During orientation and after settling in on campus, it quickly becomes clear that Middletown’s main attractions can be summed up with a selection of restaurants, Bob’s clothing store, and Destinta movie theater. Despite these seemingly limited options, relief for those who need a break from Main Street can be found in a number of nearby “day trip” destinations. Of course New York City and Boston are also only a few hours away by bus ride.
Miller’s Pond
Millers Pond is probably the best place to go on a hot day. In addition to a large pond to swim in, the Millers Pond State Park Reserve offers 170 acres of hiking trails and a number of nice rocks for sunbathing. Millers Pond is approximately 10 minutes from campus, although difficult to get to without a car. For more information on this and other nearby parks and hiking trails go to http://dep.state.ct.us/stateparks/parks/millers.htm.
Lyman Orchards
Described as one of America’s oldest working farms, Lyman Orchards was established in 1741. In addition to other fruits, the farm grows 28 varieties of apples that customers can pick themselves while wandering through the orchards. A trip to Lyman Orchards is not complete, however, without visiting its market called The Apple Barrel to try the farm’s famous and award-winning apple pie. The store is open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For directions go to http://www.lymanorchards.com/directio.htm
IKEA
IKEA opened a store in New Haven this summer, making it possible for students to have access to affordable furniture. A visit to IKEA can easily take up a whole day and time should be given to eat at the store’s café, which serves Swedish meatballs and other Swedish dishes. The New Haven store is located at 450 Sargent Drive off of I-95.
For information on IKEA products and directions to the store, go to http://www.ikea-usa.com.
Book Barn
One can spend hours at the Book Barn browsing its huge collection of used books.
Located off I-95 in the town of Niantic, the store is set up in an old barn and has a wide variety of titles. It is also home to a number of cats that roam around the stacks and sleep on piles of books around the store. For directions, go to http://www.bookbarnniantic.com/
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