Tag: @GouveiaVineyard

Vineyards Aren’t Just About Wine

October 17, 2016

This past Sunday after my daughter’s softball game I had to run an errand.  I had my son with me and we made it quick.  On the way home, the sun was shining in a way that was making the fall colors pop on the trees.  I suggested to Kevin that we take a little detour and go down Cooke Road to take some pictures.  He was game so we did it.

We live within two miles of three vineyards in our area and we never go to them.  So I decided to head up to Gouveia Vineyards.  We ran around that vineyard with our iPhones taking pictures of the leaves, the grapes, the sunset and the beautiful day like two little kids frolicking in a field.  Then we jumped in the car and found another great spot for photos.  We were on our little detour from home for about an hour and a half and it was one of my favorite parts of my entire weekend!

Here are some of the great shots we captured!

Goodwin Park Holiday Light Fantasia!

December 16, 2015

On Saturday of our weekend of holiday festivities, we slept in and had a leisurely morning.  The kids were so excited that it was warm out they dug out their shorts and tank tops and had a picnic lunch in the side yard!

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Later in the afternoon I wanted to take everyone for a bike ride since it was so warm.  My husband was even able to join us, which was a real treat!  But we knew it would probably be painful for him later.  It was a beautiful morning and then some ominous clouds came out as we started on our bike ride.

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We rode up to the Gouveia Vineyards near our house and drove through the vineyard and to the lake.  It was a lot of fun for us to have him join us and to all get outside during the spring-like winter weather.

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After the ride, we had dinner and my parents and brother met us at our house to follow us to Goodwin Park in Hartford for the Holiday Light Fantasia!  Heidi told me she was volunteering there that night so we wanted to make sure we could see her!  We were lucky she was manning the ticket booth we went to!

We were so impressed with the lights at this park!  We had been to Fantasy of Lights in East Haven once or twice, but these lights blew them away.  I also appreciate that the donations from the lights is going to the Channel 3 Kids Camp.  If you are looking for festive things to do for the holidays, check out the three things we did this past weekend.  Some are free and some only require a small donation towards charity.  We went to Hubbard Park in Meriden, Goodwin Park Holiday Light Fantasia in Hartford and Gillette Castle in East Haddam.

Enjoy the slide show of the lights at Goodwin Park!

The night wouldn’t be complete without a little shenanigans.  As soon as we got off the highway to head to our house I took a very quick detour to Beaumont Farms to get some photos of the new holiday decorations that farm owner put up for this year’s display.

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Getting Into the Christmas Spirit

December 12, 2015

Last week my son told me he was feeling like he was losing his Christmas Spirit.  Well I had to put an end to that right away!  I think he was feeling that way because during the week we have the regular hustle and bustle of needing to be at Girls Scouts, or Cub Scouts, my working late, doing homework and this unusually warm weather we have been experiencing.

To change that up I made sure that the elves were delivering messages to them to help encourage them to feel more “Christmasy”. I also loaded up our schedule this weekend to include many holiday oriented events.  Friday afternoon my mother came over and helped the kids decorate their new study room with a snowman’s face and then we hung ornaments off of the trees in the front yard to add a little more flair to our outdoor decorations.

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Then after that we had dinner at Giovanni’s with my mother and brother, followed by a trip to Hubbard Park in Meriden to see the Festival of Silver Lights

I planned this earlier in the week because I knew the weather was going to be warmer so we’d be able to park the car in various locations in the park to get out and walk around to take pictures of and with the lights.  We had some fun with the lights and my brother “accidentally” unplugged one of the cords that lit up a bridge.  It’s not fun until you start to throw in a few shenanigans!

Tonight we will be visiting Goodwin Park and Sunday Gillette’s Castle!  But not before we go out for a bike ride to the Gouveia Vineyards first on this beautiful afternoon!

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