Happy Saturday, friends! I'm super excited for today because it's Connecticut Open House Day. Even though it's pretty new to us (we've only known about it the last 3 or 4 years), this is an event that has been happening statewide for the last 14 years!
Basically, various attractions throughout the state offer visitors discounted or free admission, giveaways, hands-on activities, and more. This year, the plan is to check out at least one new (to us) attraction, and I'm still trying to shorten our "short" list.
This year, I really want to check out the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat. The girls would be able to ride for free and I'm pretty sure we'll get to see one of our most favorite Connecticut destinations, Gillette Castle State Park! We're on the fence about this one, mostly because it's a bit of a drive away and the train/riverboat trip alone is approximately 2.5 hours. Also, we have no clue how busy it will be, especially since kids get to ride for free today.
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| If we do go to Essex, we'd be somewhere on the water that is behind the girls in this picture taken at Gillette Castle! |
A little closer to us, in Bristol, is the Harry C. Barnes Memorial Nature Center. We visited for the first time during the last Open House Day and we all loved it, so I'm hoping that even though it's not really "new" to us, we'll get to visit for a bit today.
Even closer to us, in Watertown, is Southwind Farms, which is an alpaca farm! It sounds pretty interesting, and it is new to us, so maybe we'll be heading there today.
We did agree on one location, and that is Fascia's Chocolates right here in Waterbury. We took a tour there a few years ago and loved it. This year, we plan on letting the girls make their own chocolate bars after the tour. When we mentioned we were going, that was the first thing they asked about. Kids remember the darndest things!
In addition to Connecticut Open House Day, it's also the second day of The Greek Experience Festival down in Danbury. Matt is addicted to the gyros, I love watching everyone dancing, and the girls love that when we go we are close to Grandpa's and Grandma's house and we get to sneak a visit in. It's also pretty great that we usually end up having to park at our old high school (where our "origin story" begins) and catch a shuttle bus over to the festival.
Does your state host an Open House Day? If so, I'd love to hear about the kinds of activities you opt to do, so go on and leave a comment!
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