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A Reading From The Diary Of Anna Zap: The Vacation

Going on vacation is always fun, right? In this most recent reading from Anna’s diary, you find out just how much could go wrong and how planning for a vacation becomes a bigger job that it should be.

Things to Know: July 11th

‘The Voice’ contestants from Newtown Jim and Sasha Allen to perform at Yard Goats game CT Post

Paul Newman ‘The Last Movie Stars’ documentary to premiere on HBO Max this month CT Post

Shawn Mendes postpones shows including Mohegan Sun due to mental health CT Post

Trumbull’s Long Hill Market nears full occupancy CT Post

Mountain lion sightings reported in Woodbridge, police say CT Post

These are some of the invasive species that threaten CT’s ecosystem CT Post

Bethel’s beloved movie theater returns—with upgraded refreshments CT Post

CT native’s pandemic thriller filmed in Branford hits film festival circuit CT Post

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Monday July 11th: That Time The Cops Showed Up; Worst First Date; Jellyfish Stings

Are you up to date on this week’s biggest news stories? Anna and Raven will get you up to date on what’s trending, including the nefarious reason an HOA is kicking an old lady out of her house! (:30)

Craft beers are nice, but if you’ve dedicated your entire life to find new ways to describe hops, that’s all I need to know about you! (4:19)

Is there such a thing as a peaceful road trip with a teenager and toddler? Anna’s weekend road trip was a great example of how the journey is not always better than the destination! (7:26)

Have you ever been stung by a jellyfish? It happened to Anna’s daughter over the weekend, but even worse than the sting was the way that every guy on the boat wanted to help! (10:11)

Have the cops ever showed up at your house? It’s not always necessarily a bad thing. One caller actually had a chance to be a hero and stop a murderer! (13:49)

First dates can be tough and picking the wrong location can be a dealbreaker! So Anna was surprised when Producer Jon mentioned that he brought a first date to work with him! (24:59)

Vanessa rents the basement apartment in her brother, Mark’s, home. Lately Mark and his wife have been leaving their children home with Vanessa A LOT. Vanessa says it’s rude to assume that just because she’s home, she can watch her niece and nephew. She thinks they should give her a reduction in rent if she’s also babysitting but Mark argues that she already has a great rental rate and that’s just what aunts do, help watch the kids! What do you think? (31:48)

Jen has got a shot at $1000! All she has to do is beat Raven in pop culture trivia! (40:27)

THE FEED: 5 Things To Do With The Kids This Weekend

Every Friday in The Feed Kevin talks to Megan from CampByMama.com about all the great things to do in Connecticut with the family. This weekend there is a lot going on if you and the kids like live music, animals, and PIRATES! Arrrrr…

MEGAN’S PICKS

1. Wakeman Town Farm’s Family Fun Day, Saturday July 9th 11-3 in Westport, CT. Bring the entire family to the Farm for their annual summer fun event. Kids of all ages will get the chance to visit and feed the animals, plant sunflower seeds, and listen to music from the School of Rock Fairfield! A schedule of fun activities, signature Farm Olympics. Plenty of food and drink for purchase, including ice cream, smoothies, iced coffee + lemonade, and wood-fired pizza. Avoid the line by ordering tickets in advance (below). Walk-ins are welcome as well.

2. River Rambler in July 9th 11-3 in Rowayton. This event is filled with fun and entertainment for kids and adults at Pinkney Park. Children’s activities include bouncy houses, a petting zoo, kids’ games, and more.

3. Summer Stage at Scalzi Park in Stamford, Free Show on July 10th, 4-6pm. Will feature local arts organizations, theater groups, singers, bands, and dancers.

4. Family Pirate Adventures in Essex, July 9th 9:30am. Bring your little pirates to Essex Steam Train and Riverboat and have the adventure of a lifetime. The boat leaves at 9:30am take a one hour boat trip on the Connecticut River. Snacks and drinks can be purchased on the boat. It’s a good idea to buy tickets ahead of time.

5. The NICE Festival in Norwalk at Oyster Shell Park, July 9 @ 11:00 am – 10:00 pm. A festival celebrating different world cultures through music, food and the performing arts.

Megan’s Mom Quote of the Week: “Not to brag or anything but I can forget what I’m doing while I’m doing it.“

Image credit: Getty Images

I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT! Only 10% of 5-year-olds can do THIS daily task

All week I have tickets to Backstreet Boys DNA World Tour 2022 at the XFINITY Theatre in Hartford Saturday July 17.

Play trivia every day at 4pm to win. If you get it right first you win. Would you have got today’s question correct?

Q: Only 10% of 5-year-olds can do THIS daily task

A: Tie their own shoes

Image credit: Getty Images

TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD: Connecticut actor stars in new viral streaming show

You might be hooked this show already and not even realize one of the main characters is from here in Connecticut.

It’s a new Amazon Prime series that’s based on a book of the same name called “The Summer I Turned Pretty”. Season 1 is out and people are loving it. One of the characters in the show, Conrad, is played by Connecticut native 24-year-old Christopher Briney

Christopher grew up and lived in the Hartford area most of his life. Then he went to Waterbury Arts Magnet School which is where he started getting into acting after taking a class there. After that he attended Pace University studying to get a degree in film, television, voiceover and commercial work.

Now he’s on this hit show! Nice job, Christopher. Remember that name, he could be in Hollywood on the big screen soon.

Image Credit: REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

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MUNDANE MYSTERIES: The REAL reason hotels have free ice machines

A lot of summer vacations happening which means you’re probably staying in a lot of hotel rooms. Every hotel stay you get the essentials… black out curtains, little soaps, maybe a bible in the drawer, and free ice! But the ice wasn’t always free.

Back in the day refrigeration wasn’t what it is now and ice was expensive so hotels used to charge for it. But you can thank Holiday Inn for it being free now. The founder of Holiday Inn couldn’t compete with the other hotel chains so they decided to just make all their ice free for guests and that would be their hook. It worked. In fact, it worked so well that it obviously caught on over the years and every hotel started doing it.

So now you know the reason why you get that little bucket and free cubes next time you’re in a hotel room.

Image credit: Getty Images

Five Calls Say It All: Free Samples

Anna watched a man help himself to at least four to six free samples at a “free sample” table at a grocery store. She says the unwritten rule is that you get ONE free sample, Raven very much disagrees. He thinks you take as much as you want, it’s a sample! What do you think?

📸Getty Images