A Conn. job: Some fabulously faux Connecticut retro postcards

 Palm trees? In Connecticut?

 No, it's not the Matterhorn. It's Connecticut!

 Here's the real Moodus...

...where they don't take kindly to littering or rounding up to even numbers.

 Goodspeed's Station Country Store...

 ...near the Goodspeed Opera House (photo from ctvisit.com)...

 ...and the great East Haddam swinging bridge.

The small central Connecticut town of East Haddam has a lot going for it: the gorgeous Connecticut River with its sublime 1913 steel swing bridge, the spectacular Goodspeed Opera House, dating back to 1876 and still producing Broadway-caliber musicals, and Goodspeed's Station Country store, one of those nostalgic gift shops full of fun nicknacks. On a recent visit to the store we were taken with a collection of what appeared to be vintage postcards from the region, depicting cheery skiers, fishermen and Nutmeg State guests frolicking on vacation. As a fan of this jolly type of ephemera, and a Connecticut native, I wondered why I had never seen anything like these before and while we were oohing and ahhing over them, the nice proprietor lady told us she had put them together with a publishing house that specializes in whimsical custom-made vintage-looking items. And whimsical they are...Connecticut's a beautiful place but the skiing postcard makes it look like the Swiss Alps in the 1940s. And anyone who has been to sleepy little Moodus will tell you it's pleasant but not exactly the glamorous and rugged vacation mecca seen here. So, to Goodspeed's Country Store, we offer our un-Conn.-ditional Conn.-gratulations for these visual Conn.-fections. They really -ticut the mustard.

Happy trailers to you: Bisbee, Arizona's Shady Dell vintage trailer park

Nine vintage trailers await you, including...

The 1957 Airfloat (that's the inside below).

Interior pics are from The Shady Dell's website. Go visit them!

The 1949 Airstream, left, and the '57 El Rey (lawn flamingos come at no extra charge).

Here's the interior of the Airstream...comfy!

This is the 1950 Manor, stately and proud...

...and equipped with a kitchen Lucy would love.

The 1950 Royal Mansion is fit for a king.

Jen is ready to help you at the front office.

We've already done a few posts about how awesome a place Bisbee, Arizona is but everything else this cool town has to offer the eccentric roadside attraction fan pales in comparison to The Shady Dell vintage travel trailer court on Douglas Road. Nine beautifully restored trailers of different shapes and varieties dating back from 1949-57 (plus a 1947 Tiki bus and a 1947 38-foot yacht!) are lovingly arranged in a gravel court with picket fences and trellises. And you can spend a night or two in one of these aluminum dreams, each equipped with vintage accoutrements, like working percolators and period 2-color TVs, to make your visit a retro dream come true. Unfortunately, we were on a rather tight schedule so we couldn't stay overnight in one of these tin can mansions, but we did get to walk around and gawk at them and have a nice chat with Jen, who, with her boyfriend Justin, his mother Annette and their friend Ken run the place. The park dates back to 1927, as a traveler's oasis along Route 80, the old road from Savannah, Georgia to San Diego, California and sister to the more famous Route 66. Today the park is a living, breathing museum of the good life of the 1950s open road, when Lucy and Desi led the way in "The Long Long Trailer." Fancy some bacon and eggs and a cup o' joe? Nestled in the property is Dot's Diner, a tiny gem that diner aficionados will recognize as a 1950s Valentine model. We'll do a post about Dot's later. So come on, eccentric roadside fans...pack up the station wagon and head down to Bisbee. They've got it made in the shade.