Jaunts & Road Trips
I was driving through the village of Glendale, Rhode Island, on a cold afternoon in early December 2022. I remember there was a coating of snow on the ground from a storm the week before, leaving the typical layer of winter grime on everyone’s vehicles.
As I came around the corner, I spotted a car for sale on the side of the road. It was clean and shiny — the owner obviously knew how to market the vehicle on a drab winter day. I told myself if it was still there the next day, I would check it out.
As you may have guessed, it was still there. Three days later, and I had test-driven and purchased the 1985 Mercedes Benz 300D. Was it an impulse purchase? Absolutely, but it wasn’t a total whim.
Two months prior to finding the Mercedes, I drove in a competitive road rally in a New Hampshire. The majority of the drivers at the rally had antique vehicles — some dating back to the 1930s — and I wanted to have something to drive at the next event.
With my retirement, there’s now the opportunity for my Mercedes to get a little more road time. My original thought is to jaunt around Rhode Island during the summer of 2026 or maybe even take a couple of road trips with the car. By definition, a jaunt is “a short excursion or journey for pleasure,” but when does a jaunt become a road trip? I asked Google, and here is the answer from the internet:
A jaunt transitions to a road trip when the drive shifts from a short, casual, or single-purpose excursion into a multi-day or multi-stop journey designed for exploration.
This will be my guiding philosophy for each excursion. My jaunts will be day trips to the hidden gems throughout Rhode Island, while my road trips will take me to places in other parts of New England that I’ve always wanted to explore — not to mention trying to find the best inns or bed and breakfast venues to spend a night at!
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It’s not easy to get to from Rhode Island or most anywhere else for that matter. A compact structure with five brick and concrete facades rises up from asphalt surroundings in the heart of the city. Built in the Fenway section of Boston in 1912, at a time when trollies, bicycles and of course two… Read more: Fenway Park - From Harrisville to Harrisville
Dublin Road transitioned seamlessly into Main Street after the long steady climb from Dublin Village. Dense forest surrounded the gentle curves as I descended into the village of Harrisville, New Hampshire. The first thing I spotted as the woodland changed to open field was a small gray structure set off to the left; a blue… Read more: From Harrisville to Harrisville - By The Way… Have You Seen the Byway?
My plan was simple: Take a 54-mile drive through the rolling hills of western Massachusetts on an obscure scenic byway, Route 112. The designated byway begins just north of the Massachusetts Turnpike in the town of Huntington and meanders north, eventually ending at the Vermont border. But could I find it without a GPS? That… Read more: By The Way… Have You Seen the Byway? - Beyond Putnam Pike: A Road Trip to Amenia, NY
I have always been curious to find out what lies beyond Putnam Pike in western Connecticut. I’ve traveled from Chepachet to Pomfret, and sometimes beyond, but I have never explored Route 44 as it extends west of the Connecticut River — but this time, I’m going all the way to the end.
