The one thing I love about Connecticut is the further you get away from I-95, the real flavor of New England starts to really show. Take the Town of Essex. A quaint village where many of the houses are older than half the states in this country. A stroll down Main street brings you by [...]

And here I was thinking that I could put my feet up, watch the stock market, and spend some time on the phone with my investment clients. Little did I know that my lovely wife, Carol, wanted to recruit me for an “image filled”  holiday newsletter bringing everyone up-to-date on the happenings here at Ashlawn. [...]

One of the great things about having this website, and the Social Media presence that goes along with it is that people find us. Funny how this Interweb thing works. Guess the people at Google are onto something. Last week while going through the never ending emails, I came across one asking to see if [...]

The best thing about Connecticut is the fact that like the weather, it only takes twenty minutes for a change of scenery. Seriously, you can be driving up I-95, go through New Haven, and get off at exit 70 in Lyme, bang a quick left, and suddenly you find yourself in the atypical New England [...]

Bishop’s Orchards Winery has been making fruit wines for over 5  years now, and every day, their reputation for fine wine making grows. Gone are the days when fruit wines meant cheap, and not something you admitted to drinking. Bishop’s has turned this around, making fine wines that everyone can enjoy. And year after year, [...]

I have known about Ashlawn Farms Coffee for a few years now, and have always thought it to be one of the best, if not the best coffee available in the state. I knew that it was roasted fresh on the farm ( Also home to the Lyme Farmers Market) and worth a trip from [...]

As you all know, I am so on board with anything local. To me, Farmers Markets epitomize exactly that. Local fruits, vegetables, and products made by our friends and neighbors. I will be posting more about both Ashlawn Farms Coffee (hands down better than anything those chains offer) and The Lyme Farmers Market, but I [...]

The 5th Annual Shoreline Wine Festival, August 13 and 14, 2011, will celebrate fine wines from Connecticut Wineries and Vineyards from all over the state. Pair this with some of the area’s finest foods, with the backdrop setting of a beautiful farm orchard and background sounds of tasteful music to put you in the mood. [...]

The State of Connecticut has many beaches to offer. So many, and so diverse that we will be adding to this article as we go, and we will have articles specifically devoted to as many beaches as we can fit into this website. Seeing as I have pretty much unlimited space, I guess that means [...]

Summer and fall are just an awesome time at Bishops Orchards in Guilford. not only can you get the freshest produce and flowers, you get to head out into the orchards and pick your own fruit. This is just a great way to spend the day with the kids and burn off some energy while [...]

Yes, everyone knows the winter is officially over and just as soon as this seemingly relentless rain is done we will get on with the business of spring and summer. But, just what will you do, how long before the sudden rush of warm weather fades and the questions start to rise what do you [...]

For two days only, Saturday, April 30th and Sunday, May 1st, From 2 -6 P.M., Branford’s Hammer estate will host Cindy Tower’s “Art into Land”, a Branford Land-Trust benefit art show.  Tower will be selling tree-themed paintings and sculptures. This particular body of work was featured in “Westward Expansion Inwards,” a 1993 solo exhibition at [...]

One of Connecticut”s favorite attractions, The Shore Line Trolley Museum opens for the 2011 season on Sunday, May 1 with trolley rides and tours. Welcome Spring with a three-mile round trip through scenic woods and wetlands. Tours and exhibits are included with admission and picnic areas are available. Streetcars run on weekends in May and [...]

The one thing that really is unique to Connecticut is it’s diversity. Just get off any of the highways and you can end up in the metropolitan areas of New Haven, Hartford, or rural New England boroughs and towns such as Lyme. That’s what ma…

I grew up “redneck”. Not that North Guilford in the 70′s and 80′s was the Bayou or the Appalchians, but to the “Townies”, that’s what we were. My nearest friend was a half mile away, and yes, we WALKED to each others house, and my best friends were at least 3 miles away, and unless [...]