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Seven Reasons to Take a Connecticut Vacation

As a New England vacation travel writer Ive always considered Connecticut an overlooked state when people choose destinations and attractions for a New England vacation. As youll discover here a Connecticut vacation offers excitement... or peace and quiet, depending on your mood.

Lets take a quick look at seven reasons why you should consider a Connecticut vacation for your next New England trip.

THE MUSEUMS OF CONNECTICUT

With more than 14 diverse theme museums in Connecticut, theres bound to be something to suit your taste. Heres a quick rundown...

Bridgeport is home to The Barnum Museum and Discover Museum, and at Danbury youll find the Military Museum of Southern New England and the Danbury Railway Museum. Keeping with a train theme Thomaston hosts the Railroad Museum of New England and Naugatuck Railroad.

In Bristol you can find The New England Carousel Museum and period time pieces at the American Clock and Watch Museum. Just a little south in Waterbury is Time Expo, and a chance to celebrate the heritage of the Litchfield region at the Mattatuck Museum. At the Connecticut Antique Machinery Museum in Kent experience machinery that once drove commerce in the area.

Windsor Locks is not just home to Bradley International Airport but also to the New England Air Museum and south in East Haven experience another form of transportation at the Shore Line Trolley Museum.

And rounding out our must-see list is Mystics Museum of America and the Sea, and the fabulous Mashantucket Pequot Museum in nearby Mashantucket.

THE CONNECTICUT WINE TRAIL

Wineries in Connecticut? Yes, in fact theres 16 of them scattered throughout the state, and they make a perfect basis for a Connecticut Vacation. The climate in Connecticut is mild compared to the rest of New England and wines produced include: Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, and Riesling. While Connecticut wines have only been produced since 1978, many farms where the grapes are grown are hundreds of years old. The wine tasting room will usually be open but call ahead for a tour time. Youll find these wineries not geared for large bus loads, but on the plus much more intermit than wineries in Northern California.

The wine trail is split into two major regions and its suggested your tour is split up over three to four days. But because the trail takes you near so many other destinations and attractions in Connecticut let yourself be distracted and enjoy the jaunt through scenic and historic New England towns.

FOXWOODS AND MOHEGAN SUN

Combined Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun make the largest casino complex in the world. Foxwoods in owned and run by Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, and Mohegan Sun by Mohegan Tribe on lands they own in Uncasville. These are sophisticated high-style experiences with shopping complexes, hotels, high profile entertainment acts, and top-rated restaurants. They are both close to each other and located in the eastern region of Connecticut, and close to museums, scenic drives, and the Connecticut vacation attractions in Mystic.

HISTORIC HOMES OF CONNECTICUT

Perhaps the most famous home to see on your Connecticut vacation is Mark Twains in Hartford, which is now a museum as well full of many artifacts he accumulated in the 17 years he lived there. Also in Hartford is Harriet Beecher Stowe home of Uncle Toms Cabin fame. Another famous womans home is the academy run by Prudence Crandall in Canterbury - its the site of the first academy for black women in New England. Your trip to Connecticut should include the town of Litchfield where you can view museum quality preserved colonial homes, and the Litchfield History Museum and Tapping Reeve House and Law School.

Connecticut includes many historic homes that played an important role in the Underground Railroad and the African-American journey from slavery to freedom.

ESSEX STEAM TRAIN AND THE CONNECTICUT RIVER

The historic 1892 Essex station is your kick-off point for a unique combined 21/2 hour vintage Steam Train and Riverboat Cruise along the Connecticut River. In the summer its cooling, and in the fall stunning with the turning of the leaves. The Connecticut River Museum is also in Essex and vividly brings to life the rivers history as told through paintings, artifacts, and interactive exhibits.

THE TOWN OF MYSTIC

Mystic Seaport and the Mystic Aquarium are magnets for visitors to Connecticut. The seaport is billed as The Museum of America and the Sea and depicts an authentic 19th century seafaring village, tall ships to tour, and a Preservation Yard where master shipbuilding skills are still practiced. The Mystic Aquarium includes a delightful array of indoor and outdoor exhibits, including Beluga whales, and a stunning display and model of the Titanic.

THE ANTIQUE RUNS

Connecticut is famous for its concentration of antique shops, and draws thousands of treasure hunters each year who take a Connecticut vacation just to stock up on bargains and specimens to collect and decorate their homes. The village of Woodbury is known as the "Antiques Capital of Connecticut" and has over 45 dealers, but the fact is youre never too far from that special purchase no matter where you are in the state. Just sometimes its nice to take the time to follow your nose along a scenic New England road and see where it takes you... you can bet if its in Connecticut, itll take you close to an antique shop.

posted by nwwhimy @ 11:42 PM 0 comments

Better to Be Safe Than Sorry

Many documents in your possession may either be impossible to replace, or extremely difficult to replace, should the need arise. A safe-deposit box or a fireproof box is the perfect solution to storing these types of documents. You will need to determine whether or not you want the document stored on-site at your home, or off-site at your bank.

Items that Should Not be Placed in a Safe Deposit Box
Anything you would need in an emergency
Will
Living Will / Medical Directives
Funeral or burial instructions in case you need them over the weekend
Power of Attorney Originals
Passports in case you need to take a sudden trip outside the country

Insuring Contents of a Safe Deposit Box

Be sure to read the contract for your safe deposit box carefully. Banks do not insure the contents of what you put in the box. Fire, floods and theft are very rare at banks, but it does happen. Most banks will only be liable if you can prove that they were negligent and failed to use reasonable care to prevent a loss. If you are concerned about this, you should check with your insurance agent to find out if you need additional coverage for items placed off-site that may not be fully covered under your homeowners or renters insurance policy. Items typically placed in a safe deposit box that you would want insured may be; jewelry, coins and stamps. If you are storing checks or cash in your safe deposit box, you also will not be covered under the FDIC since you have not deposited them directly into your account.

Items to store in a Safe Deposit Box or Fire Proof SafeThe following list is intended to be a reference for you. It may not be a complete list of the documents or articles in your possession that you need to protect in a secure environment. You may wish to store all of your items at home in a fire proof box, or you may desire to store them off-site in a safe deposit box. You might determine that the best solution for your needs is to have a combination of both storing some of the most important and most difficult documents to replace in a safe deposit box and the rest in a fire proof box in your home. The solution you choose to store these important items is for you to decide, but which ever solution you select, be sure to follow through and take the steps needed to store these important documents. You will thank yourself later when you are looking for these documents, or heaven forbid should there be a fire or flood in your home.

Adoption Papers (Originals only)

Automobile title(s)

Bank account numbers and contact information

Baptismal and other Religious Certificates

Birth certificates (Originals only)

Cemetery Deed (Originals only)

Child Custody Agreements or Parenting Plans (Originals only)

Citizenship papers (Originals only)

Collectibles that are valuable

Credit card account numbers (copy the front and back of each card so you have both the account number and the customer service numbers)

Death certificates (Originals only)

Diplomas

Divorce decree(s) (Originals only)

Employee Benefit Records

Family historical information

Household inventory and appraisals of antiques, artwork, collectibles and furs you may also want to include photos or videos to help document these items

Important contracts

Immunization Records

Insurance policy names and numbers (home, auto, medical, life, renters)

Investment certificates

Jewelry and jewelry appraisals

Leases

Marriage certificate (Originals only)

Medals

Military records

Mortgage

Naturalization Certificates

Negatives of important photos such as those from your wedding

Patents and copyrights

Photos of Possessions

Rare Stamps and Coins

Real Estate Deeds

Retirement plan information

Stock and bond certificates

Veterans Papers

Accessing your Safe Deposit Box in case of an Emergency

In case of an emergency, you will want to know in advance who will be able to have access to your safe deposit box. Different states have different laws on who can access the box when you die. Some states make it easy for a family member or the executor of the estate to access the box, while other states require a court order to remove the will, which will take time and money. You can rent the safe deposit box jointly with a spouse, child, or someone else that would have unrestricted access to the box. They will however need to sign the rent agreement as well. If you die however, in some states there still may be delays for the co-renter of the box to be able to access the contents. Giving someone a key to your safe deposit box, does not give them permission to access the box, rather their name needs to be on the contract with the bank.

Create an Itemized List of Contents

The final steps to organizing your important papers and valuable items is to be sure to create an itemized list of those items that you are storing in either the safe deposit box, fireproof box or both. Be sure that you list the location of each item and the date that it was stored. Periodically, review the contents to see if you need to update any of the items that are being stored, such as new banking or credit card information. If you have a safe deposit box, take the itemized list with you and update it with you while you are there.

posted by nwwhimy @ 8:31 PM 0 comments