Tag Archives: connecticut

January 8, 2017

Wild Bill’s Nostalgia (Middletown, CT)

Date Of Visit: December, 28, 2016

Location: 1003 Newfield St, Middletown, CT

Cost: Free

Hours:Open everyday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Parking: There are about a dozen or so parking spots right in front of the store, and, in a pinch, parking is available on the front left hand side of the store as well as on the grounds.

Handicapped Friendly: The outside area is. The aisles in the store are a bit too narrow for wheelchairs unfortunately.

Dog Friendly: The outside area probably is

Highlights: Memorabilia, outdoor attractions, clothing, toys, games and other items from the past available for purchase

Web Site: Wild Bill’s Nostalgia

While the flag signifying the entrance to Wild Bill’s Nostalgia may seem plain, the store and grounds is anything but.

“Relive memories and take lots of photographs”, “Wild” Bill Zeigler told us as we entered his unique shop. So, I did.

Even as you walk in the front door, you are bombarded with unusual items and nostalgia.

The shop is so unique and , at times bizarre, that I stopped at the register expecting to have to pay an entrance fee. But, despite it’s museum like feel, there is no fee to enter Wild Bill’s. You’ll still end up leaving with your pockets a little lighter, though, after you browse the items inside.

One of the first things that caught my eye and sent me walking down memory lane immediately were the trading cards (love love love the trading cards for the old t.v. shows) and “cigarette candies” in the glass case by the register. And who could forget the pins we all used to wear our denim jackets? C’mon I wasn’t the only one. Of course, what is a grown man doing buying trading cards and candy cigarettes, or the real ones for that matter? But, that is the theme of this store; relive your youth and be a kid again for a little while.

“Wild” Bill Zeigler has run his business for 34 years. Over the years, the shop has changed somewhat but he has always specialized in the unusual.

Speaking of the unusual and hard to find, items from the dust bin of yesterday overflow the shelves and aisles at Wild Bill’s. Whether it is a Terminator statue, vintage shirts and posters, G.I. Joe and Barbie figures or a weird horseshoe tree, you’re sure to find something you will like. I still am kicking myself for not buying that Luke Skywalker poster.

Wild Bill’s even has items hanging from, and on the ceiling. Not sure if some of those posters on the ceiling are for sale.

Another favorite part of the store for me was the selection of media, including old school video games. And, there is a voliumnous collection of vinyl.

There is even an “adult section.” Yes, I did check it out. Strictly for research purposes. Old beer cans, a few Playboys and other jokey gifts line the shelves. I did spot these really cool old cameras and police detectors there.

While shopping there, I couldn’t resist buying this cool KISS lunchbox and a Grease poster.

If you think that is all there is to Wild Bill’s, then you’re sadly mistaken. Even before you enter the store, attractions are visible. So, the shopping experience is only the beginning of your Wild Bill experience.

A variety of exhibits, artistic displays and even a few abandoned haunted houses, which made them seem even creepier, occupy the grounds of Wild Bill’s. Who knew Michael Jordan was a zombie basketball player! Rumor has it the amusemtnpark rea may be open during the warmer seasons at some point.

This orange and yellow “Rube Goldberg” looking contraption is actually a mailbox.

These cars are, keeping with the nostalgia theme, are Yugos.

Those aren’t the only cars on the grounds of Wild Bill’s. Love the hippie mobile.

Cars aren’t the only vehicles on display at Wild Bill’s. These boats are also on display. If you do try to get close to these boats, as I did, be warned, it is very muddy in this section. At least I hope it was mud. I think they use a special chemical or add something to the soil to make sure the boats stand up and so I sort of sunk into the soil a bit and tracked muddy soil around the grounds.

There is also an assortment of artistic renderings and statues.

There are also some sheds or other enclosed huts on the grounds. The first one looks kind of cozy.

It’s hard to say which is more fun; the inside or outside of Wild Bill’s. But, whichever your preference, Wild Bill’s is sure to grab your attention and take you down memory lane!

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27 Comments | tags: art, connecticut, fun, Middletown, New England, photographs, Photography, photos, shop, store, Wild Bill's, Wild Bill's Nostalgia | posted in art, connecticut, fun, New England, photographs, photography, photos, store, Uncategorized

September 29, 2016

Northwest Park (Windsor, CT)

By New England Nomad

Date Visited: September 10, 2016

Location: 145 Lang Rd, Windsor, CT (15 mins north of Hartford, CT and half an hour south of Springfield, MA)

Hours: Open everyday, sunrise to sunset

Parking: There is ample parking(about 100 parking spots) in the main parking area as you enter by the soccer and baseball fields. There is also a smaller parking area by the dog park on your right as you enter the park that can accommodate about a dozen cars.

Cost: Free

Size: 473 acres, 12 miles of trails

Trail Difficulty: Easy to somewhat moderate in some areas

Time To Allot For Visit: 2 to 3 hours

Dog Friendly: Yes

Highlights: dog park, ponds, trails, flowers, reservoir, ball fields, wildlife, animals, tobacco museum, venue for events during the spring and summer

Web Site: Northwest Park

Trail Map: Northwest Park Trail Map

Since summer is winding down, I decided to take in one last trip to one of New England’s more popular parks while the weather was still warm.

With over 12 miles of trails, a reservoir and miles of trails, Northwest Park is a scenic, family friendly park that is a great place to take your dog.

At the entrance of the park, there is a small, penned in dog park called the Windsor Dog Park.

In a way, it is odd to have a dog park in a park that is essentially a dog park. I do suppose the penned in dog park would be good for dogs that may be too aggressive to be around other dogs or might be too shy or not yet socialized.

Along the trail past the main entrance, there is a pond with an overlook. The pond is full of turtles, frogs and even Koi fish. One of the visitors at the park threw some bread into the pond. Who knew turtles liked to eat bread!

There is also an organic and community garden at the park.

There is also a barn with farm animals and other animals at the park.

One of the special parts of the park is the art scattered around the park.

The trails at the park are pretty much flat and easy to negotiate with some slight inclines.

There are several trails at Northwest Park. We took the Brookside and Rainbow Reservoir trails. The Brookside trail is heavily wooded without much to see except a few chipmunks. The name Brookside seemed a bit misleading as there really wasn’t a brook to be found from the trail.

Eventually, we found ourselves by the Rainbow Reservoir. The surface of the water was a strange shade of lime green.

There were some boats in the water and even a water skier.

The trails are full of pretty trees, colorful flowers and a few abandoned barns.

You ever notice what the inside of an abandoned barn looks like? Then, wonder no longer. It’s actually pretty boring. The video below gives a better look inside.

There were also a lot of critters to see along the trails. This chipmunk thought she could hide from me.

This squirrel wasn’t any better at hiding.

This bird was a bit better at hiding.

Finally, on our way out of the park, we decided to check out the tobacco museum. The museum shows the history of the tobacco crop industry and the tools and machines they used.

Northwest Park is a great place to take your dog. The trails are not very hard to walk and there are lots of open spaces for your dog to roam. I found two very friendly dogs to photograph during my visit.

Tally is an 11 year old Shephherd mix.

Lada is a 1 year and 7 month old German Shepherd.

Below is a video of the water skier I saw at Rainbow Reservoir and a video of the inside of the abandoned barn I saw along the trails.

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6 Comments | tags: animals, connecticut, dogs, flowers, frogs, New England, Park, photographs, Photography, photos, trees, turtles, windsor | posted in connecticut, dogs, New England, photographs, photography, photos, pond, Uncategorized, windsor

May 8, 2016

Wadsworth Falls State Park (Middletown, CT)

By New England Nomad

Date Visited: May 7, 2016

Location: 701 Wadsworth St, Middletown, CT or Cherry Hill Rd, Middlefield, CT

Cost: When I went to visit, it was free. I think they begin charging a fee starting Memorial Day weekend. There is no fee entrance fee during the weekdays. It costs CT residents $9 and it costs non Connecticut residents $15 to get in to the park during the weekend. You also may be able to access the park for free at the Cherry Hill Rd entrance.

Hours: Open everyday from sunrise until night time.

Parking: There are about 30 parking spots at the main entrance at Wadsworth St and another 20 or so at the Cherry Hill Rd entrance in Middlefield (pictured below)

We entered at the main entrance on Wadsworth St. There is a sandy beach area (there is a lifeguard on duty during the summer season). Since it was an overcast and chilly day, there weren’t any people swimming but there were a lot of birds congregating near the water.

The highlight of the park, of course, are the falls. The two waterfalls at Wadsworth Falls are creatively named “Little Falls” and “Big Falls.”

Once you get on the main trail, you will eventually see the sign for the falls (after about a 3/4 to one mile hike). From this sign, it is about a half mile hike to the Little Falls and a mile hike to Big Falls if you enter from the entrance on Wadsworth St. There are also lots of trails that branched off the main trail and would be fun to explore if you have the time.

You can avoid the longer hike by parking on Cherry Hill Rd. Big Falls is accessible from a short walk down a well defined path from the lot on Cherry Hill Rd. But, the parking lot at Cherry Hill Rd is smaller than the lot on Wadsworth St.

Little Falls is actually a pretty big fall, even if it isn’t the biggest one at the park. But, the height of this waterfall may actually surpass the height of Big Falls. The last few shots in the slideshow are from our trek back to the main parking lot. The falls seemed much less rapid on our way back and you can see the ledges of the falls better.

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There are a few different ways to get to Big Falls, the main attraction. The safest, but longest way, is to follow the trail until you reach the edge of the park which filters onto Cherry Hill Rd. The park is a short walk on a sidewalk to the right. Or, you can cross the railroad tracks and follow trail along the tracks for quicker access. There really isn’t a defined trail but there is space to walk a safe distance from the tracks. The railroad is still in operation but we didn’t see any trains while we were there.

There are two places I photographed the waterfalls from but there are probably even more places to view the waterfalls. The first place is a little tricky to get to and potentially dangerous. There is a path that goes off the trail across the tracks and up to ta cliff that offers some decent views of the waterfall. I did take some photographs from there but I would bypass it and go to the parking area of the entrance on Cherry Hill Rd to get a safer, closer and less obstructed view of the waterfalls. The first two photos are from the cliff area the rest are views from the entrance to the park.

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From the main entrance on Wadsworth St it is about 1.5 mile hike to the falls and it is a 3.4 mile trail loop to walk the entire park. There were bicyclists, walkers and other photographers along the trail. Because of the inclines and, in some areas, rocky terrain, it would be a challenging place to go for a run. I would describe the trails as being easy to slightly moderate because of the inclines and rocky trails.

There are also pretty trees, bridges, plants, brooks and streams along the trails.

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There was a lot of bird activity at Wadsworth Falls such as this male red-winged blackbird.

There are a variety of bird life at Wadsworth including bats. This is a bat house. It was built and maintained as part of an Eagle Scout project to help restore the bat population. It was good to see that it’s not only the cute animals that are being helped.

Toads and other amphibious life is also abundant at Wadsworth State Park. It was still pretty cold out so these toads seemed out of sorts. We gently picked them up and tried to find a warmer place for them under some leaves.

Leashed dogs are allowed at Wadsworth State Park. It is a great place for dogs to play and roam around. Caesaris (pronounced Kay-sar-is), a friendly 1 year old female Labrador and Australian Sheep Dog, enjoyed the unseasonably cool weather with his mom.

Below are some videos I took of the falls. The power, crispness and sound is much more evident in the videos.

12 Comments | tags: birds, connecticut, dog, New England, Park, photographs, Photography, photos, trees, waterfalls | posted in birds, connecticut, dog, park, photographs, photography, photos, scenic, trees, Uncategorized, waterfalls

September 13, 2015

Olde Mystik Village (Mystic, CT)

By New England Nomad

Tucked away in the quaint village of Mystic, Connecticut, stands the hidden gem known as The Olde Mystic Village.

At first glance, Mistick Village may seem like a nondescript shopping center. But, Mistick Village is much more.

There are many cramped stores for specialty merchandise such as custom made clothing and hand made jewelry, pet shops and eateries that dot the village. It would be easy to dismiss it as just another shopping center. But Mistik Village has many unexpected charms. One of the biggest surprises at Olde Mistik Village is something very unique.

Right there, smack dab in the middle of the village is a pond.

Forget about the cinema and the fudge shop. The ducks are the most popular attractions at the village. People feed them their dietary recommended food. Signs prominently remind people crackers and bread are not safe for the ducks to eat.

They are not restricted to the pond area either. You can regularly see the ducks roaming the walkways of the Mistik Village.

And, since so many people feed them, they are not shy.

The flowers and trees at Mistik Village are another unique feature of the shoopping center.

Yes, that is a birdhouse on the flag pole.

Keeping with the aquatic theme, a waterfall leads to a stream with koi fish.

Some of the most charming elements of the village are the decor. Walkways are furnished with wooden gateways.

Wooden chairs rest in front of this fashion shop.

Various structures are scattered throughout the village.

Of course, the Mistik Village is a dog friendly area.

I met Theo and Rebel. Theo was happy to see me. Rebel, on the left, not so much.

I also made a friend at Old Mistik Village. Charley is a rescue dog from Hurricane Katrina. His dad told us how, after noticing Charley, he arrived at the dog shelter at 5 a.m. to make sure he could adopt him. Charley is a very special dog.

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4 Comments | tags: attractions, connecticut, decor, dogs, ducks, fish, flowers, mystic, New England, Photography, photos, plants, pond, shopping center, site seeing, stream, trees, waterfall | posted in animals, attractions, connecticut, dogs, ducks, fish, flowers, New England, shop, shopping, shops, travel, traveling

New England Nomad

Tag Archives: connecticut

Wild Bill’s Nostalgia (Middletown, CT)

Northwest Park (Windsor, CT)

Wadsworth Falls State Park (Middletown, CT)

Olde Mystik Village (Mystic, CT)

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