In which we discuss:

Connecticut stereotypes, as defined by “You Know You’re From Connecticut When…” lists.

Our childhood vacation memories in the region.

Travel, loneliness, fear, and how they intertwine.

Summary

Are Connecticut residents defined by how we eat our cheeseburgers and lobster rolls? Johnna and Kerri rip into a few “You Know You’re from Connecticut When” listicles in this episode, before reflecting on how childhood travel experiences have informed our adventure styles as adults, specifically, as the kind of adults who explore the world alone, despite loads of fears.

Special Moments and Details

We begin this episode by looking at two listicles overflowing with Connecticut stereotypes ( “40 Ways You Know You’re From Connecticut” and “27 Ways You Know You’re From Connecticut”) and evaluate each and every one, though for the sake of time, we edited out most of our discussion, leaving you with the best parts. In wondering what a Desperate Housewives-type show of Greater Hartford would look like, Kerri is reminded of The Hotwives of Orlando with Kristen Schaal, but as you’ll hear, could not remember the name of the show, the name of the actress, or the name of anything else she was in. Later in this segment, she confuses the Heublein Tower with something else. We talk about Caldor and Fudgie the Whale; as we’ve learned, neither were born in or specific to Connecticut. (Carvel now has its headquarters in Georgia and is sold worldwide.) Inspired by Caldor, Johnna recalls the awesomely ‘70s Flying J logo. Unsatisfied with how others have defined living in Connecticut, Johnna created her own list many years ago for The Size of Connecticut:

You Know You’re From CT When:

1) You wear diamond earrings with a sweatshirt.

2) You drive east and call it north.

3) You have both a MetroCard and a Charlie Card in your wallet.

4) You haven’t pronounced a consonant at the end of a word in years.

5) You think noticeable makeup and styled hair are the height of trashy.

6) You don’t slow down or move over for vehicles stopped in the breakdown lane. [Update: CT has since imported this annoying law, unfortunately.]

7) When the Yankees play the Red Sox, you feel like you live in the Balkans.

8) You know that Mohegan Sun is nicer than Foxwoods.

9) You panic when you go to a state that doesn’t have Dunkin’ Donuts.

10) You leave your bag unattended in your shopping cart while you walk around the Stop & Shop.

11) You got that bag at the Coach outlet at Clinton Crossing.

12) You know the story of the Charter Oak and actually secretly think it’s kind of cool.

13) You have CL&P’s emergency number programmed into your phone.

14) You have, while living in another state or country, said “You can take the girl out of Connecticut, but you can’t take the Connecticut out of the girl.”

15) You said the above because someone discovered you owned more than one L.L. Bean Boat & Tote bag.

16) You think it’s weird that supermarkets in other places don’t cover their beer with a little curtain on Sundays. [Update: CT has since gotten rid of this silly law, fortunately.]

17) You have either climbed over, fallen off of, or injured yourself on, a stone wall.

18) You think sand consists of rocks, broken shells, and seaweed.

19) You pack three coats of various weights for a weekend trip.

20) When someone from Massachusetts says Connecticut isn’t really New England, you get offended and splutter “Hey, Masshole…we were the Provisions State!”

21) You know how to pronounce Coventry and Berlin correctly, but you don’t, because you’re not from Coventry or Berlin.

22) You think county sheriffs are something they made up for old Westerns.

23) You remember having dark blue license plates, stopping for tolls at the New York border, being “full of surprises,” and the days when the Danbury Fair Mall was just the Danbury Fair.

24) It does not strike you as strange when people consider towns 20 minutes away from their home to be essentially unexplored foreign lands.

25) When you were little you couldn’t understand how Canada could have a Yukon too.

The middle segment (starting at approx. 24 minutes) features a cautionary tale about border crossing and taking a cat on vacation. The Wall Street Journal (and others) don’t disagree with one of our ideas about how to make family trips less hellish for children.

Around 40 minutes in we get to talking about how to reconcile wanderlust with all the fears that come with travel — from fearing attacks by bears and scorpions, to fearing fear.

Music: “Below the Waves” by Keshco