• Connecticut

    A Couple of Spots on the Connecticut and Thames Rivers

    July 4, 2026 - By 

    We spent a couple of afternoons on two of eastern Connecticut’s major rivers. First, we headed to Groton, along the Thames, to see the Submarine Force Museum, home of the USS Nautilus. The Thames is gorgeously scenic. Arthur intuited that it was named for the famous London river, and a quick trip to Wikipedia confirms this: It was originally known as the Pequot River after the Pequot Indians who dominated the area. Other early names for the river have included Frisius, Great, Great River of Pequot, Little Fresh, New London, and Pequod. The town was officially named New London in 1658 and the estuary river…

  • Connecticut

    Mohegan Sun

    July 4, 2026 - By 

    The first stop on our Connecticut trip was Mohegan Sun, one of the two mammoth casino resorts that anchor the economy of this part of the state. It’s an enormous, labyrinthine place, where the casino floor snakes around a circular corridor filled with shops, restaurants, a huge arena, and the hotel towers where guests stay and convene. We enjoyed a couple of early evenings in each of the casinos (one is called Earth; the other, Sky); Arthur did well at the slots while I managed to lose pretty consistently. We ate at a restaurant called The Shed, which turned out…

  • Pennsylvania

    The Road to (and from) Hershey

    June 26, 2026 - By 

    During our Hershey trip we did a few short side trips to some nearby destinations. The most memorable of these was our lunch at the Magic & Wonder Theater, located just outside Lancaster in Paradise, Pennsylvania (see above photo). It’s a dinner theater (though we were there for lunch) where the show is a magic show; but it’s one that can best be described as a Broadway-style show with a storyline of sorts, singing and dancing, a cast of ten, a smidgen of audience participation, and some truly arresting, astonishing and exciting feats of prestidigitation. I sat very close and,…

  • Pennsylvania

    Hershey Gardens and The Hershey Story Museum

    June 24, 2026 - By 

    We spent our last full day in Hershey seeing two excellent attractions–and the admission to both of them was included in our hotel package. We did The Hershey Story Museum first. It’s located in downtown Hershey, near the convention center, and just a block or two away from the site of the original factory. The museum’s main exhibit details the life of Milton S. Hershey and the history of the Hershey company and town. The details are fascinating! My favorite exhibit was dedicated to the various innovations that Mr. Hershey introduced in the manufacture of chocolate candy, depicted in a…

  • Pennsylvania

    Chocolate World!

    June 14, 2026 - By 

    We spent our first day in Hershey, Pennsylvania at HersheyPark–specifically, at Chocolate World. We wound up staying there for more than five hours, and our adventures there were always delightful and often educational. I should mention that we stayed at Hershey Inn & Suites, a brand new (opened a month ago!) property that joins the massive Hershey Lodge and the stately and expensive Hotel Hershey as a company-owned and -operated resort. The rooms are lovely, the cocoa infused shower gel and shampoo are fun, and the service–as throughout Hershey–is excellent. There are free shuttle buses to bring you from any…

  • Pennsylvania

    2 Days in Philadelphia

    May 31, 2026 - By 

    Two museums, two steakhouses, two films, two visits to a great bookstore: we ended up doing things in pairs during our stay in Philadelphia! The museums were absolutely the highlights. First up was the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. It’s located in the Old City near many of Philadelphia’s famous landmarks (such as Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, neither of which we had time to visit). It’s a beautiful place. The main exhibit explores the history of Jews in America, from the very beginning (which, we discovered, was 1654, when some Sephardic Jews settled in Brazil) through…