"Jaw-Droppingly Vegasified"

Like Brooklyn itself, Coney Island has a storied legacy of falling and rising. Now, the legendary beachfront amusement park is slated for an over-the-top, $1B-plus makeover, described in an amusingly titled piece from New York Magazine. Change is inevitable, of course, and these days, change is all about velocity. As the great broom of alteration and development sweeps away the past, it seems that the landscape's vintage, vanguard elements assume an even greater resonance. Let's hope that the landmark Cyclone rollercoaster will be preserved to keep taking people on thrill-screaming rides, just as the VW Bug endures as a symbol of peace, love and good times. Taking the color palette from the original late '70s Super Beetle convertible, the special edition Triple White, with a production run of only 3,000, is all about getting the past right and keeping the past intact.

Wine, Women and Wednesdays

That's the saucy "hump day" 1/2-price drink (for women) night at the Griswold Inn's Wine Bar. A bona fide hot spot, this impressively cosmopolitan lounge draws a sophisticated crowd from surrounding sleepy 'burbs and beyond. We found the last two available seats at the bar on a Saturday night, where our inviting--and quite pregnant--German bartender Ines and chatty, playful locals joined us for a terrific selection of "wine flights" and tasty samplings of micro-sized appetizers. We closed out our evening of great food, drink, atmosphere and jovial, stimulating conversation with an ultra-quiet moonlit walk to Essex's historic waterfront on the Connecticut River, where we dangled our feet off the end of the dock.

007 in St. Tropez?

Photoshop out the background buildings and this stone pier could be in the South of France, Corsica, Greece, Portugal...and that's the Triple White Bug fresh from a Spy Who Loved Me-style underwater adventure. Well, damn it, it's fun to pretend once in a while, isn't it? Actually, this is the charming waterfront in Madison, CT, yards from the Madison Beach Hotel on West Wharf Road. Originally built as a rooming house in the 1800's, this historic property, with 31 rooms and 4 suites (most with balconies) overlooking a small beach and the Long Island Sound, is just right for relaxing seaside getaways.

The Birdhouses of Essex, CT

You'll be hard pressed to find a quainter small town in the U.S. than Essex. There was violence here in 1814, when the Brits, naughty lot that they were and remain--snuck into the harbor and torched the American fleet. Today, though, there is only peace and gentility, complete with tree-lined streets, Fife and Drum parades, the lapping waters of the Connecticut River and classic Colonial homes. Even the birds live well in this former ship building village, founded in the mid-17th century--here are but a few of the avian abodes about town, and there is even a (bird) house of worship. Funny how many times "wings" was mentioned in the tiny prayer book we found inside.

Elementary, My Dear Watson!

In the great tradition of castles built out of pure love or passion--from the Taj Mahal in India to Boldt Castle on Heart Island in New York's Thousand Islands region--here is the hilltop quirk built almost a century ago in East Haddam, CT by actor and playwright William Hooker Gillette (1853-1937). His portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on Broadway at the turn of the twentieth century was considered the definitive interpretation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famed detective; today, his architectural fantasy, the crown of Gillette Castle State Park, is one of Connecticut's top tourist attractions.

The Welcome Wagen

What better way to open the travel buggin' than with a little tribute to our good friends at Volkswagen of America, who were kind enough to let us take the 2007 Triple White Beetle out for test spin. Beth took delivery of the car in Brooklyn, picked me up at JFK Airport upon my return from Scandinavia (details to follow in later posts), and then it was off to Connecticut for the start of a 10-day tri-state area driving adventure. From our base at the "Gris" in Essex, CT--the iconic Griswold Inn, in the hospitality game since 1776, and one of America's oldest, most treasured inns--it was an explorers' weekend in the Connecticut River Valley. First leg, a river ride on the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry, which made its first crossing in 1769 and is CT's second oldest continously operating ferry. Our destination--the eccentric Gillette Castle.