connecticutdaytrips.com

I have decided to sell my condo at Woodland House and buy a house so that I can have a backyard. I thought maybe I might eventually buy a vacation home somewhere (to rent out and earn money from), but I never thought I’d buy a place to live in fulltime. I immediately started thinking about buying a place at Woodland House and that fall, three days before Thanksgiving, a corner unit 2-bed, 2-bath condo overlooking the pool went on the market. Over the past 3.5 years, I updated all of the appliances, removed the “fixtures” the previous owner had affixed to the wall, replaced the outdated lighting fixtures, installed dimmer switches, installed new blackout shades in both bedrooms (I love a cold, dark room to sleep in), and patched up areas of the parquet floor that desperately needed it.

When my friends heard about all of the hotel’s amenities which include an outdoor pool, indoor pool, spa, golf course, tennis courts, and a newly-planted vineyard (yes, for real), they decided to book rooms as well so we could spend more time together and really experience the hotel. It ended up being the perfect mini-vacation: a friday night spent catching up with friends over dinner and drinks in the hotel’s Tavern and a hot Saturday spent chatting and relaxing by the pool. We opted for happy hour by the pool and enjoyed our drinks looking out over the hotel’s beautiful golf course. If you want to spend your entire getaway hanging out in the hotel, there’s more than enough to do–especially if you love golf and tennis.

This is how I started each morning at Secrets Papagayo, a beautiful tropical resort on the Papagayo Peninsula in Guancaste Province, Costa Rica. First off, a big thank you as always to my friend Heather Cross from Vacations by Heather for suggesting Secrets Papagayo and booking the trip for us. Secrets is a much smaller resort than any other Caribbean resort I’ve stayed in and I really liked it. At the resort, there are the usual pool games like volleyball and water polo, and at the beach you can rent jet skis and tour the area.

Traveling the globe from my home base in beatuful Connecticut An Afternoon at Joseph Preli Farm and Vineyard When I think of a Connecticut winery experience, I think about sitting in an Adirondack chair at Saltwater Farm and looking out on the vineyard and the water beyond, or sitting on the deck at Sharpe Hill and smelling the wood burning stove of their award-winning restaurant. I don’t think of pulling up at someones house, parking in their driveway and sitting in their backyard to drink wine. But that’s the experience you get at Jospeh Preli Farm and Vineyard –and Yes, the first few minutes were awkward, but after that, it feels like just hanging out at a friend’s house.