New York and Boston is rising in ranks of breweries. I feel like I moved away for two years and BAM breweries were popping up all over the state. I even moved in virtually next door to a brewery, Beer'd Brewing Co.  Why the sudden change in CT?  A 2012 change to state liquor laws, allows breweries to have onsite tap-rooms, really helping the fleet of craft brewers.  You can read all about the trend of New Breweries in CT here.  

Scuba Diving: Kings Beach, Newport, Rhode Island

If you have talked to me for half a second you probably already know I am obsessed with the state of Rhode Island, and with lobsters.  And I am very very very fond of scuba diving.  So a day that combines these things together on a beautiful sunny Saturday in the middle of June is about as good as it gets for me. It was one of the weekends that puts you in such a good mood, that the weekend almost feels long and you are in such bliss that you don't even let Monday knock you down. 

My Cross Country Drive (Moving East Recap!)

Driving across the country is an experience. While you are driving, you keep saying to yourself "Why did I do this to myself.  Why didn't I just give a moving company all my money, my left limb and my first born to move all my crap across the country so I could just have a nice leisurely cross-country drive with company and a comfortable easy car".  But then looking back, I can look at a few photos, remember a few funny moments, and laugh.  And then I look at the bills and the money I saved and say it was all worth it (The moving truck along was going to run me >$5,000).  In the moment its always a stressful situation, a WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF, but looking back, it all worked out for the best.  A drive of this length, with all of your stuff in a pretty big Penske moving truck will come with a lot of laughs, some tears, and a wholllle lot of coffee and bathroom breaks. 

Like I said above, the moving company just to move my stuff was going to run me over $5,000.  And we would still have to drive one car back with the animals, paying for gas, hotels, food etc. After doing a lot of math, stressing out, and calling various companies, I decided to rent a truck. Once I decided I was going to rent a truck, I had to figure out which truck (what size), what company, and if we would tow the second car or drive it. There is a lot of work in moving across the country and after 2 big moves, I think I have the process down to a science. 

Cuyahoga National Park - Ohio

First Impressions:  Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the most confusing National Park I have ever been to.  I am up for our beautiful country taking a special plot of land, putting it in the National Park System, and preserving and protecting it for years to come (especially one so accessible, close to I-90 and the city).  But after visiting at least 10 National Parks in the last few years, ranging from the amazing canyons of Zion in Utah to the rocky shoreline of Acadia in Maine, I was just confused about this park in the middle of the two in Ohio. 

For starters, the National Park kind of blends in with the town.  There was no grand "National Park" entrance sign that I love to pose with, commemorating my trip to another National Park.  There weren't even signs within the town directing you to the park.  It kind of felt like, wait, there is a National Park here? Oh, I guess this is it?

The visitors center was not this grand building at the entrance of the park, but instead, in an old historic house.  While I love the history of the building and its location in the park, it wasn't that inviting COME ON IN and learn about how beautiful our park is.   The park boundary lines are not well defined, instead following the Cuyahoga in patchy sections that mark traveling through the park confusing and difficult.  I went in with low hopes after hearing a few people's opinion of Cuyahoga (well, from a few Ohio natives now living in SLC).  They said its pretty and all, but it really should just be a state park.  And after spending time in Utah's Mighty Five, I could see their point.