A day in CT for only $10

Day Trip

For those of us that live here in CT, we are always caught saying two things… “There’s nothing to do in CT” and “Everything is too expensive here.”  Yup, I have to admit, a little digging was required to find a cheap, entertaining and interesting day, but Edith did it!  For only $10 today we got to meet local celebrities, have a culinary experience and saw our state from a new perspective.



Kara Sundland, Edith, Scot Haney and Me after the show.



We met at the WFSB studio in Rocky Hill to grab a seat in the audience of Better CT, a local talk show featuring “Scot and Kara”. The studio holds about 20 audience members, so you are really right up in the action at all times.  They start promptly at 10am and run the show basically in order.  They open with chit-chat (today we learned that Scot and his partner of 20 years split up, YouTube has a frog sitting like a person on a bench and Beyonce is People’s most beautiful woman of the year.) went into a cooking segment, met with a local fundraising group, interviewed a celebrity, spoke with activists and showed us some eco friendly products.  Something for everyone. 

The camera men and relations folks really make you feel part of the show and give you life saving tips…. Do not eat anything Scot offers from the “Recipe of the Week” as Scot licks his fingers...alot.  It was interesting to watch an interview Russell Hantz (Of Survivor fame), as Russell was on an audio feed from the West Coast and only Scot could hear what he was saying.  We got to watch him have a one sided conversation – then we had to go home and view the show at 3pm to see what was said from California.  A great time and the tickets are FREE, just sign up in advance.

From Rocky Hill we went over to the Lincoln Culinary Institute on Sigourney St. in Hartford, where the students prepare a daily buffet lunch.  In this second floor dining room today’s menu included chicken legs with lo-mein noodles, garlic mashed potatoes, white fish, a cob salad and pasta.  They also had pizza, wraps and a dessert table.  As this is in a busy part of the city with free parking, it is no wonder that locals come in for a quick $10 lunch.

I loved the chicken and mashed potatoes and the cheese tortellini with carbanara sauce was rich and tasty.  The cob salad was perfectly presented and yummy but the desserts stole the show.  I tried the orange dream cake and the bit of the chocolate cake with raspberry. 

We were on the hunt to stay close to the culinary school but to find something free and interesting.  Edith found us the Museum of Connecticut History in the State library.   The walls of the main hall are lined with paintings of every CT “governor” from 1600’s to today.  There are great exhibits about the Charter Oak Tree, Martin Luther Kings’ visit to CT, coins and things invented right here in our great state, (the Frisbee and the Electrolux vacuum for starters) as well as an impressive display of Colt Firearms.  You can spend about an hour here and also can arrange for guided tours.

The CT state library also houses our State Supreme Court where you can watch cases in action and also trek down to the basement for a spin through your CT genealogy.

Comic Books, Movies and Zombies!

Adventure

Boston Comic Con

& the Attack of the Atomic Zombies



The Offical Movie Poster



Take six friends, add in strangers dressed as superheroes, toss in a standing room only crowd of indi-film lovers and you end up with a fantastic weekend!

Last fall I had the privilege of  getting involved with Butterfleye Films on their first independent film, Attack of the Atomic Zombies, a black n white, all improvised love-letter to the great sci-fi monster films of the ‘50’s and 60’s.  This past weekend AotAZ was the one and only independent film shown at the Boston Comic Convention. 

This was my first ever “Comi-con” and it was quite the experience, though I was there to help draw an audience to screen our movie, help sell DVD’s and spread the word about this awesome film company – I was also there for the adventure of going to a con.  If you have never been to a Comi-con, it is a place for sellers and buys of comic books and all things related to get together in one place, artist to meet their fans, and also a chance for hard core comic book fans to dress up as their favorite character and show off their costumes. 



Jason & Mr. T go at it in the lobby



I got to see a dozen Batman’s, Wonder Womans’ and super heroes I did not know.  But also I got to see guys dressed up as Kiss, The Ghost Busters and various Star wars / trek characters.  These folks get into it for sure.  I didn't even know that the A-Team had a comic book, or Jason from Friday the 13th.



Two Face and Joker
in front of the
Stay Puft Marshmallow Man



On Saturday our movie ran at 3:30, we had three of our lead actors there promoting the event with us as well as the director!!  By 3:20 it was a full house and by show time, folks were finding places to sit on the floor.  All the flyers we passed out and chatting we did paid off.  Tony, our films creator and director introduced the movie to the first crowd of strangers to ever see it.  Tony, Brian (our guy who can build ANYTHING ) and myself stood in the back of the room like expect parents as the crowd began to laugh in all the right places.  They cheered for the good guys, booed the evil scientist and melted for the love interests. 

And as if Saturday’s crowed didn’t enjoy the film enough… Sunday’s crowed was even better!  Standing room only again with true b-movie enthusiasts that really “got” what we were trying to get across.  Folks bought copies of the movies to take home and we even sold some to folks who couldn’t stay for the film but really wanted to see it.  All in all, it was a huge success!



Some of the Cast and Crew...
Andrew: Dr. Harry Housen,  Steve:  Sheriff Ed Wood,
Allyson: Gale Arden,
Tony: Director  Brian:  Special Effects and more



I really enjoyed seeing all the dressed up fans, watching the artist work and most importantly spending time with my friends.  We had great conversations, shared some good meals, stayed up WAY too late while we laughed… a lot.

Count down: 2 months to go...

Upcoming

Planning my Summer Road Trip

So this summer I will be taking a road trip.  A two week drive from TX to CT.  2000 plus miles of America, most of which I have never seen.  This trip will bring me to NINE new states and will bring my US state count to 36!!  So we (my two good friends and I) will be flying to San Antonio then renting a mini-van and seeing some sites throughout the great Southern states.  Now, a one way air ticket and one way car rentals are very pricey, so I have to find a way of cutting costs on this trip.  That involves a lot of time on the computer looking up cheep, free and interesting thing to see and do.

Sometimes I just Google “Cheap and Free in….” or “Top 10 free things in…”  I get lots of great tips and ideas.  Museums are often free one or two afternoons a week.  Parts of places may also be free, such as a historical home might charge for a tour but their grounds are free.

One of my favorite websites for a road trip is “Roadside America”.  Ever wonder how to find the world’s largest ball of twine or a shrine to Jon Bon Jovi… this is the site that has it all.  You can even put in your location and it will tell you what is near you – you may not even know that you are only 5 miles from a haunted cemetery or a backyard orphanage of exotic animals!!

As I work on pulling this trip together I will share with you some great finds and tips on how to pull a road trip adventure like this together.  I will be going to:  TX, LA, MS, AR, TN, AL, TN, KY and WV.  If you have any suggestions of things I might be able to fit into this adventure, I’d love for you to share with me!!