Since leaving the state and staying overnight at hotels is pretty much off-limits, currently one of my favorite pastimes has become car rides. Sure, when my younger son needs a nap, I often tool around my town for a while to keep him sleeping. What I’m talking about though is a few hour road trip, […]
From Framingham to Fitchburg Read More »
So your significant other wants to go on a weekend getaway? In New England, it’s easy to find a destination that is enjoyable for both parties. This means if you are a craft beer enthusiast, it’s combining a weekend-worth of non-brewery activities with a few breweries that are close by. One of my favorite weekend
Stowe, Vermont: A Weekend Getaway Read More »
It’s that time of the year again. Valentines Day is a tough holiday to decipher in terms of gift-giving. If you’re looking for the perfect present for the craft beer and local history aficionado, look no further than the 2021 Backyard Road Trips Valentine’s Day Gift Guide! These items aim to please and I can
Backyard Road Trips Valentine’s Day Gift Guide Read More »
My wife Katie and I (Jim, not Zack) started a new tradition of participating in the “First Day Hikes”, a program hosted by the CT state park system. It’s exactly what it sounds like. CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection organizes several hikes on the first day of the year at state parks throughout
First Day Hike- Mansfield Hollow Dam Read More »
As a nonfiction writer, I honed my chops writing about the weird, the paranormal, and the odd. This came full circle when a post from two years ago about Primitive Crow, an antiques and primitives store in Bozrah, Connecticut, recently saw an upsurge in website traffic. This is because the Primitive Crow was featured on
Backyard Legend Tripping Read More »
My never-ending quest to find interesting, and if possible, family-appropriate hikes continue. Living in the South Shore, although quite built up commercially and residentially, there are copious numbers of walking trails. Recently, my family and I took a trip to the Stewart/Person Preserve in Kingston, Massachusetts. With the main loop around Sylvia Place Pond about
Stewart/Person Preserve Read More »
Located twenty miles from Boston, Lake Cochituate is a popular freshwater recreation area. With swimming, boating, and grounds for picnicking, Lake Cochituate State Park in Natick is a top destination during the summer. Visiting any time of the year though, the sparkling waters are a much-needed respite from the highly trafficked roads of the Mass
As the care for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled has progressed from state institutions to group homes and day programs, the buildings that once housed the state hospitals are left vacant. The process of deinstitutionalization has left impressive buildings to a variety of fates. Some, like Foxboro State and Taunton State Hospitals, have been
Seaside State Park Read More »
In August, Backyard Road Trips branched out from the blog into the world of podcasting. The clever name, “Backyard Road Trips: The Podcast” was born. Take a look behind the scenes of our podcast. In early summer, my good and longtime friend Jim Wheeler, hiker, photographer, craftsman, and musician extraordinaire, contacted me about the possibility
Backyard Road Trips: The Podcast Read More »
As Jim and I were sampling pumpkin beers a few months ago, one of us mentioned that there were notes of brown sugar in a beer that we tasted. (Listen to the podcast here). Jim offhandedly suggested that the Rolling Stones’ classic, “Brown Sugar” should be the next track to be a part of the
A Six Pack and a Cover Song: Brown Sugar Read More »
