1. Sugar Cupcakery And Bakery
City: East Haven, CT
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (203) 469-0815
Address: 422 Main St.
Description: Just a minute from the old stone church on East Haven green, this “cupcakery” is a splash of color on Main Street, both outside and inside. Round racks of candy, a jelly bean dispenser, chocolate-covered marshmallow popsicles, and “Sugar Addict” T-shirts are just the warm-up for the huge selection of cupcakes. They have unbelievably decadent flavors like chocolate butter crunch, Oreo explosion, peanut butter riot, red velvet, cookie dough, pink flamingo, icebox cake—the list goes on. The Oreo explosion tastes like an Oreo, if it was a home-baked cupcake. They also make fresh cookies and pizzelles. In the back at the “Custom Candy Buffet” they will do your wedding cake, or better yet, your wedding cupcakes. The mother-daughter team of Carol Vollono and Brenda DePonte recently won an episode of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. It was well deserved.
2. Shoreline Trolley Museum
City: East Haven, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (203) 467-6927
Address: 17 River St.
Description: Perhaps this should be categorized as a wildlife attraction, because this museum is, in fact, dedicated to the preservation of an endangered species: the trolley. This is also one of Connecticut’s oldest tourist attractions, and is the oldest steadily operating trolley line in America. When you get to the end of this street near the Branford green, you’ll find yourself at a small building, while the road becomes a trolley line, heading into the forest. The museum itself contains exhibits about trolleys, while outside there are a number of other trolleys in the yard and barns. But this is a truly interactive museum; you will take a ride on the trolley line to Short Beach, which heads through the salt marsh near the sea. The museum is usually in the process of refurbishing more trolleys, so you never know what you’ll see. There are theme rides at various times of year, including a haunted ride at Halloween. Interestingly, there is no limit to the number of rides you can take on any of the 6 cars on the line; one small fee pays for the whole day. That might be the best part of all.