As I headed to the iconic Coney Island and Brighton beaches, following a decade hiatus, I asked, "What will be the same? What won’t? Are there new adventures for the taking?"

Parking had alway been a part of the adventure and it still is. I found a metered parking place twice with patience and acts of kindness bestowed from drivers and pedestrians.  The steep parking fee at the NY Aquarium's lot was $24 vs $2 for two hours at the Munimeter.  

My first stop was Famous Nathan’s.  I passed on...

For a change of pace I booked a one day bus tour as a solo traveler. I’ve done bus travel for staycations (vacations with overnight stays), but I haven’t booked one near home in ages.

It freed me from 5-6 hours of driving and it was a “quick pass” to socializing with other travelers.  

The main event was a tour around Newport with lunch, a Mansion tour and time to wander around the seaport area. The mansion tour made me feel like I was visiting a grand palace in Europe.

What would I do...

Looking to add pizzazz to a car ride home from a weekend getaway? Energize your journey with a rest stop adventure or two. Make the trip home a daycation of its own.

I’ve always wanted to visit the New England Carousel Museum, but for years I didn’t.

When I was looking for places to stop, I spotted that there was a community meal scheduled there. This was a chance to view the collection for an hour, stretch my legs and share a meal with new friends.

It was late Sunday afternoon and there...

My planned destinations were a stop on the Connecticut wine trail followed by a visit to Mohegan Sun Casino for a concert. It was a day to let my curiosity decide where I stopped along the way.

I could feel the muscles on my neck relax as I noticed a red barn-like structure and decided to turn into Sankow's Beaver Brook Farm. It was off-season and my car was the only car parked outside the store. They had an amazing array of artisan cheeses and I bought a few. I learned that I had landed at...

I’ve thinking about playing my ukulele at the local beach. What’s stopped me is that I’m a closet Musician who prefers to play music in groups. I decided to experiment with creating a ukulele community from scratch.

Branded the “Ukulele Adventure” I ran a group lesson. It created a buzz, especially around, how many people were interested. With no experience needed, week one was daunting to some, but in the second week we began to gel. After week 3 we shared the know-how to play 6 nice songs...