Virtual Road Trip- Day 7- Connecticut & #Giveaway


It's day seven of our road trip and I am having fun. Yesterday we where in Colorado with author Devin O Branagan, you can check out the post here

Today we are in Connecticut with author K.C Tansley. Let's see what awaits us in Connecticut and don't forgot to enter the giveaway below.

Places to visit in Connecticut

Gillette Castle State Park—Having a genuine stone castle in Connecticut was my inspiration for Castle Creighton in The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts.

Mark Twain House & Museum—When I was a kid, I wanted to be an author and live in a house like this.

Mystic Seaport—The quintessential Connecticut coastal village.

Thimble Islands—These private islands in the Long Island Sound were my inspiration for the Isle of Acacia.

Hammonasset Beach State Park—This is a great public beach near Old Saybrook and Westbrook, which were the main towns that inspired Wright in my novel.

Places to eat in Connecticut

Smoking with Chris—The best smoked meat and BBQ around with homemade sauces you’ll savor. I am getting hungry just typing this.

Johnny Ad’s—Freshest seafood around. I love their fried seafood combo with lobster salad. I always stop here when I’m down at the beach in Old Saybrook.

Infinity Hall and Bistro (Norfolk)—Delicious food and a great concert in a charming and intimate hall.

La Fortuna—Best breakfasts in my neck of the woods. My favorite is the omelette with mozzarella, tomato, and bacon. The home fries are perfect. And they always butter the toast. Juiciest burgers around for lunch. 

Tuscany—Terrific Italian food at a family-run restaurant. Their rack of lamb special is worth every penny and their veal is so tender you can cut it with a fork.

Quirky things about Connecticut

We are one of the oldest states in the union, so we have many old graveyards. All over the place. Right next to houses and beside major routes. You can’t drive more than 20 minutes without stumbling across one. 

There’s this weird notch at the top of the state that was the resolution of a 162-year border debate. MA and CT split the difference. 

Old Newgate Prison was the state’s first official prison in the 1700s and prisoners were kept in underground caverns. It’s creepy cool.

Holy Land was a religious theme park that was closed for decades. All my life, I’ve seen a giant cross lit at night on the hill in Waterbury. At one point, the area was maintained by nuns. It was abandoned for decades and vandalized. Holyland was recently restored and reopened in 2014. 

Hamburgers were invented in New Haven, CT. You’re welcome.

Famous people from Connecticut

Catherine Hepburn
George W. Bush
Betsey Johnson
Meg Ryan
Seth McFarlane

Authors or books set in Connecticut

The Babysitter’s Club—I grew up on these.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond—Loved reading this in middle school. 
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court—In my TBR pile.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler—A classic that I adored as a kid.
The Ice Storm—Loved the movie. 


Who wants to go to Connecticut? * Raises hand* Me! I loved The Babysitters club as a kid. What do you like about Connecticut?

You can follow all the road trip stops here

Check out Day 8 's stop in Delaware with Samantha @thoughts on tomes & giveaway here

Now for a giveaway. You can win 1 of 2 paperbacks of K.C. Tansley's upcoming book, The Girl who ignored ghosts, releasing August 1st. This giveaway is US ONLY and giveaway ends August 10th.

About the Book


In The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts, prep school junior Kat Preston accidentally time travels to 1886 Connecticut, where she must share a body with a rebellious Victorian lady, prevent a gruesome wedding night murder, disprove a deadly family curse, and find a way back to her own time.

In this exciting time travel murder mystery, Kat leaves the safety of Connecticut’s shore and journeys to the isolated Isle of Acacia and Castle Creighton. There, she encounters all the unbelievables.



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13 comments

  1. I really like visiting Mystic. I do not like the drive through CT to points south though.. Ugh traffic

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    1. 95 is the worst. I love the back roads. So many cool places stop along the way.

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  2. Another Connecticut native here!! :) I approve your list! 95 is awful but there are a lot of alternate routes that can mostly avoid it!

    The Breathing Series by Rebecca Donovan also takes place in CT :)

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    1. *Big wave* Hi Becca! I love taking backroads when I can. The routes to Old Saybrook and Washington are really scenic and cool. I've never read that series. What's it about?

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  3. We have been to quite a few of the places you mentioned. Beautiful area, particularly along the coast.

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  4. Yes, the coast is amazing. Perfect setting for a time travel murder mystery. ;)

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  5. The book sounds interesting! I live in Pennsylvania, not *too* far from Connecticut, although I've mostly only passed through the state a few times. It seems like a nice New England state, though!.

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    1. Thanks Devin. Nothing in the Northeast feels to far away. :) I remember taking a roadtrip to PA one night. It was a few hours each way.

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  6. Sounds like and awesome book.

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    1. Thanks Tammzy! Good luck in the contest!

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  7. I love mysteries! If there is a ghost involved, all the more fun!

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    1. Me too! There is only one way to make a mystery better, toss in a ghost and some time travel. And a curse. ;)

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  8. I love mysteries! If there is a ghost involved, all the more fun!

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