Connecticut Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff [Paperback]

Susan Campbell (Author), Bill Heald (Author)

Book Description

Series: Curiosities Series | Publication Date: September 1, 2002

From mysterious noises and surreal supermarkets to car artists, flocks of plastic flamingoes, and places where Washington never slept, discover the wry observations about Connecticut's oddest and most obscure phenomena.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Connecticut Curiosities is your round-trip ticket to the wildest, wackiest, most outrageous people, places, and things the Constitution State has to offer. Writers Susan Campbell and Bill Heald have combed Connecticut for one-of-a-kind gems that make their home state truly unique.You'll meet Howdy Doody's keeper, a man who sells flags from around the world by the side of a busy interstate, and a former Hollywood starlet who said goodbye to her worldly life to become a cloistered nun.Whether you were born and raised in Connecticut or are a recent transplant, Campbell and Heald's home-grown humor will have you laughing out loud as they introduce you to the neighbors you never knew you had and take you to the places you never knew existed - right in your own backyard.

About the Author

Susan Campbell is an award-winning, nationally syndicated columnist and feature writer for the Hartford Courant. She lives in Marlborough, Connecticut.
Bill Heald is a writer and photographer whose articles about trends and travel from New York to New Zealand appear regularly in Rider magazine and in many other motorcycle-related publications as well as on Playboy.com. He lives in Hampton, Connecticut.
They are two Connecticut residents with warped senses of humor and a taste for the tasteless and the offbeat--who also manage to hold respectable jobs. Together they bring new meaning to the word silly.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Globe Pequot; 1st edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762708255
• ISBN-13: 978-0762708253
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #760,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Connecticut

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get Out There!, December 12, 2002

By 

Randy Given (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Connecticut Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff (Paperback)

If you want to explore interesting things in Connecticut, this is the book to start with. My son and I often do interesting things on Saturday mornings. Part of it is just "bonding time", but part of it is that mom works every other Saturday, so those days we have special freedom to do interesting things. And we do. During warm months, an emphasis is on hiking and outdoor activities. During cold months, if we are not sledding, we try more indoor activities.

Many of the things that we have done are in this book. I was pleasantly surprised. I bought this as a present for mom so that maybe she can join in more often (she does better if she has a picture in her mind and this book is full of pictures).

Explore Connecticut by visiting "everyday" places you might not have noticed. These are the kinds of places that out-of-staters might ask "have you been there" but the residents do not even know they exist -- right next door. Definitely worth taking a look at.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE BOOKS LIKE THIS ONE, March 13, 2003

By 

Gail K. Powers "Abra" (Harbor Country, Mi,N. Naples, FL, Chicago area) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Connecticut Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff (Paperback)

Whether I am at home or on the road, books like this one provide this traveller with a lot to do without having to go very far. Personally, I view Connecticut as one of those often overlooked states which gets unfairly dissed because of its close proximity to NYC.
In my case, I was abandoned by my husband who was attending a business conference. I wandered into a book store and found this little gem in the local interest section. On the way to Mystic Seaport, I checked out a few locations. Had a lot of fun and enjoyed myself thoroughly. My only regret was that I didn't have more time to cover all the locations cited in this book. However, even that was o.k. because I now have the impetus to return and check out other interesting places.
Travel books like these are a real treat for locals as well as visitors because they educate and also provide a sense of familiarity to often strange and/or unfamiliar places. They provide a different way of looking at a specific state or region.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting even (or especially) for the natives!, December 8, 2006

By 

Joanna Mechlinski (CT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Connecticut Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff (Paperback)

This guidebook to all the fun, out-of-the-way and quirky people and places of Connecticut is a great way to learn more about what makes the state so great. Even as a lifelong state resident, I learned new things; I use this as a means of picking fun daytrips.

Pick up a copy; it'll make you wonder what else you don't know about Connecticut!