In which we discuss:

• Connecticut wildlife encounters
• Winter camping in New England
• Our travel and transportation annoyances, rants, and pet peeves

Summary

This month, we’re talking about wildlife: specifically, our encounters with wildlife in Connecticut, be they sad, scary, or amusing. We’ve got coyotes, possums (!), bees, deer, and more. (So much more that Kerri forgot to mention the time an emu crossed her path in Tolland, and Johnna forgot to mention the time she was bitten by red ants on her own sidewalk.) We also discuss winter camping in our region. Johnna thinks it would likely kill her; Kerri think it may be “the anti-Hygge” but does it anyway, and she shares her tips. Finally, we kvetch about travel peeves, from planes, trains, and automobiles to perplexing signage. And we get a little off-topic, of course!

Links

During our first segment, we mention:

Deer whistles.

A possum (possum? opossum?) encounter in Southbury.

Kevin, the Wethersfield Turkey and (his fan club on Facebook.)

The escaped donkey in Waterford.

Why the Connecticut College mascot is a camel.

The new Norwich Sea Unicorns.

In our second segment, Kerri mentions her Thanksgiving camping adventure. Lest you think she was glamping, here’s photographic proof she was not:

In our last segment, we mention:

The recent truck on the tracks incident in New London.

The car on the Parade Plaza incident in New London seems to have escaped the Internet, but here’s a moving truck that also caused some drama there.

 

 

In which we discuss:

• Colorful front doors and other Connecticut attractions.
• Local and regional exploration habits, and how what we personally enjoy doing is sometimes different than what we share with others.
• How your travel “type” (solo, family, group, younger, older, etc.) subtly influences what you enjoy.

 

Summary

We’re back, and we have a guest! Deb Cohen of the Front Door Project joins Kerri and Johnna to talk about the Connecticut Barns Trail and how her Instagram account featuring homes in her West Hartford neighborhood became a blog and a community. Plus, Deb’s take on those people who whine about living in the Nutmeg State. Next, we discuss how sometimes the things we love to do locally – like wander in historic districts or find old chimneys in the woods – aren’t always the places we share with visitors. Finally, we ponder how our preferred travel activities can change depending on where we are in life and who we’re with. Topics include going to vineyards alone, going on vacation with kids, and not going to the aquarium when it’s filled with children.

Links

Read Deb’s post about the Connecticut Barns Trail.

Find Deb at her blog, The Front Door Project, as well as her Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Listen to our previous episode on solo travel and travel fears.

 

Music: “Below the Waves” by Keshco

In which we discuss:

• The relaunch of The Size of Connecticut, CT food trends, and all the things Johnna can’t eat.
• What is an island, even? And why we love (or don’t love) the islands in our region.
• Are influencers (and uninformed tourists) ruining everything?

Summary

In this episode, Kerri and Johnna talk about Connecticut food trends and the foods Connecticut does well, and how all that relates to Johnna’s decision to start writing about food. We also discuss the nearby islands we have (and have not) visited, and what is it that makes islands so special in general. Finally, we get into the destruction of natural resources by over-eager Instagrammers, the related geotagging controversy, and the beauty of finding less popular outdoor spaces to explore.

Links

Here are the links we referred to in this episode:

The Size of Connecticut.

The Size of Connecticut archived posts.

The Size of Connecticut on Instagram.

Going/Steady Ep. 9, in which we talk about Connecticut Wine.

Instagrammers and the Canadian sunflower field.

Instagrammers and the California daffodil field.

Instagrammers and the super-bloom.

OnPoint episode featuring on Jackson Hole, WY’s “tag responsibly” campaign.

Barcelona’s tourist-control efforts.

The famous lighthouse in Peggy’s Cove, which Halifax politely implores you to visit in the off season.

Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics .

Public Lands Hate You.

Why you should keep geotagging via Melanin Base Camp.

The Palau Tourism Pledge.

Yellowstone National Park overcrowding.

The Connecticut Coastal Access Guide.

To find more off-the-beaten-path spots to experience Connecticut’s natural beauty, we recommend Real Hartford and TSOC (of course), as well as the state of Connecticut’s outdoor recreation page and our friend Steve’s list of CTMQ Hikes.

 

Note: This podcast may contain occasional curse-words. Use the earbuds at work or around the kiddos.

Music: “Below the Waves” by Keshco

 

In which we discuss:

• Hartford’s (semi-)hidden Park River.
• What to wear in New England.
• Our top five favorite travel movies.

 

Summary

Kerri describes the past and present of the Park River, once a prominent feature of Hartford and now a curiosity most Connecticut residents know nothing about. (Johnna’s intelligent questions include, “Did people use it for, like, water?”) Then we talk about what to wear when traveling in New England and give a few packing tips for anyone planning a trip in the region. Finally, we share our five favorite travel movies (hint: Kerri’s theme is life falling apart, Johnna’s is women who do whatever the $@%! they want, and we both love a road trip.)

Links

To learn more about the Park River, visit parkwatershed.org.

A pdf map of the river and its flood control system is available here.

We refer several times to the iQuilt Plan.

And here are some images of the Park River to look at as you listen:

 

Johnna’s Movie Picks:

1. Tracks
2. Gadjo Dilo
3. Transsiberian
4. Horatio’s Drive
5. Long Way Round and Long Way Down

Kerri’s Movie Picks:

1. Baraka
2. Amelie and French Kiss
3. Roman Holiday
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
5. National Lampoon’s Vacation and National Lampoon’s European Vacation

 

Note: This podcast may contain occasional curse-words. Use the earbuds at work or around the kiddos.

Music: “Below the Waves” by Keshco

 

We’re doing something a little different this time: a crossover episode with Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut Explored.

Instead of our usual format, we’re giving you a segment we recorded for Grating the Nutmeg. In it, Kerri puts on her interviewing hat (it’s a metaphorical hat, but it’s really nice) and asks Johnna about the past and present of New London’s Fort Trumbull, the topic of an article Johnna wrote for the Spring 2019 issue of Connecticut Explored.

We’ve also added a bonus segment for Going/Steady listeners, with more New London travel inspiration for anyone who loves history and/or exploring the shoreline. In it, we talk about what to see, where to eat, and why you just can’t get away from Benedict Arnold around here.

Resources mentioned in this episode include the Thames River Heritage Park and New London Main Street.

 

Music: “Below the Waves” by Keshco