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LIRoadtrip37

Venture in reaching new heights. It's the perfect spot for you. It certainly is. And this week's road trip close to home, our Shannon Lanier takes us to Island Rock in plain view. There may not be a lot of mountains on Long Island, but that doesn't mean you can't climb like a pro. Just come to Island Rock in plain view, whether you're a beginner or expert climber. Island Rock has a wall for you. We have over 100 and 20 different rope climbing problems, over 100 different boulder problems. We have a moon board and a campus board. So here we have something for everybody before we climb. Safety first. Ross. Are you sure this rope is going to hold me? Oh, yeah. It's rated to hold over a couple of £1000. So you'll be good. Keep your arms straight and rely on your skeletal system more than your muscular system. Your arms are strong, I can see, but your legs are stronger. So make sure you're using them and pushing off. Keeping your arms nice and high above your head. Nice and straight. I did it. I made it, I did it. Yes. After perfecting the starter wall. I'm ready for a big climb. Let's go. And what you experienced climber, you might wanna check out our memberships, day passes, punch pass packs. We also have dedicated youth programs as well for youth climbers that are looking to get into it. Man. That was a lot of fun. Ross. So, what's next? Let's try some bouldering. All right, bouldering is unrope climbing so lower to the ground only over a crash pad. I'm not gonna make it. I can't do it. I'm too high. Go on with that, please. 00, I made it from Island Rock in Plainview. I'm Shannon Lanier on this road trip. Close to home.

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Well, all this rain that we've been dealing with is not stopping the fun on this week's road trip. Close to home. Certainly is not news for the kid Ramo shows us where adventures hit new heights and speeds, no matter the weather pack that pent up energy and bring it over here to Urban Air Adventure Park in Middletown. I love urban air because of the workers here and it's like family here. It also I get to enjoy dodgeball almost every day. Here and go Kart. You heard him right? It's where the kids find common ground on the race track at the apex and in the air, we are an adventure park. So we have an assortment of attractions for all ages. And here at the apex, you can jump on more than two dozen trampoline that literally feel like it. You can jump around the freestyle area, check your skills on the wipe out trampoline and even play a game of dodgeball where gravity works a little differently. It's not just regular dodgeball because you can do cool tricks to escape it. Hey, speaking of cool tricks. How about zip lining and testing your balance in the air. We have team members in all of our attractions. Anyone who uses any of those harnessing attractions are securely harnessed and clipped into whatever attraction they're using at the time. All right, let's switch that harness out for a seatbelt. We'll need it for this course. Take your friends up on a go kart race where the fun will fuel the laps around two levels of this track. It's a road trip close to home that packs a punch of excitement in Middletown Nikita Ramos News 12.

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061323CTMADEINCT_2023-06-13-05-28-26

It is America's oldest continuously running amusement park, welcoming families for nearly two centuries. News 12 Connecticut's mark. Sudal had some fun at Lake Compounds this week made in Connecticut. Lake Compounds has been a pillar of the community for 177 years with a lot of iconic and historic rides. Over the decades, Lake Compounds in Bristol has invested millions of dollars in its rides and attractions from the Pirate Ship to Boulder Dash voted the world's number one wooden roller coaster. Connecticut's largest water park. Let's not forget about the games and food. Lake Compounds has something for everyone. It really caters to families, not just kids, you know, we want mom and dad and the kids to come and spend the day on the wonderful ride. How many people does it take to operate this place? It's quite a few, it's several 100 people a day. Thousands walk through these gates every year. In 18 46 things looked much different when the park first started. I guess it was centered around the lake. It was, it was more of a picnic outing event space and then it just evolved over time into what we have here today. By 1911, Lake Compounds opened a carousel which still operates today. 16 years later, the Wildcat, one of America's first electric roller coasters was up and running and the park's iconic train was introduced in 1943. There's a lot of emotion and a lot of heartfelt memories for a lot of guests that come to the park and they are very loyal to the park. One of my favorite rides is the old time cars, but it's not much fun when it rains. I wasn't planning on a water ride. Let's keep that in the water park in Bristol Park use 12 Connecticut. So I been convertible then Mark. I know. Oh, man. Oh, leave it to Mark. Oh. But Lake Compounds holds a lot of special memories for you and your family. It does, it does. So it was actually my first job I can remember. I went to prom the night before I started my first day at Lake Compounds the next day and my grandparents had their first kiss on the uh railroad train. Oh, it's such a nice, a nice park and so gray here in Connecticut. And it brought back its concert series. We've talked a lot about this through the show. So for the first time in over a decade, they'll be having concerts right on the lake there on the lake. Actually, the performers are on a platform in the lake, aren't they? Yeah. My parents said they're getting a season pass just to go. Don't blank. All right. We'll be back with more, more on 12 coming up.

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Here it is on a Thursday. That means it's time to check out another road trip close to home. New South. New Jersey's Carina Gary brings us to Rutherford to perfect our swing. I'm Karina Gian on this week's road trip. Close to home. We're at west end golf club where the golf season never ends. Check it out. Yeah, it's like dinner. What really gave us the idea to do? This is just building things around our interests. Myself and my partners are avid golfers and we just felt that there was room for more adult recreation in this area and things to do. It's nice to have a place where you can come and really work on your game. Um Beyond the social aspect as well. What's good about coming to a place like this part of it obviously is to work on your swing, work on your game. You can be a golfer year round here. It also provides a lot of data about people's swings. So what are we looking at here? Ok. So I was explaining to you that there's a lot of data that comes along with this. This is what you'd be looking at here these numbers, I mean, you can really go very in depth with actual numbers. This shows the carry distance, which is the distance to both traveling in the, we're gonna have a little bit of a competition. Now, whoever can get closest to the pin. Are you ready? I am. Ok. Let's go. Oh, man. Ok. But if it wasn't in the trees, I do feel like it'd be close. Oh, that was a good one. Let's see. Oh, wow. Uh, not bad. Not bad. You know what you saw that there was, it could have been a possibility. It could have been something. West end golf club is an immersive golf experience. Die. Zombies die. That ranges all the way from just the social aspect to truly dialing in your swing with statistics and data. We are a byob. We allow people to order food in here. It's kind of like going bowling or hatchet throwing for people who just want a night out. Um, but for people who are truly concerned or want to get better at golf, this is a great place to come, get your swings out with. And if you're looking for even more fun with great spots for the whole family, check out our road trip close to home weekly special tonight at seven and 930.

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041323CTROADTRIP5AM_2023-04-13-05-23-00

Nearly 100,000 flower bulbs pop up every spring, creating an oasis of color, add some art and it's the perfect recipe for the soul in this week's road trip. Close to home news, 12 photo journalist, Laurie Goli takes us to the historic Stratfield section of Bridgeport. It's an amazing experience during spring when everything just starts to awaken. When the sun finally starts to get a little sharper and you can feel the warmth on your back, then you start to see everything come up. The sense of anticipation is pretty uh pretty enjoyable. This is the color blends house and spring garden. Well, the house uh was built in 19 oh three. There's always something happening every week. There's always something peeking. You know, it goes from the early flowering crocuses and say early April. It swings into daffodils and then finally late April. It's tulips and the finale this year, we're doing a show that's based on circadian rhythm, which is um the idea of that everything runs on an invisible clock. So all this stuff that kind of is in relationship to the art that is being made and the flowers that are outside I was thinking of one common root that all living things have. It's a vivid dream, a very vivid dream, beautiful. So the show overall, I think like just this back and forth between nature um which is art in its own way and then art which is man made. I think the combination of these things are, is, is what really makes it a unique experience. Oh, yeah, it's super exciting. I mean, this is uh the best show in the city without a doubt. We have artists from all over the tri state and each room has uh something different to offer my art kind of right now bases itself around reflection and desire. These are flower lamps that I've made. Um And basically, I'm using light as paint. So I'm just kind of focusing on the eyes and, and expression and kind of like these different people that you encounter or these different perceptions of people that you may encounter, the beauty that this city has to offer. I think it can a lot of times be overlooked. And this show is a perfect example of that. I mean, the the goal also is to lift people up a little bit, you know, feel spring and connect with spring just to smell the the the flowers and then to view the art and it's a feast for the vision and the soul and it's inspiring so many gorgeous little hidden treasures here in Connecticut. It's nice. So it's all interconnected. You've got the art, but you combine that with nature's art. It's beautiful. It really is. So the garden is open to the public daily and there is an artist reception on April 22nd, a poetry reading on the 29th gallery hours at news 12 dot com.

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All right. And this week's road trip close to home, we're heading around the city for a unique tasting and tour experience at the Fort Hamilton distillery News twelve's Marissa Marcelino has the details from Industry City, Brooklyn. It's hard to believe you're in Brooklyn with the double barrel bourbon bottling the tastings and the full fledged distillery, but your eyes aren't deceiving you. The Fort Hamilton Distillery is ushering in a new revolution of whiskeys. The original cocktails were all made with rye. So we wanted to create that New York Rye. So you could really recreate their original hotel. And the best part you can taste their curated cocktails in the Fortress bar that's connected to the distillery and don't miss the signature drink and maple old fashioned and get this. It's completely bourbon barrel aged maple syrup. All of our recipes are available online. We try to make drinks that are approachable that people don't shy away from. They're like, oh, I can actually go home and make this, make no mistake. This is a family and dog friendly spot. Juices, mocktails and food are also available to enjoy. And for those of you in vibing you can sample everything here that's made on site. We do offer a tasting fight and you can just all of our spirits. We start with a gen you moving on to two bourbons and then you go on to our rise. Fort Hamilton offers tours Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And on top of learning its connection to New York, you'll also get a chance to make your own bottle. It's a really unique opportunity to come down and support your local businesses. If you're traveling from out of town to really get a taste of New York. Fort Hamilton Distillery is open seven days a week and you can sign up for tours on their website in Industry City. Marissa Marcelino News 12. Don't forget every Thursday we feature some of the awesome getaways that are just around the corner in your neighborhood. You can catch road trip close to home tonight at seven and 930 right here on News.

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CTROADTRIP3724AM_2024-03-07-07-03-25

Over 30 years, the art of puppetry has been celebrated at uconn and they have a museum to do just that in this week's road trip. Close to home news, 12 photojournalist, Laurie Goliath takes us to stores. Every culture has some aspect of puppet or object performance. And that's certainly the case. Today, we are here at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut where a new exhibition, taking care puppets and their collectors just recently opened and will be up for quite a while. My prime concern as a curator here is that how we give another life to these objects. They were on stage. They were live on stage. Puppetry is an art or a combination of arts because you've got sculpture and movement and music and literature and lighting and set design and dance all mixed together in these in different ways. We want to also make a tribute to the donors, all the collectors in here. But what type of they left us? It's really enlightening to see these puppets and think about China or Tunisia or England in the 19th century or New York City in the 19 thirties. I'm very proud that I discovered a lot of puppets that has been in boxes for many, many years. The Ballot institute as part of puppetry at Yukon is a unique place. There aren't that many puppet museums to begin with. Yukon plays a very big role in the world of puppetry, both locally and nationally and internationally. We're the only Institute of Higher Education that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in in puppetry. This is a check rod Marinette. There's a rod from the puppeteer's hand to the head and the check marines have this special mechanism up here. This t shaped control that moves the legs with one hand, I can make the legs move and then with the other hand, I can manipulate the arms, the hands. We try to make puppetry as accessible as possible to, to anybody who comes by. Oh, hello. Hello, viewing public you can come here, watch a puppet show, see an exhibition, go to the bookstore, eat some cookies, have a pizza, have dinner so it can be a real destination spot while the museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. Public performances are featured monthly as well as many other programs. For more information. Head on over to news. Twelve.com.

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Come along for the ride on this Road Trip Close to Home as we head to the country's oldest continuously run amusement park. Then we tip-toe through the tulips in Connecticut and raise a glass to Brooklyn's rebellious past.

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