Connecticut DOT and Stamford police have tips to keep ticker-or-treaters safe this Halloween

Save the Children hosts culinary fundraising event Wednesday

Big crowds enjoy spooky fun at Tarrytown's annual Halloween parade

Norwalk schools hold Walk, Bike & Roll to School

Main Street Connecticut: Showcasing all the hotspots in Bridgeport

Hundreds of students from The Wheatley School participate in day of service 

newyork

Brian Heyman

LIroadtrip1010

You can test your aim and have some fun too. Our Shannon Lanier takes us to Smith Point Archery and this week's road trip close to home today, we're taking part in an activity that dates back 70,000 years. Archery archery started probably for war reasons, then turned into for hunting reasons. And now it is a sport. It's recreation. It's an Olympic sport at Smith Point. Archery's 17,000 square foot indoor facility. You can learn how to hit the target like a pro. Here at the point, we do a little bit of everything. We are a full functioning pro shop and range so you can come here and practice. You can come and rent equipment if you've never done it before. We have leagues, birthday parties lessons. So whether you're here just to improve your skills or to start fresh, we can do it all. Can we try? Of course, we can, we just have to go over our safety rules first. So first, we're gonna make sure our feet are in the square, our toes, our hips, our shoulders are facing the wall and we're always gonna point our arrows downrange, everybody shoots and retrieves their arrows at the same time. So we use the commands clear to shoot and clear to retrieve. We're gonna put our arrow on top of our rest and click it on to our string directly below this not point. The odd color feathers is gonna face inwards towards you. We're going to put three fingers up and we are going to put them on our string right here. Pull, pull, pull a. So how do we get a bull's eye every time? Well, it's repetition. We have to convince our body to do the same thing every time. And of course, practice. Practice, practice. All right. Let's see. You can hit that bull's eye from Smith Point Archery and Patch hog with the Lanier family on this road trip. Close to home.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/3075c0f7-a182-42f8-9030-8cf6bc9ca174/3075c0f7-a182-42f8-9030-8cf6bc9ca174.transcribe

1010CTroadtrip_2024-10-10-07-27-39

And whether you're at home or on the go. Oh, let's see. Or taking a leisurely stroll, a brisk hike or breathtaking views. Harbor Park is a picture perfect pick for any season in this week's road trip. Close to home news, 12 photojournalist, Laurie Goliath takes us to Meriden. We have the bus park in Connecticut. Welcome to Hubbard Park. Hoard Park is just gorgeous. Walter Hubbard donated Hubbard Park and all the surrounding acreage to the city of Meriden for recreation, passive and active. This park is wonderful because you can come here 365 days a year and find something to do. We have water features. We have nice little trails. We have difficult hiking trails, picnic areas. It's not only beautiful and accessible, but it's also a very romantic park. You can hike up to the castle 365 days a year. The road to drive up is only open seasonal and it's beautiful to be to walk through here and think of all the craftsmanship and the work and the detail that went into building this tower in the 19 hundreds. Walter Hubbard came up with the idea of castle Craig when he was traveling through Scotland. So in 1900 he dedicated the tower to the city of Meriden. The views up here are spectacular. We can see sleeping giant and on a clear day to the left, you can see all the way to Long Island Sound. It's beautiful every season right now is perfect leaf peeping hiking season. A fun little fact. We're standing on West Peak and West Peak is the highest point within 25 miles of the coastline from southern Maine to Florida. Coming up to the castle is just such a beautiful, relaxing, peaceful atmosphere. So it's really a wonderful place to be at any season and also any time of the day.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/c4394047-0934-4c47-9f23-cfb8e5c74048/c4394047-0934-4c47-9f23-cfb8e5c74048.transcribe

1010ROADTRIPWCHV_2024-10-10-06-38-49

Well, Italian art and culture is taking center stage and this week's road trip close to home, Nita's Nikita Ramos is taking us to a museum in Cold Spring. It's home to an impressive collection. A unique one too magazine of Italian Art is a museum meant to immerse visitors into the works of a particular period. Eight galleries show fascinating post war and contemporary Italian art, the beauty of arte Povera and so much of conceptually based work is that they do what art is meant to do, challenge the viewer and extend their perceptions of the world that we live in. And you'll get a sense of that as you take in the meaning behind each piece, we want the work to be accessible to everybody. And that mission is made possible by founders, Nancy Ol Nick and Giorgio SPU. The museum's recent expansion helps drive that point home with its rotating exhibitions. Through the end of October, visitors can experience the work of Marco Anelli who captured the moments of building magazine 0 10 years ago. What's a road trip without a ref we're talking about food? Of course, here at the cafe that's actually a new addition here at magazine, they offer a full menu of Italian delicacies all made by a world class chef and even better. It's paired with a bookstore where you can learn everything about Italian art and culture all in one place between the cuisine and the collection. You're immersing almost all of your senses into the beauty of Italy, almost because there's more than meets the eye art imitates life. And there are about a dozen of the Sardinian donkeys that will bring you smiles as priceless as this experience in cold spring, Nikita Ramos News 12.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/cfa0bf94-4fb2-4198-b710-dc3fbe84dfc0/cfa0bf94-4fb2-4198-b710-dc3fbe84dfc0.transcribe

CTROADTRIP11161235A_2023-11-16-06-46-28

Of the television show, The Gilded Age is now streaming. And what you might not know is that the horses and carriages in that show are from right here in Connecticut. Pretty cool. Allegra Farm is home to the horse drawn carriage and slave Museum of New England. So in this week's road trip, close to home news, 12 photojournalist, Laurie Goliath takes us back to the Victorian Age. I love every one of my horses. They all have their own personality. I'm John Allegra from Allegra Farm. I've been in the horse drawn delivery business now for over 50 years and now I'm probably the number one delivery company that does it authentically. Well, it's like a lot of people come to check it off their bucket list. You know, they've always dreamed of going on a sleigh ride. It doesn't have to be a sleigh ride. They're thinking a horse and carriage ride that they've never been on. I mean, a lot of people in the world never touched the horse so they come here, they can touch a horse, they can go for a ride uh and step back in time. It's like going back 100 and 50 years, this is more about the ambiance and you can't get a better design. I mean, they're so elegant and so beautiful. Once you're on there, the clip clop is very relaxing. If they come for the ride, they book an hour ride and they go for a ride. Now, when they come back, they can visit horses, they can look at carriages. The golden years of the horse drawn era are really from about 1830 1840 to 1905. Even back then if you had money, you could buy comfort. Holy, wealthy people own these, your everyday person had a buggy. The movie people know the difference. But are you sure it's w well, the gilded age is, I couldn't ask for a better show for what I do. This is very melodramatic because they, they're true to the period and they, they just went all out and the amount of carriages and horses we had on the street, we had up to 22 or 23 carriages at one time going when I watched that show and all those carriages are pulling up in front of the mansions and the horses are going and it just puts a chill down my spine. It really does. Hugh Jackman. I worked on a couple of different movies with him, Kate Leopold. Greatest showman. Well, it's pretty cool because I was born in Bridgeport and now I'm PT Barnum's uh carriage driver who would have thought a city boy, uh, would be doing what I'm doing, you know. Well, it's very, very special. E even today I still enjoy doing it and it brings the air back to life. I'm preserving the air for future generations. You come and visit us.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/81d770eb-a8ec-4f30-a3d8-a04793fff277/81d770eb-a8ec-4f30-a3d8-a04793fff277.transcribe

MTNJRoadTrip1010

One farm in Monmouth County offers a lot of fun in the autumn news. Twelve's Amanda Eustace and photographer James Crow checked it out here's road trip close to home. Welcome to Casola Farms. We offer uh hay rides, petting zoo, pony rides, face painting. Uh We have a corn maze, sunflower maze. We raise everything you see here from mums, pumpkins corn stalks, we grow it all. We're farmers at heart and nature. So like for us, we're not just doing it because everybody else is we're doing it because it's a way of life for us too. From the petting zoo to the haunted house. The farm offers something for everyone. I think it's an important way for families to connect and it's, it's an inexpensive way to have fun and actually like do stuff together. The kids get real excited when they can pick out a perfect little pumpkin or you know, a mom. Um So it's good for all age. It's all encompassing and of course, you can't come to the farm without taking home some of their sweet treats. My favorite apple cider doughnuts inside. We have a fully uh stock superstore. We have all the carving kits. Uh, we sell the tins scarecrows. We have all kinds of baked goods. We have homemade apple cider doughnuts that we do believe ours are the best because they are the best. You know, it's that nostalgia that people like to come back and keep coming back and, you know, living it through, you know, the next generation. And, uh, that's what we, that's what we love doing with so much to see and do. Now it's your turn to take a road trip close to home in Home Dell. I'm Amanda Eustis.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/cc245988-20d7-4b6e-b77b-fcb2f02c8193/cc245988-20d7-4b6e-b77b-fcb2f02c8193.transcribe

Washington CT Gilmore Girls

While Stars Hollow may be fictional, you can visit the real life town that inspired the beloved show. It all began with a road trip that sparked the vision for this charming corner of Connecticut. They both grew up in California and they yearned for seasons. So they started taking road trips and then they got to Connecticut and they were like, Wow Depot is packed with that same small town charm complete with quaint streets, local diners and scenic beauty. This show happens to find all the nuance and all the humor in small town life, you know, beautifully painted, really beautifully painted fans often arrive hoping to grab a cup of Luke's famous coffee. Only to find out there's no real Luke's diner, but Scott Patterson had them covered. He developed his own coffee line. So now you can enjoy a taste of Luke's world famous Joe. Even if it's not in Stars Hollow, please, please, please. How many cups have you had this morning? None plus five, but yours is better. You have a problem. Yes, I do. So will Scott be coming to Connecticut to serve it up? Let's just say something is ruined. I can't really divulge much but there might be some plans in the works and could a reboot be on the burner? Yeah. I think there's always a possibility. Angel. You've got wings, baby. So, if you've ever dreamed of wandering through Luke and Lorelai's World Fall is a great time to visit Washington Depot. What I think the power of the show is, it is a, uh, uh, a love letter to small town America.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/38c5e5d6-233a-4c2c-8946-13bb4b188b38/38c5e5d6-233a-4c2c-8946-13bb4b188b38.transcribe

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

Choose Your Region

Be the first to know

Change

Be the first to know

Your Road Trip Close to Home adventure guide for Oct. 31

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

More Stories

Connecticut DOT and Stamford police have tips to keep ticker-or-treaters safe this Halloween

Save the Children hosts culinary fundraising event Wednesday

Big crowds enjoy spooky fun at Tarrytown's annual Halloween parade

Norwalk schools hold Walk, Bike & Roll to School

Main Street Connecticut: Showcasing all the hotspots in Bridgeport

Hundreds of students from The Wheatley School participate in day of service

Connecticut DOT and Stamford police have tips to keep ticker-or-treaters safe this Halloween

Save the Children hosts culinary fundraising event Wednesday

Big crowds enjoy spooky fun at Tarrytown's annual Halloween parade

Norwalk schools hold Walk, Bike & Roll to School

Main Street Connecticut: Showcasing all the hotspots in Bridgeport

Hundreds of students from The Wheatley School participate in day of service

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

More from News 12

Bring out the artist in you at Glassworks Studio in Morristown

Find fun for the whole family in the Village of Patchogue

News 12 explores historic grounds at Woodlawn Cemetery

CT man spends life recreating and preserving golden age of horror and science fiction

Experience endless family adventures at Rocking Horse Ranch Resort

Face your fears at Brighton Asylum's haunted attractions