Big fun in a mini town: Fairfield’s MiniTown Café & Play delivers indoor imagination 

The West Haven Veteran's Museum and Learning Center preserves some of the unique stories of CT's veterans

Road Trip Close to Home: Exploring Delaware Valley's oldest flea market

Take a road trip back in time to when the Hudson River was busier than the roads

Road Trip: Long Island Clay

Road Trip Close To Home: Enjoy a live show at 2 Bronx venues

newyork

Brian Heyman

roadtripli41725CM

All right, move over Central Park. There is a springtime paradise blooming right here on our island. Planting fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay is putting on a spectacular show of color, and our Antoinette Biordi takes us there in this week's road trip close to home. On this road trip close to home, we're taking you to planting fields in Oyster Bay, where springtime is a great time to visit with everything in bloom. You're also surrounded by 409 acres, woodland trails, and a 65 room house museum. It's an incredible destination for people coming near and far. There is something to do here every single day of the year. This 65 room Tudor Revival Gold Coast estate dates back to 19. President and CEO of Planting Fields Foundation Gina Wilders says there's a surprise around every corner. We are about to walk into the breakfast room which features a buffalo mural by Robert Winsford Chandler, and you're here at the perfect time of day to see all the walls glistening with the sunlight hitting the paint. As you leave the home, you can explore the surrounding 400+ acres, 5 miles of walking trails, and more than 20 gardens. You'll find visitors enjoying the historic grounds with their loved ones taking pictures and making memories so beautiful, so gorgeous. We love the gardens, the house is amazing. Planting fields mixes nature, art, and history together. So grab your partner, your walking shoes, and your camera, and trust me, you won't want to miss this road trip close to home in Oyster Bay, Antoine Abiordi, News 12.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/08315521-c7e7-47fa-8a18-146edf113228/08315521-c7e7-47fa-8a18-146edf113228.transcribe

4172025NJrt_2025-04-17-07-14-57

Whether you're a foodie or new to the kitchen, a cooking studio in Bergen County will feed your passion. In this week's road trip close to home, our Mandy Eustace is testing out her skills at Flavor Labs. Welcome to the Flavor Labs in Norwood, New Jersey. So the Flavor Labs is a cooking studio started out as a cooking studio for children, but we've really evolved over time and now we do all sorts of adult events as well. We do semester classes during the school year, so students will sign up for 8 weeks at a time and come in and do a single class once a week for 8 weeks. We also do weekend classes, dropping classes. We do tons of birthday parties, so kids come here and get to celebrate with their friends, and they make the food that they eat in the party and then they take home food as a goodie bag. We're making key lime donuts and the age group that we're with is 2 to 5. And so I think I fit right in because I'm not really good with cooking. There are really two things that motivated me to open up this cooking studio. The first was to create an intimidation-free environment because I think both children and adults alike can be very intimidated by the kitchen. The other thing that really motivated me to do this was once I saw how picky some children can be with eating, I realized that the key is really having them prepare their own food and understand the ingredients that are going into it. What I love the most about the flavor labs for a children's activities is that they come here they're doing science, they're doing math, they're learning how to cook and then they have something tangible to go home with and they're like, look what I made like they're really impressed with the outcome of all the things that they put in for that one hour. One bite, everybody knows the rules. That is really good. And now it's your turn to come and put your cooking seals to the desk on this beach road close to home, I'm Amanda Eustace. Want to see more? Watch the full episode of Road Trip Close to home tonight at 7 and 9:30 only on News 12.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/6c414011-3d55-4afd-9edd-a6a5618eb2cd/6c414011-3d55-4afd-9edd-a6a5618eb2cd.transcribe

4172025WCroadtrip_2025-04-17-06-08-02

A horse-drawn carriage adventurer waits to show you the magic of Middletown, and news shows Nikita Ramos is taking us there in this week's road trip close to home. On this road trip close to home, we're riding on a different set of wheels with another kind of horsepower at Celtic Valley Carriage and Farm. Oh my gosh, it's beautiful. Yes. There is something so timeless about taking a carriage ride, especially with good company. What's this horse's name? This is Duncan. When you reserve a ride, owner and experienced driver Alanna Bodman will lead you through the scenic scapes of Middle. Carriage rides are wonderful because they are really for absolutely everybody. It's relaxing. It's peaceful. It gets you back in touch with nature. Deepen your connection with these beautiful animals through other activities at the farm. When you sign up for lessons, whether it's 30 minutes or an hour, these horses will teach you so much about life, communication, and most importantly, empathy. You're learning to ride from their point of view, so the two of you develop that third language, which is a combination of how the horse was trained by a competent trainer, what cues he understands, how he responds, and how you respond to him. We'll see where this takes me. Like a delicate dance of. Nonverbal dialogue paired with newfound friendship. These goats are also among more than 2 dozen animals you can meet, and the donkey loves its hugs. Create your own experiences and bonds that go beyond 4 wheels on this road trip close to home. One experience there and that's not the only experience we want you to have. We are packing a half hour show with so many others. I mean, we have got so many cool places here in Westchester and the Hudson Valley and throughout the tri-state to check out this time around we're heading to Hyde Park for a unique tasting adventure. This is a spot where you. You can not only learn how to make sake, but sample some of the product as well. So please join me tonight at 7 and 9:30 right here on News 12. So many cool ideas to check out. And then you got to call the harsh drawn character to take you home, safe ride, pride, everybody.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/22a15f55-d5a9-4a20-bfac-745eec37884a/22a15f55-d5a9-4a20-bfac-745eec37884a.transcribe

4172025CTrt_2025-04-17-06-33-42

Well, if the words go go Power Rangers or Pikachu I choose you, take you take you back to your childhood, then we have a place for you. In this week's road trip close to home, News 12 photojournalist Laurie Goliath takes us to the retro Revival Museum in Bridgeport, where you literally step back in time. We're here at Downtime TV Studios and Connecticut's Mini retro Revival Museum here at the Knowton in Bridgeport, Connecticut. We are back. First and foremost we're a media production company. We're back for another how to we do a lot of fun creative stuff. You are tuned in you see here is our sets. All the studio stuff that you see are our backdrops. We do have several different podcasts or shows that we broadcast, you know, numerous times Monday through Friday throughout the week. It's more time. And we make fan-made films. Downtime TV's marketing is all 90s and early 2000s. We decided to turn this space, the VHS corner into a museum where people can come and immerse themselves in the 90s and 2000s. From CRTV's VHS's DVDs, um old consoles like your Sega Genesis when they come here they'll take uh an audio and visual tour that'll take them throughout all the studios. The feeling that people get when they come here is that nostalgic feeling where they feel like they're a child again, which is such an amazing feeling to have. One of the best things is seeing people's reactions, you know, anytime like I said someone comes in here. They're hooked. They don't wanna leave and uh it's a great feeling. I guess times like that where I see someone, you know, have that memory jog that kind of brings me a little bit of joy, you know, playing video games to watching movies if they want. There's a lot of stuff that's special about like the 90s and 2000s. It's becoming the. Now physical media is making a resurgence. A lot of tangible things are making that comeback. Also, if you think about it too, I mean, so many of these franchise that are popular now with kids Pokemon, Super Mario, Star Wars they all started, you know, decades ago. People should come here because our mini retro revival museum um attracts people from all different age groups whether you were young during this time, whether you're a little bit older, it really hits home for a wide variety of people. People always say do what you love and we're definitely doing what we love and we want to share that with other people and that's why we do this. If you're in Connecticut, definitely, definitely check out Downtime TV studios in the retro revival Min museum here at the Nolan. And to visit the mini retro revival museum or to check out Downtown TV's original productions, head over to Newstwelve.com.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/5ca89463-d3ec-43fc-91ac-be5adc09f56c/5ca89463-d3ec-43fc-91ac-be5adc09f56c.transcribe

minitown

Welcome to Minitown Cafe and Play. An indoor playground designed like an adorable mini town. The police station, the fire station, the supermarket, there's a library right there and the hospital, and yes, even a cafe that's just their size down to the floors I mean streets. It's a place where little ones are sure to burn off all their energy. And we have also the climbing wall for the kids to play and then there's this pope. the playground. It's included 2 hours of play. Plenty of time to tire these little ones out, and while the kids play, parents, you're not left out, sip on a latte and finally catch a moment of rest. So parents can just come, relax a little with a good cup of coffee, and we try to offer like health options for the. And for the parents, it was all hands on deck for Christine Bueno and her husband when they came up with the idea. It's where kids, small kids could play because I know we have a lot of places for big kids like trampolines, um, but for small kids it's just a little, so I think that's something people were needing. It's not just fun but educational. They have engaging classes. The kids love to play and learn at the same time. We have the sensory play. We are gonna start this party. We just finished this Spanish sing along with. It was great. The kids love it. This place may be tiny, but it's mighty in Fairfield in Jacarino on this road trip close to home.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/d25ee518-2170-4c39-8cae-1e39d8b9c3f1/d25ee518-2170-4c39-8cae-1e39d8b9c3f1.transcribe

rtchocolatesshaktiCM_2025-04-17-06-54-29

It's the oldest chocolate factory in Brooklyn, and it's still turning out handmade sweets just like it did all the way back in 1946. On this week's road trip close to home, News 12's Shakti Dennis takes us inside Jeanar chocolates, where tradition and a love of candy runs deep. These aren't just chocolates. They're a Brooklyn tradition crafted by hand since 1946. And just as sweet as the chocolates is the family behind them. It's what makes Jomar chocolates unforgettable. This is my wife and two of my My two daughters. Meet Michael Roga, the 3rd generation owner. Because my grandfather made what was known as penny candy, you know, he made stuff by the ton, we make stuff by the pound. He's keeping the family legacy alive one batch at a time. I pride myself that we make the best product we can make fresh all the time, period. So we scratch make our jellies, our caramels, our brittles, our crunches. We do it the way it's always been done. The fun thing is that they're creating new products with their old school recipe like the peanut butter jelly bar is made with jelly that was invented by his grandfather. So this one you're looking at a 100 year old recipe. And for some loyal customers, Jomar chocolates are a crucial part of any holiday. I've been coming here probably 65. Yeah, they're the best chocolate ever. What do you like about them? Everything I like the people they're wonderful and I love the quality of the of the chocolate. It's way more than making money. It's way more than that because you basically help people celebrate the best parts of their life every single day. Imagine. In Marine Park. Oh my God. Shockti Dennis, News 12 Brooklyn. I love it. Shocky. Thank you. And looking for more local hotspots to check out, we'll tune into Road Trip Close to Home only on News 12 tonight at 7 and 9:30.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/e2fcdf2f-ab5b-41db-87dc-4e21c9c86791/e2fcdf2f-ab5b-41db-87dc-4e21c9c86791.transcribe

Here's a look at all the great spots to hit from this week's episode of Road Trip Close to Home.

Your Road Trip Close to Home adventure guide for May 8

Here's a look at all the great spots to hit from this week's episode of Road Trip Close to Home.

More Stories

Big fun in a mini town: Fairfield’s MiniTown Café & Play delivers indoor imagination

The West Haven Veteran's Museum and Learning Center preserves some of the unique stories of CT's veterans

Road Trip Close to Home: Exploring Delaware Valley's oldest flea market

Take a road trip back in time to when the Hudson River was busier than the roads

Road Trip: Long Island Clay

Road Trip Close To Home: Enjoy a live show at 2 Bronx venues

Big fun in a mini town: Fairfield’s MiniTown Café & Play delivers indoor imagination

The West Haven Veteran's Museum and Learning Center preserves some of the unique stories of CT's veterans

Road Trip Close to Home: Exploring Delaware Valley's oldest flea market

Take a road trip back in time to when the Hudson River was busier than the roads

Road Trip: Long Island Clay

Road Trip Close To Home: Enjoy a live show at 2 Bronx venues

Interested in more adventures? Check out last week's destinations close to home.

More from News 12

Pixar exhibit lands at Connecticut Science Center

Your Road Trip Close to Home adventure guide for May 1

Your Road Trip Close to Home adventure guide for April 24

Your Road Trip Close to Home adventure guide for April 17

GUIDE: National park sites in the tri-state area

Your Road Trip Close to Home adventure guide for April 10