Here’s Our Best & Worst Things From Connecticut

Shae and I left Connecticut a week ago having spent 3.5 weeks there on our 50 state road trip.

3.5 weeks was longer than we needed as it turned out to be our least favorite state so far. The state didn’t have much charm other than Mystic, the drivers are awful, it’s expensive, it’s not very pet-friendly and it just wasn’t very memorable overall.

We did find a few enjoyable activities though, so here’s a look back at some of our favorite – and not so favorite – things from our time in Connecticut.

Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At

Stephen – This is a tough one. The service was excellent at the Hyatt House Shelton, but I loved our suite at the Residence Inn Hartford Windsor – it was like living in an apartment again.

Shae – I enjoyed the space at the Residence Inn but there were too many issues, particularly with service, that pushed it from my top slot. That goes to Hyatt House.

Favorite Meal

Stephen – This is a tough one too. Flavor-wise, I think I liked the Peruvian chicken and chicken fried rice from The Rockin Chicken in Hartford most. In terms of value and sheer amount of food though, iD Brazil in West Haven gets the win.

Shae – I loved both the meals that Stephen mentioned. My favorite was probably the steak sandwich I had at Lucky Lou’s Bar and Grill but I feel like Mystic Pizza needs an honorable mention. We were told that it was good, but overrated, which is how I ended up feeling about Frank Pepe’s – I really enjoyed Mystic Pizza.

Most Disappointing Meal

Stephen – Our pizzas at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. It wasn’t terrible, but it’s supposedly the best pizza in the US and it was far from being that.

Shae – Definitely Frank Pepe’s, mine was overbaked and the experience overall wasn’t great.

Favorite Free Activity

Stephen – Visiting Olde Mistick Village the morning we left Connecticut. It’s a really cute place with loads of boutique stores. Most of them were pet-friendly and one of the stores – Sticky Situations – also had free tastings of all kinds of honeys, oils and vinegars.

Shae – We didn’t do a lot of free activities, so Olde Mistick Village is my favorite as well.

Favorite Paid Activity

Stephen – I’m going to have to pick two again – tubing on the Farmington River and Gillette Castle State Park. Getting to experience rapids on the tube was fun, while Gillette Castle was beautiful inside and out with all kinds of interesting history and architectural features.

Shae – I really loved Gillette Castle too. It was interesting and worth the visit.

Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity

Stephen – I loved that most of the stores at Olde Mistick Village were pet-friendly. Even more so because it was really hot that day, so it meant we weren’t stuck outside in the heat and humidity.

Shae – I think the Bubble Run 5K was my favorite since it was such a nice surprise that Truffles was able to come with us.

Least Favorite Activity

Stephen – I think I’d have to go for Castle Craig. It was fairly crowded up there and there wasn’t much to see.

Shae – Definitely Castle Craig was the worst. It was a long drive only to get up to the top and found out it was a bit underwhelming. Sunset pictures would have redeemed it, but you can’t drive up there (or get out) after 7pm in the summer, so sunset pictures were out.

Favorite Hike

Stephen – I don’t think we actually went on a hike while in Connecticut.

Shae – Nope, not a single one.

Favorite Quirky Thing We Did

Stephen – The 5k Bubble Run in Hartford.

Shae – I don’t know if I’d class The Bubble Run as quirky so I don’t really have anything for this one either.

Favorite Memory

Stephen – I think I’ll go for Gillette Castle here.

Shae – I loved sitting by the water at Indian Falls State Park and talking about the plans for the next 3.5 years. I also loved making memories with our new friends, Jenny, Jessie and their kids and pup Winnie. I also really enjoyed seeing behind the scenes of the Potterhead Running Club and helping to pack medals.

Funniest Moment

Stephen – Truffles getting dressed up for National Bikini Day.

Shae – I think seeing Malcolm (Jenny’s little boy) being a robot was probably the funniest memory.

Thing We Most Regretted

Stephen – Spending 3.5 weeks in Connecticut – 2 weeks would’ve sufficed.

Shae – Agreed. I did not care for Connecticut at all.

Something We Missed And Want To See

Stephen – Both the Mark Twain House and Harriet Beecher Stowe House. We had enough time to see them, but they weren’t particularly cheap and we’re already due to go over budget this month, so we had to give them a miss.

Shae – Yes, I’d like to go back for the Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe Houses.

Our Biggest Surprise

Stephen – How little I enjoyed our time in Connecticut. I didn’t know much about it beforehand, but had assumed it’d be more fun than it was.

Shae – Same. I really thought I’d enjoy it since it’s near NYC and I love it there so much. Nope. Other than a few folks, people were pretty rude, not a lot of dog-friendly things to do, things that we could do were expensive… Yeah, Connecticut isn’t for me.

My Connecticut Drinking Game Would Be…

Stephen – Take a drink every time you discover yet another attraction isn’t dog friendly.

Shae – Take a drink every time you dream about leaving Connecticut.

Summary Of Connecticut In 10 Words Or Less

Stephen – Little charm, bad drivers, not much fun stuff to do.

Shae – Not a great state. Wouldn’t recommend. Don’t wanna go back.

Connecticut Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite

Stephen – Hartford, Shelton, New Haven. Then again, you could probably jumble those up and I wouldn’t think it was inaccurate – none of them really stood out more than the others.

Shae – Again, same. Hartford maybe had the most potential to be good but overall I wasn’t impressed with any of them.