One of the great things about Connecticut is that there are so many interesting places to go to on day trips. Like say, Hale Homestead, in Coventry. My husband and I had never been there, and it seemed like good place to toddle around with our 13 month old. After loading the diaper bag with sippy cups, Cherrios and of course, Sophie the giraffe, the three of us hit the road.

Hale Homestead is now owned by Connecticut landmarks, but it was originally the family home of Nathan Hale, the patriot solider hanged by the British in 1776 as a spy. His famous last words were believed to be “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Did you know that Nathan Hale is the official State Hero of Connecticut? Me either. See what you can learn on an educational field trip?

Whether you like Georgian architecture, are a history buff or just want to check out the amazing Coventry Regional Farmers Market right on the homestead grounds, it’s well worth a visit.

The scenery is quite lovely, and it was a beautiful, warm day when we went.

There are some nice raised beds on display.

You can observe actors reenacting the past (note the fab spinning wheel in use!) and go on a guided tour of the grounds if that strikes your fancy.

Or just run like a heathen towards the enormous Coventry Regional Farmers market where live music plays as you try to decide which direction to tear off in first.

I have never seen such a large farmers market before, and the diversity of products was incredible. There were tons of vendors and farmers selling everything you could possibly imagine. Fruits, veggies, goat cheese, sauces, meats, pastries, breads, popcorn, fudge, coffee, tea, fudge, flowers, plants, wool, yarn, clothing, jewelry, pottery, soaps, various crafts and even pet treats.

And plenty of food vendors including a wood fired pizza booth, Italian ices and a stand that had one of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had in my whole life. Yum.

We bought an apple strudel pastry, too.

They had gobs of heirloom watermelons, available with your choice of red or yellow flesh.

And beautiful sunflowers.

As well as some colorful gladiolas.

I bought a few containers of yellow pear and black cherry tomatoes to bring home as souvenirs. They were mighty delicious, and since they are heirlooms, I’ll be saving a few seeds to grow these next summer.

We recently took a road trip to Pennsylvania to visit some chums. While we were there they hosted an elaborate culinary wing ding and wine tasting for 25 people. The evening involved copious amounts of divine, epicurean delights, fancy pants wines to match each course, and the most amazing corn pudding I have ever had in my entire life. We ate outside in the garden, which was decorated with oodles of stunning perennials, lemon trees and veggie plants. So pretty and peaceful.

Of course, half the fun of getting to our destination was enjoying the sights along the way.

And the endless array of vintage, antique and Amish themed shops filled to the brim with old school goodness.

Antique Treasures in Shartlesville, PA had so much awesome stuff. I seriously could have spent all day slowly perusing the shelves and displays. They had all sorts of lovely planters, figurines, dolls, trinkets and beautiful costume jewelry.

I bought these pretty bakelite buttons with irridescent rhinestones there. One was missing a stone so it was only $4 for the two. It was actually really hard to decide which buttons to get, since they had several trays of vintage buttons to choose from. The apple pin is by Coro, and was found at a yard sale right before we left for the trip. Love it.

Small statues outside of another antique store. The poor little chap seems to have lost his head and had it glued back on.

An old, huge and seemingly abandoned riverboat on the lawn. It’s not far from the nearby Riverboat Saloon but apparently the boat was already there when the owners purchased the bar in 2006.

We also rolled on over to Hershey Gardens, where I scampered through the fields of flowers like Carrie during the intro to “Little House on the Prarie.” Only I had a camera and a fist full of Claratin.

The garden featured fantastic colors. Like these! Swoon.

The start of the butterfly garden…

Wonderful markings…and it was kind enough to stay still so I could take a picture.

One of many rose gardens. There was a wedding taking place just past the arches.

Kermit is in there somewhere…

Beautiful!

A floral rainbow.

This week Leah and I took a day trip to an enormous indoor tag sale that was, are you sitting down, six THOUSAND square feet! It was held in an old factory that had been renovated and there were rooms and rooms filled to the brim with books, kitchen items, toys, collectibles, crafts, jewelry, tools, household crap, knick knacks, art, linens and small furniture. As usual I made a beeline for the jewelry to search for buried treasure. I was not disappointed and thankfully my nearly one year old daughter was in a fabulous, cheerful mood and didn’t seem to care that I was taking my sweet time.

Right away I spied a filigree owl necklace for $2 (score!) followed by two gold brooches with glass insets. The round filigree and green pin is marked “Made in Austria” and I’m guessing it’s probably mid-century. The oval brooch with the faceted aqua stone really (really!) caught my eye and I fell in love with it instantly even though it’s missing a few pearls on the side and needs a little TLC. Some things you just can’t logically explain.

A closeup of my new object of affection.

And a swell costume pearl necklace with a rhinestone clasp.

Also obtained: A stack of 1960s and 70s McCalls Needlework and Crafts Magazines and quilt batting (lap sized) new in the package.

Off topic, but in the first picture the jewelry is placed in a lavender glass container. It’s an old (thrifted, of course!) piece of clear Avon glassware. Martha Stewart had an awesome Bottle Beauty project that uses enamel paint to coat the inside of the container to provide a layer of color while maintaining a clear glass exterior. Pretty clever there, Martha, pretty clever. I scomped up some enamel paint at Michael’s Arts and Crafts and gave it a whirl. What do you know, it turned out really cute and was super easy to do. Best of all it looks way fancier and more involved than it actually is.