Favorite Fall Outings in New England, A Stop at B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill in Mystic, Connecticut
Off the beaten track, Somewhere in Time might feel like somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But once you arrive and see the slew of people lined up for breakfast, you realize this is a local institution. Grab a mug of coffee and get ready to dig into the large selection of omelets, pancakes, and French toast. Then head nearby to B.F. Clyde’s. Open in 1881, B. F. Clyde’s is home to the oldest steam powered cider mill in America and what a contraption it is. Walk around the machinery, amazed that it still runs. Then hit the store to try the sweet cider, pumpkin bread, apple pies, and maple syrup. A perfect fall outing.
I’m off to Chicago next week, back Monday, October 17th. Enjoy Columbus Day Weekend and keep active!

An hour west of Austin lies the Balcones Escarpment, a long geologic fault zone that divides Texas in half. Balcones is Spanish for “balconies,” an apt way to describe how the Texas Hill Country suddenly thrusts up from the gently rolling prairie to create limestone canyons. On lonely backcountry roads, you’ll be driving under tall cypress trees past large cattle ranches and fields of bluebonnets that are in bloom come April. Take US 290 west from Austin to
Depending on your passion, be it art, adventure, dining on fresh seafood, or simply catching rays on your own spit of sand, I guarantee there’s a locale on the New England Coast that caters to your interest. Not surprisingly, the islands of Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Block Island figure prominently in this round-up of
My kids weren’t too pleased to wake up at 6:30 am on summer vacation, but I wanted to be at Carara National Park at 7 am, when it opened. I knew from prior trips to the country that Carara was one of the few places to see that majestic bird, the scarlet macaw. Last time here, I heard a loud noise, only to peer up at a family of four vibrantly colored macaws. That is an image I was hoping to recreate. We arrived early and the gate was closed. In summer, Carara opens at 8 am read the sign. Screw it. The kids were already giving me grief for waking them up, so we sneaked in through the gate and started our hike. An hour later, we were covered in sweat from the sweltering rainforest humidity and had only spotted one very large Jesus Christ lizard. No macaws. We drove back to the hotel and I was bumming big time.