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Saturday December 15. 3 pm
The Connecticut 169 Club: An Epic Road Trip! Author, adventurer and historian Marty Podskoch scripted a brilliant solution for fragmented families and town-tied locals. With his latest travel guidebook going to press – The Connecticut 169 Club: Your Passport and Guide to Exploring Connecticut – this modern-day Mr. Rogers navigates readers from out behind the blue screen, off the interstate and onto Connecticut backroads to meet and merge with fascinating neighbors and uncover cool curiosities tucked into the 169 towns and cities in the Nutmeg State. Visit them all; get your passport book signed or stamped in each of the burgs, make notes in the space provided and you’re a member of an exclusive club – complete with an official Leatherman patch. The patch commemorates this legendary vagabond, who during the late 1800’s – in head-to-toe leather – travelled a 365-mile circuit between the Hudson and Connecticut Rivers while camping out in caves. There is also an annual meet-up event with fellow members, plus the ultimate takeaway: a volume with indelible memories of adventures on the road! The book is a collective effort. Podskoch recruited the best and the brightest Connecticut writers, historians and officials each contributing a passage about their town’s histories, haunts; food fixes and landmarks. This is a redux of the author’s highly praised first passport volume, Adirondack 102 Club, a guidebook on the 102 towns in the Adirondack region. It is inspired by Vermont’s 251 Club – made famous by the 1954 writings of Professor Arthur W. Peach, who was all about seeking adventure on the backroads – and it continues today. American Industrialists Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone & John Burroughs were the original Vagabonds; taking off on elaborate camping trips throughout the country – twice through the Adirondack’s. All in great retro fun: Podskoch’s readers who officially complete the gamut of NY towns and villages proudly receive their own Vagabond patches during an official dinner. The backstory: Podskoch is a veteran seeker – relentless in his pursuit of regional history. Since 2001 the writer tirelessly explored the 102 diverse towns and villages in the Adirondacks, while amassing a wealth of material for his first five books on the historic fire towers, The Civilian Conservation Corps Camps and innumerable stories about the men responsible for the creation and preservation of these essential landmarks and national parks. Over the course of the 12 year adventure, Podskoch slept in driveways in his pop-up trailer and was taken in by strangers inspired by his enthusiasm and the buzz of his project. He had a real-life “Night at the Museum” after giving a talk at the Remington Museum, and even camped out in a zoo next to a mountain lion’s cage! This former Reading Teacher from Delhi, NY soon realized that the Adirondacks were far more than Lake George, Lake Placid, Old Forge and the standard tourist attractions and thus, inspired the first Travel Guide which got people excited to take to the road again, discover their regions and get in touch with their friends and family. His books put him in front of packed audiences; onto newspaper pages and broadcasting the adventure onto the airwaves. When the Podskoch family relocated to East Hampton, Connecticut in 2005 as did Podskoch Press! The author continued his chronicles and traveled the 100 plus towns in Connecticut to discover the storied significance of the CCC camps in his adopted state. Podskoch published his 2016 Connecticut Civilian Conservation Corps Camps: History, Memories & Legacy of the CCC, and now, The Connecticut 169 Club: Your Passport and Guide to Exploring Connecticut. Marty Podskoch is available for speaking engagements about all travel adventures and is reachable at 860-267-2442 or, at podskoch@comcast.net. The new hard cover book has 376 pages, is 8.5" X 11" and has approx. 300 photos. The $24.95.book will be available at local book stores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble or by mail: Marty Podskoch, 43 O'Neill Lane, East Hampton, CT 06424 (860)267-2442 Please include sales tax & $4 shipping. podskoch@comcast.net www.https://martinpodskoch.com |