In which we discuss:

• We’re not the only ones to make bad decisions — Connecticut’s urban planners have made their fair share of poor choices, with impacts lasting for decades.
• Exploring NYC: what to do, what not do do, and why it’s good to be a flaneur.
• If selecting a travel destination leaves you feeling lost, Johnna has some tips for you.

Summary

In this episode, Kerri and Johnna ramble on about several questionable urban (and not-so-urban) planning decisions in Connecticut, share thoughts and tips about visiting NYC, and break down how to pick a vacation destination when you have no idea where to go.

Special Moments

Go to the official I-84 Hartford Project site to see what stage of undoing bad decisions we are currently in. Unimpressed by the Circle of Death (Pulaski Circle?) and therefore, all roundabouts? See what a true roundabout should look like. Check out what Riverfront Recapture has done to improve Hartford’s riverfront. Learn more about the history of I-95 and Hodges Square in New London. If you want to visit the Old Town Mill, the address is 8 Mill Street, New London CT, 06320.

If this was your first time hearing about the fight over Washington Square Park, go read up! 6 ½ Avenue in Manhattan is a semi-secret pedestrian-only street. If you share Johnna’s love for pocket parks, Untapped Cities is a good place to discover new ones. The New York Transit Museum, even though it’s in a borough, managed to make its way into the conversation. (If you’re stuck in Manhattan, the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex & Store is another option.) We also mention the Merchant’s House Museum, the High Line, the High Bridge, Caffe Reggio, Big Gay Ice Cream, La Lanterna di Vittorio, Fishs Eddy, Chloe’s Fruit, NYC Street Fairs, and the benefits of taking the subway and the bus.

Note: This podcast contains occasional, relatively lightweight curse-words. Use the earbuds at work or around the kiddos.

 
Music: “Below the Waves” by Keshco

In which we discuss:

• How can we survive spring in Connecticut?
• Do legends and lore drive us to explore regional destinations?
• Should we let our travel choices be guided by the stars?

 

Summary

In this episode, Kerri and Johnna talk about how to get through the grey and drizzly days of spring, why we seek out haunted (or “haunted”) New England places, and what we think about travel horoscopes.

Special Moments

Check out Johnna’s Tucson pictures on Instagram. Learn more about the Meriden Daffodil Festival and the Litchfield Daffodils. Read about Wooster Square and their cherry blossoms, and check out Johnna’s wintery Wooster Square Park blog bost. Plan a trip to the West Hartford Reservoir (bike optional) and see the Cosmic Omelet menu Kerri has been obsessing over.

Get directions to Dogtown in MA and read what Johnna wrote about her visit last year. (If you’d like to read more about the area’s history, check out the book Dogtown by Elyssa East.) Read Johnna’s post about New Castle, NH (which she erroneously calls Castle Island here, because its original name was Great Island and she can’t really think properly in spring) and Richard Chamberlayne’s Lithobolia. (For more, read the book The Devil of Great Island by Emerson W. Baker.) Plan a visit to Devil’s Hopyard State Park, Gay City State Park, or Satan’s Kingdom State Recreation Area. Listen to the episodes of SYSK and Lore about the Jewett City Vampires. See Damned Connecticut for more information about allegedly haunted places in the state, plus, the Fisher. See what Johnna saw in Centralia, PA.

Test our theory: Myers-Briggs vs. astrological signs. Read the Travel & Leisure articles about Zodiac-based travel advice and where your sign should go this spring.

 

Note: This podcast contains occasional, relatively lightweight curse-words. Use the earbuds at work or around the kiddos.

Music: “Below the Waves” by Keshco

 

In which we discuss:

What is a bad decision? If there are no consequences, was it a bad decision after all? And, if you recognize you are making one, do you reassess or double down?

 

Summary

In this episode, Johnna, Kerri, and special guest Tony talk about the questionable places we have lived, our philosophies on trespassing, and how moments of poor judgment inform our future adventures.

Special Moments

Johnna wrote about Seaside Sanitorium and we chat about that, forgetting to mention that it’s haunted.

We also discuss the Connecticut geotag on Instagram (below), along with how trespassing is connected with privilege.

Kerri refers to a near-altercation. You can read about that here. Kerri also talks about an episode in which she was not trespassing in Willimantic, but has realized that the very last part of that story does, in fact, involve trespassing. But that happened several decades ago, so let’s leave it alone.

To learn more about how the Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in the world, check out this website.

After recording, we did confirm that an episode of The Office explored the problem with GPS.

In the episode, Johnna mentions the time Kerri got crop-dusted in a tobacco field. We recorded this segment, but then cut it. In short, Kerri thought it would be a good idea to wander around, barefoot, in a tobacco field in Connecticut.

Here’s the essay Kerri wrote about being a latchkey kid and here’s the one about railroad safety and another about fear.

While talking about bicycle touring, Tony shouted out Warm Showers. This is a free way for cyclists to get shelter and a shower while touring.

Finally, it was as if the Twitterverse was listening:

Tony Cherolis used to be an engineer, but always will be an engineer.  Currently, he is working at the Center for Latino Progress as the Transport Hartford Coordinator.  Transport Hartford works on mobility, jobs access, education, and community organizing around multimodal transportation, transit, rail, biking, and walking.  Between projects, Tony likes to go on silly adventures, cross country bike tours, and generally makes bad / different decisions. You are likely to find him around Hartford on foot or a bike, and sometimes sleeping in local parks. [photo credit: Chion Wolf]

Music: “Below the Waves” by Keshco

In which we discuss:

• What good ideas should CT steal from other states?
• Which regional travel experiences are overrated?
• How do we shop for souvenirs?

 

Summary
If imitation is the greatest compliment, what ideas should Connecticut steal from other states? What stands in the way of us adopting and adapting practices and events that are at once genius and totally ordinary? In this episode, Johnna and Kerri also explore popular New England travel destinations and experiences that are maybe just a touch overrated, even if sometimes, legitimately good. Learn what makes Johnna “irrationally angry.” Finally — if nobody brings home souvenirs, did a trip even happen?

Special Moments

In the first segment, we talk about the Atlantic Antic and Smorgasburg, both of which have since been confirmed to still exist. You can determine for yourself if MulchFest is anywhere near as potentially exciting as Kerri thinks. For more information about WaterFire and Fur Rondy, visit their websites. Johnna mentions The 203.

In the second segment (15:15), Johnna refers to the New Maine News. We discuss the Big E. We also mention Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ, the Woodstock Fair, and the Durham Fair. Sidenote: occasionally Kerri says “leafs” instead of “leaves”; this is a residual habit from when she would talk to her dog about jumping in the leafs — oops.

The last segment (32:45) makes mention of spoon collecting, which has a history.

Note: podcast contains occasional, relatively lightweight curse-words. Use the earbuds at work or around the kiddos.

Music: “Below the Waves” by Keshco

 

In which we discuss:

• Connecticut’s quaintness, real and imagined.
• Regional destinations that surprised us, pleasantly or otherwise.
• When prepping for a trip, do we prefer planning it all out or leaving everything to chance?

 

Summary

What Connecticut features qualify as quaint? Johnna and Kerri talk about happy surprises and a few disappointments in regional travel. Is it better to travel based on an itinerary or on whichever way the wind blows?

Special Moments and Details

CTMQ has published a piece on the fairy houses that gets mentioned at 4:45. Kerri has written a bit about the slang [8:30] that needs to stop in 2018.

We start our chat about regional surprises at 15:00. Learn more about historic, and possibly quaint, Benefit Street [18:50] on the Rhode Island tourism site. Johnna was not wrong about Burlington being the most populous city in Vermont [26:25]. The New Haven rant [27:00]  inspired an idea for a dating app. And if you’re wondering, here’s some background on why New Haven can claim to be “America’s first planned town” [30:00]. Wild Bill’s Nostalgia [32:15] is hard to describe, so peek at their website for a better idea. The Connecticut Old State House & Museum of Curiosities, and its famous two-headed calf, get a mention [39:25]. Kerri was ultra wrong about the length of the ice jam that the Coast Guard had to deal with back in January [41:40].

Our conversation about planning begins at 43:10, and meanders into a slightly off-topic look at such topics as Valentine’s Day dinners and Edible Arrangements.

Note: podcast contains occasional, relatively lightweight curse-words. Use the earbuds at work or around the kiddos.

Music: “Below the Waves” by Keshco