Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Welcome back to Exploring America. State by state. We just came off the tiny salty charm of Rhode island and today we're rolling into Connecticut, the Constitution State. This is a state people love to drive through on their way somewhere else, and that is honestly a shame because Connecticut rewards anyone willing to slow down. It's the place where colonial New England meets Ivy League history, where quiet stone wall covered hills give way to a rocky Long Island Sound coastline and where old whaling towns still smell like salt air and fried clams. Connecticut gave America some of its earliest ideas about self government, and its charter is still remembered as one of the first documents to limit the power of a governing body over its people. It's also home to Yale University, tall ship seaports, sprawling casino resorts, and some genuinely serious opinions about pizza. Let's get into it. Start with the Merritt Parkway, one of the most beautiful stretches of road in the entire Northeast. Built in the 1930s, it's lined with real stone and concrete bridges, each one designed a little differently in an Art Deco style, and the whole route curves gently through forest that turns brilliant gold and red every autumn. Just know up front, the Merritt has low clearance bridges and does not allow commercial vehicles or larger RVs, so admire it from a car, not your rig. For a slower, richer drive, head into the quiet corner along Route 169, a designated National Scenic Byway, winding past colonial villages, working farms and old mill towns that barely look touched by time. And along the coast, Route 1 through mystic and Stonington gives you postcard views of harbors, lighthouses and fishing boats at nearly every turn, with plenty of small pull offs to stop and take it all in. Mystic Seaport Museum is the heart of coastal Connecticut, a recreated 19th century seafaring village with real tall ships you can climb aboard and walk the decks of surrounded by working cooper shops and old shipwright yards. Right nearby, Mystic Aquarium lets you get face to face with beluga whales and sea lions. In New Haven, Yale University's campus feels like stepping into a European storybook, with Gothic stone buildings, quiet courtyards and the free Yale University Art Gallery holding masterpieces you would expect to find in a much bigger city. Gillette Castle, perched dramatically above the Connecticut river, looks like something out of a fairy tale and was built by an eccentric stage actor who wanted a home as theatrical as his career. And in Hartford, the Mark Twain House offers a window into the life of one of America's greatest storytellers, right in the same neighborhood where he actually lived and wrote some of his most famous work. Connecticut has a couple of traps worth knowing before you go. The casino resorts Foxwoods and Mohegan sun are genuinely impressive to walk through, but their in house restaurants often charge steep prices for food. You could get better and cheaper just outside the property in downtown Mystic. The fame from an old movie means some pizza spots trade heavily on name recognition alone, so ask locals which places are actually worth the wait instead of following the crowd to the first sign you see. Parking downtown in mystic during peak summer weekends can also eat up more time and money than you'd expect, so arrive early or plan to park a few blocks out and walk in. Connecticut is compact and easy to cross by RV, mainly along I95 down the coast or I84 cutting through the middle of the state toward Hartford. The one big rule to remember Avoid the Merritt Parkway and the Wilbur Cross Parkway entirely in a larger rv, since both have low clearance bridges and legally ban commercial and oversized vehicles. Stick to the interstates and state routes and you'll have no trouble navigating the state, even with a taller rig like an Echo or Travato for paid camping. Hammanasset Beach State park is the crown jewel, offering hookup sites just steps from the largest public beach in the state with easy access to the water and plenty of shade. Kettletown State park, tucked along a quiet lake in the western hills, is another well kept option with a more forested, peaceful feel. Popular with hikers and paddlers for free or low cost camping. Patchog State Forest in the eastern part of the state offers primitive, rustic sites with minimal amenities, ideal for travelers who don't need hookups and want a quiet night under the trees.
[00:04:31] Reservations fill up fast in summer, especially at Hammanasset, so book well ahead if you're aiming for a coastal spot. If you'd rather skip the campground, mystic has a great range of coastal inns and boutique hotels within walking distance of the Seaport and Harbor. Foxwoods Resort and Mohegan sun both offer full scale resort stays with casinos, spas and live entertainment built right in. A completely different kind of Connecticut night compared to the quiet coast and in the rolling Litchfield Hills, historic country inns give you that classic New England bed and breakfast experience surrounded by stone walls, apple orchards and rolling farmland. Metro North's New Haven line makes it incredibly easy to hop between Connecticut's coastal towns and New York City without ever touching a highway. Connecticut transit buses cover local routes in the bigger cities like Hartford and New Haven. An Amtrak runs straight through the state, connecting Boston to New York, with several Connecticut stops along the way, including mystic and New London if you're feeling adventurous, a ferry runs from Bridgeport across Long Island Sound to Port Jefferson, a fun way to break up a coastal road trip and skip a long drive around. Connecticut takes its food seriously, starting with New Haven Style a pizza, a thin, charred coal fired pizza that that locals will tell you invented the entire American pizza scene. Places like Frank Pepe's and Sally's a pizza have lines out the door for good reason, and the white clam pie is a local rite of passage along the coast. Order a Connecticut style lobster roll served warm with butter instead of the cold mayonnaise version you'll find further north a genuinely different and equally delicious take. And don't skip a steamed cheeseburger from Ted's and Meriden, a strange sounding but wonderfully juicy Connecticut original steamed instead of grill that you won't find anywhere else in the country. Climb aboard a real tall ship at Mystic Seaport and imagine life as a 19th century sailor. For an afternoon, take a whale watching or seal spotting boat tour right out of the same harbor. During the right season, spend an afternoon antiquing through the small towns of Litchfield Hills, where old barns and farmhouses are packed with genuine New England treasures at every turn. And if you're visiting in October, driving the back roads of the Quiet Corner during peak foliage season is one of the most beautiful things you can do anywhere in New England.
[00:06:56] Summer in Connecticut means beach days at Hammanasset, sailing on Long Island Sound, and outdoor festivals in nearly every coastal town from June through August. Mystic gets busy on summer weekends, so weekday visits give you a calmer, more affordable experience. With shorter lines everywhere. Book campgrounds and coastal hotels well ahead of July and August. Since this is peak season across the entire shoreline and spots disappear fast, Connecticut runs a bit less expensive than its bigger New England neighbors. Overall, you can eat extremely well on a pizza and diner food for well under $20ameal, camp for around 25 to $40 a night at state parks and still enjoy a splurge night at a casino resort without wrecking your travel budget. Coastal towns like mystic run a little higher than inland areas, so balance your stops accordingly to keep the whole trip affordable. Cell coverage is Strong along the I95 coastal corridor and through the bigger cities like Hartford and New Haven, so navigation and streaming should work without much trouble. It gets noticeably weaker out in the Litchfield Hills and parts of the Quiet Corner, so download offline maps before heading into those rural hilly areas.
[00:08:12] That's Connecticut, a state built on quiet colonial charm. Tall ships, ivy League history and genuinely great pizza. All packed into a drive smaller than you'd think. Next time, we're heading into New York, a state so massive it holds skyscrapers, mountains, vineyards and endless small towns all under one name. Pack the cooler and I'll see you there.
