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    Down Town Curiousities Oddities & Art

    5.0 (1 review)

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    2 years ago

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    Simsbury Sleigh Trail

    Simsbury Sleigh Trail

    4.0(1 review)
    19.3 mi

    "Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh"…read more Do you know that the original title of the song we know today as Jingle Bells was "The One Horse Open Sleigh?" Yup, it was written in 1857 and it's original purpose was lost to history. Some say it was written for a Sunday School choir, others say it was a drinking song. So, take your pick. You'll see a bunch of beautifully painted one-horse open sleighs along Hopmeadow Street as part of the Simsbury Sleigh Trail. The sleighs all date back to the mid-1800's and are part of a Simsbury Historical Society's winter program to refurbish these aging antiques, and sponsor the painting of decorative murals on the sleds by local artists. The artists worked within the theme of "Winter Scenes" and were to illustrate life in the 1850's. Many of the sleighs were rotting away in old barns and their owners welcomed the opportunity to donate them. There was a lot of rodent and insect and deterioration damage to renovate before they were ready for the artist's palette and paintbrush. The sleds have gorgeous color paintings of landscapes, a bobcat, a fox, bears, horses, an owl, a cardinal, villages, farms, local landmarks, a snowman, and children sledding. The detail is amazing, and the colors are gorgeous. What a nice way to honor the past and add some splashes of color and creativity to our lives! (Word of warning -the exhibit closes at the end of February)

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    Simsbury Sleigh Trail
    Simsbury Sleigh Trail
    Simsbury Sleigh Trail

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    Experience Rhode Island Tours - The Christmas Loft in North Conway, NH

    Experience Rhode Island Tours

    4.8(46 reviews)
    62.8 miSmith Hill

    Have to drop them to 3. Had been on a few trips with them that went well, but after this past…read moreFriday they lost me. The 'Friday Funday' Mystic trip was cancelled. Ok. I get it trips get cancelled when there aren't enough people signed up for it. But in this case, they didn't even bother to tell me/us. Even got the confirmation/reminder email the day before. So being at the pickup point and its 5 minutes after we're supposed to leave, I call them to see what's going on and then they tell me it got cancelled and I should've been told Tuesday, but obviously wasn't and again, even got the confirmation/reminder email the day before. As someone that doesn't get a lot of time out work to burn a day off with nothing to show for it is extremely frustrating, and honestly, I just can't risk getting burned again. The owner Ted called later that day offering to make it right and I was refunded the money for the trip and the other trip I cancelled but I can't risk burning another day off with nothing to show for it. The people have always been nice, so I won't completely knock them, but beware even getting a confirmation email the day doesn't mean the trip is happening.

    I joined Experience Rhode Island Tours on their A Day on Martha's Vineyard tour. There were three…read moredeparture locations: Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI, Visitor information Center at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, RI, and the main entrance of Hampton Inn New Bedford in Fairhaven, MA. Ted picked us up from the Visitor information Center two minutes prior to 7:00am. The mini coach bus was pretty full from the first pickup location. We then went on our way to the third pickup location. After our mini coach bus was full, we crossed Bourne Bridge to Woods Hole Terminal in Cape Cod to take a 45 minute Steamship Authority's ferry ride to Oak Bluffs. The ferry ride was smooth. When we got to Oak Bluffs, Ted told us about the history of Martha's Vineyard and gave us a map. First, we went to the fishing village of Menemsha for lunch and I walked to Menemsha Public Beach. Stanley Larsen, owner of Menemsha Fish Market, came on board the bus and showed us the jaws of a great white shark he caught in 1983 while swordfishing. Next, we went to the Aquinnah Cliffs Overlook to admire the beautiful cliffs of Aquinnah and Gay Head Light. This was my favorite part of the whole trip. Then, we explored the lovely harbor of shops and homes in Edgartown. I walked to the Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, which is very close to Harbor View Hotel. Ted talked to us about the Chappaquiddick incident that occurred sometime around midnight, between July 18 and 19, 1969, while standing in front of the Harbor View Hotel looking out at the Poucha Pond. On the way to Oak Bluffs, we stopped at the "Jaws Bridge," a popular spot for jumping into the water despite signs prohibiting it. Lastly, we saw the gingerbread cottages and the tabernacle of Oak Bluffs. We then took the Steamship Authority's ferry ride from Vineyard Haven back to Woods Hole Terminal. We returned to Visitor information Center at the Rhode Island Convention Center about 7:30pm. Everyone on the trip were very respectful of the time Ted told us to return to the bus and were very friendly. This was a wonderful, fun, informational day trip to New England's most popular island and I am so glad I got to explore Martha's Vineyard for the first time with Experience Rhode Island Tours. Ted took us on a tour of the entire island, exploring its six towns. The tour included admission to Martha's Vineyard ferry, narrated tour, and round-trip transportation to and from the ferry, and transportation throughout the day on the Vineyard. Experience Rhode Island Tours always does a great job with their tours and I am looking forward to what other tours they plan in the future!

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    Experience Rhode Island Tours - Pilgrim's First Landing Park and Woods End Lighthouse in Provincetown, MA

    Pilgrim's First Landing Park and Woods End Lighthouse in Provincetown, MA

    Experience Rhode Island Tours - Ice Castles in New Hampshire

    Ice Castles in New Hampshire

    Experience Rhode Island Tours - Pilgrim Monument

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    Pilgrim Monument

    Collette Tours - Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, SD

    Collette Tours

    2.6(7 reviews)
    0.3 mi

    This was the first time we traveled with Collette. The 7 day/6 night tour, "Spotlight on South…read moreDakota," featured Mt. Rushmore, Devils Tower (in Wyoming), Badlands National Park, and much more. The itinerary was appealing because, in contrast to tours with multiple destinations linked by long, tedious motor coach rides between 1- or 2-night hotel stays, we would be headquartered in one centrally located spot with no more than a 2-hour drive to the various sites. The poor communication from Collette's main office prior to the tour was unsettling. An invoice stating, "Please remit full payment no later than 17 Feb, 2025" was not received until March 7. An accompanying document included an alert that the names we had scribbled on our registration forms during a travel talk 5 months earlier had to exactly match the names on our Real ID cards. Unfortunately, Collette sent out this "reminder" AFTER they had purchased our airline tickets. I promptly submitted a minor correction. Well, imagine my outrage when they passed along an airline "name change fee" of $100.00. I disputed this ridiculous charge (and won). Many of our fellow tour participants were not experienced fliers. But beyond making our airline reservations, Collette offered not one iota of guidance - not even a useful web link - towards navigating online check-in, baggage, self-service kiosks, TSA, etc. Granted, every airport and airline has its own arcane modus operandi, but still ... Nor was the Collette Compass app I installed on my smartphone useful. The itinerary was a mere copy of the printed documents previously mailed to tour participants. An accompanying list of restaurants and retail stores was woefully outdated; several had closed and others were inaccessible except by rideshare. Search engines (e.g. Google) provided far more concise and up-to-date info. Apart from the above 'plaints, we truly enjoyed the tour. Our hotel, Hyatt Place, was centrally located in downtown Rapid City. Brand new and luxurious, it was within easy walking distance of multiple stores, restaurants, and other attractions. The activities and attractions included in the tour itinerary were generally well curated. At times, though, we felt rushed, especially at lunch stops. We surely could have stayed longer at Wall Drugs, Hill City and Custer ... I'm certain most of our traveling companions would have been OK with returning to the hotel at 5:00 instead of 4:00. Also, after 3 days, multiple museums, displays and talks featuring the history and lore of South Dakota were becoming repetitive. Our tour included three dinners. A "welcome" dinner in a banquet room at a Best Western motel was catered by the adjoining Minervas Restaurant. A presentation by a native Lakota family was delightful but less so our meals, which arrived tepid and daintily portioned. In contrast, the food portions at the "farewell" dinner at Sabatino's were hearty (but their kitchen was not so accommodating in meeting dietary restrictions). The chuckwagon supper and show at Ft. Hays - not included in the tour price - was better overall than the included chuckwagon supper and show at the High Plains Heritage Center located in Spearfish. Collette really ought to consider switching to Ft. Hays for future SD tours. We traveled between sites in a brand new motor coach, enjoying a wonderful driver who was not only punctual and friendly but also knew Rapid City backwards & forwards and shared some great suggestions (including the enjoyable evening at Ft. Hays). But I've saved the best for last, namely our tour manager Barry. He is the reason I gave Collette 4 stars instead of 3. Never appearing stressed or impatient, Barry was unswervingly cheerful, polite, helpful, and an inspiring fountain of knowledge about the various sites we visited. When the weather turned sour, he got us to smile and laugh. In short, he was a great traveling companion and friend to every tour participant. We hope to travel with Barry again (and we hope Collette's HQ office gets their act together on communication and documents).

    Booked a trip to the UK with an extension to Paris in spring of 2022. We traveled from Scotland to…read moreLondon and then took the train to Paris. This was our first international trip since the beginning of the pandemic. As we neared the end of our journey, my husband and I tested positive for Covid and had to quarantine in Paris (we needed a negative Covid test to re-enter the U.S.) Collette was wonderful. They extended our stay in our hotel, assigned a lovely woman who spoke French and English, to call us every day and make sure we didn't need medical attention. After 5 days, we received a negative test and Collette got us home the next day. Fortunately, I had purchased trip insurance through Tripmate and, once home, Collette help me fill out the paperwork to submit to the insurance company. I was reimbursed for my hotel, food, Covid test, flight adjustment, and one day of our stay in Paris. I can't say enough good things about Collette. They were so nice and extremely helpful. We will be going back to Europe this upcoming autumn with Collette. AND I want to give a shout-out to our UK guide, Gail. Best tour guide ever!

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    Collette Tours - Devils Tower, WY

    Devils Tower, WY

    Collette Tours - New motor coach

    New motor coach

    Collette Tours - Badlands National Park, SD

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    Badlands National Park, SD

    Down Town Curiousities Oddities & Art - arttours - Updated May 2026

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