Connecticut’s RV-Friendly Welcome Centers

As an RV-friendly welcome to the state of Connecticut, the Department of Transportation has extended the welcome mat to self-contained RVers. Visitors to the state are permitted one free overnight stay in the rest area at several interstate highway Welcome Centers.

Since most RVers will want to visit the Welcome Centers where travel counselors can provide maps, brochures, and travel and sightseeing information, staying the night to rest and study up on the many attractions and historical sites before moving on is a sensible option.

A bit thumbs up go to the state planners for designating special areas for RV travelers, away from the continuous coming and going of noisy eighteen-wheelers, placing them near picnic tables, barbecues, and restrooms. Most also have dump stations and special pet areas.

The Connecticut State Police monitor the rest stops to provide a safe and secure stay. Overnight stays are permitted at the following Welcome Centers:

On I-84

• Danbury at exit 2.
• Southington eastbound between exits 28 and 30
• West Wellington westbound between exits 70 and 69

On I-91

• Wallingford southbound between exits 15 and 14
• Middletown northbound between exits 19 and 20

On I-95

• Westbrook northbound between exits 65 and 66.
• North Stonington southbound between exits 92 and 91.

Lake Erie Prehistoric Forest & Mystery Hill

If you fondly remember when family entertainment was simpler, the days before CGI sci-fi movies like Avatar and expensive video games that mesmerize the addicted, take a nostalgic visit to the Prehistoric Forest and Mystery Hill on Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline.

Though considered old-fashioned by the cyber set, the big-as-life dinosaurs set in a jungle-like forest with faux rocks and a contrived waterfall, and the strange gravity defying illusions like water running up hill, still mystify and intrigue visitors.

Young children especially enjoy teaming up for water balloon battles between mom and dad and grandma and grandpa. Two launching platforms, each with a rigged up catapult, loft the balloons through a hole in the roof, toward the other. A direct hit on the opposing roof, of course, showers the “enemy” with water and giggles.

Visit the reptile house to see live lizards, turtles, and snakes. But hurry. Open since 1953, the 2010 season will be its last. The owner is retiring.

Prehistoric Forest & Mystery Hill, 8332 E. Harbor Road (Rte. 163, eight miles east of Port Clinton), Marblehead, Ohio. Open 10AM to dark, every day, Memorial Day to Labor Day. Weekends only in May and September.