Wolcott: Complete! Johnny B's Roadside Saloon Here is the CTMQ Guide to Wolcott with my list and stories about everything I’ve done there! After a decade of writing CTMQ, I decided to try to “complete” towns. In that decade of traveling and writing, I had already done a lot of stuff in many of our towns … [Read more...]
Mary’s Meadows
Slightly Ticked Mary's Meadows, Wolcott February 2023 Ugh. This is a tough one. I take pride in my honesty on the thousands of pages of CTMQ. Often, I'll rip through writing about a small land trust or town trail and if it has issues, I don't hesitate to highlight those issues. After all, anything I write is a … [Read more...]
Connecticut Brewery Collective (Closed)
Collective Failure Connecticut Brewery Collective, Wolcott Formerly Shebeen Brewing Company, this iteration of the brewery ceased operations in January 2022 before becoming Velvet Libations. The Connecticut Brewery Collective was probably the smartest thing the owner has done with his brewing operations during … [Read more...]
Velvet Libations (Closed)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Twilight Zone Velvet Libations, Wolcott April 2022 Velvet Libations - yes, that was the actual name - closed in September 2022. 189 Days. Velvet Libations existed in our lives for 189 days. In the year 2022, from their grand opening on St. Patrick's Day until a quiet, unremarkable … [Read more...]
Dragon’s Breath Forge
Straight Fire Dragon's Breath Forge, Wolcott December 2022 Swords. Knives. All kinds of swords and knives. Types of swords and knives that no one not deeply involved in the world of swords and knives have ever heard of. And who, pray tell, is "deeply involved in the world of swords and knives" in our little … [Read more...]
Mattatuck Trail: Section 1
Cruising in a Plymouth 7.4 Miles, Wolcott & Plymouth December 2022 When I begin a new longer-distance trail, I often think about the people who rush to rip through certain hiking challenges. Surely there are Blue Trails Challenge hikers who try to get through the CFPA's nearly 1,000 miles of trails in just a … [Read more...]
Finch Brook Preserve
Mario HiKarting Finch Brook Preserve, Wolcott November 2022 This trail is bonkers. Really and truly bonkers. It is a designed as a 2.6 mile go-kart track... but for hiking. You will get dizzy walking the loop. You will have visions of "cheating" by cutting corners. You will read poetry and cross into Waterbury for … [Read more...]
Scovill/e/Woodtick Reservoir Loop
Scoville, Scovill, Woodtick, Cornelis, Mill Pond, Whatever ? Reservoir Mill Pond Way Loop December 2021 When all is said and done with regards to CTMQ, and I'm rocking in my chair telling the youngins about my decades-long project to do everything in Connecticut and one scamp asks me, "what do you remember most … [Read more...]
Klan Drive
OKKKaaaayyy... Klan Drive, Wolcott I'm sure there's a perfectly benign explanation for Klan Drive in Wolcott. Googling "Klan" does not provide this, however. In fact, deep Googling only makes the case that "Klan" is and always was what you associate the word with. So maybe Wolcott's Klan Drive is named … [Read more...]
Old Stone Schoolhouse History Museum
Virulent History Wolcott (Google Maps location) June 2021 According to my accounting, Wolcott's Old Stone Schoolhouse Museum is the 468th Connecticut museum I've visited. Give or take. As you can well imagine, I've been to several old museums, several stone museums, and several schoolhouse museums at this point. … [Read more...]