Connecticut
June 20, 2024
We spent almost two weeks in Connecticut, revisiting places from 2019 and adding new experiences. After Lady Liberty, we stopped to see some friends related to Larry’s mother, who had been instrumental in her family coming to America. We visited the Mark Twain House in Hartford, where a costumed actor playing Mark’s minister friend showed us the house as if we were potential 1903 buyers. The home inside (no photos allowed) and out is gorgeous as Mark’s wealthy wife had Louis Tiffany do the interior.
We camped at West Thompson Lake Army Corp of Engineers Park, an excellent springboard to visit Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. This outdoor history museum is a preserved 1830s-era town with homes, workshops, barns, gardens, fields, a small town, and a farm. Costumed period actors talked to us about blacksmithing, tin making, farm life, the workings of a carding mill, and so much else. We had an obligatory “Joe Frogger” molasses spice cookie at Miner Grant Store and Bakeshop, went back to the Ute midday for lunch and then spent several more hours walking around the grounds.
When our daughters were young, every night Larry would read one of The Boxcar Children’s book series to them, and the author, Gertrude Chandler Warner, was born near our campground in Putnam, Connecticut. The Museum honoring her work isn’t open this summer while they work on stabilizing the boxcar, but we stopped by anyway and found it very cute! Putnam itself has a wholesome small-town atmosphere just as portrayed in the Boxcar Children books.
Although we did some chores at the campground, we hiked nearby trails and sat by the campfire.
On Friday, June 14, we drove into Mystic, Connecticut, and our very first stop was at Abbott’s for a lobster roll. Abbott’s is where we had our first lobster roll in 2019, and the repeat this year was worth the wait—warm buttery lobster on a toasted bun 😍.
We stopped at the CVS in town to pick up some prescriptions and met some locals who suggested we go to the nearby monastery on Enders Island, which required passing through a private development. When we drove up to the security gate, you could see the guard puffing up to deny this lowly pickup camper access, but when we said we were going to Enders Island, he visibly deflated and reluctantly let us by. Insider’s tip—the code is Enders Island 😉, and the monastery, grounds, stained glass, and art exhibits are worth the effort, though the guard gate was hilarious.
In 2019, we had so much fun in Mystic that we decided to stay for a week this time, using the same campground now named Sun Outdoors Mystic.
It was great to have more time to explore the area beyond Mystic. We visited the Submarine Museum in nearby New London, where the first nuclear-powered submarine, The Nautilus, was moored on permanent exhibit. Although it was Children’s Day, we arrived early and avoided most crowds.
We also toured the Custom House Museum, which provided customs from the era of tall ships. Thankfully, the building was saved from demolition so that you can see the concrete spiral staircase, arches, and maritime artifacts.
Mystic is a very bikeable town, so we biked into town several times. (Of course, you always have to be careful. While we were there, famous chef Gordon Ramsay posted that he had just been treated in New London for a serious bike accident!) We biked to Mystic Seaport Museum, where we liked the old ships and shipyards. Last time we were here, the Mayflower II was being refitted, and we’ll stand on her decks later this summer in Plymouth. This year, we stood on the Susan Constant in Jamestown, and she is due into Mystic for a multi-year refit at the end of this week! Our favorite part is always where the craftsmanship happens, so we enjoyed the cooperage where barrels and casks were made and the forge. Larry impressed the gentleman at the chandlery with his knowledge of sextants and chatted with the workers replacing the caulking on a deck about their technique with oakum and hot tar.
We stayed so long that we had a very late lunch at Captain Daniel’s Packers Inn. We split a huge and delicious serving of their famous fish and chips.
Yes! This is one order!
On another day, we biked into Mystic Seaport, returning to the Museum for a shipyard tour before going into town for a sail. At the shipyard, we learned that the biggest enemy of the wooden ships is the shipworm, and being moored in one location invites these destructive pests to get to work.
We then had a two-hour “sail” in the afternoon aboard the Argia, a replica of a 19th-century aff topsail schooner (built in 1986). The wind was light, so we had to motor sail a bit, but it was cooler out on the water—this heat and humidity are what we came north to escape! The crew shared some islands’ history and showed us where we could see Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York from the water. We sailed past Abbott’s, too.
It was a bit of a drive from Mystic to Newport, Rhode Island, but we did take a day trip to see the mansions. We arrived early one morning and parked on Narragansett to do Cliffwalks. We had the beautiful 2.5-mile trail to ourselves along scenic northeast coastal beauty with the mansions as a backdrop.
At the end of the walk, we took the free trolley back to the truck and then parked at The Breakers. This palatial Gilded Age summer home of the Vanderbilts was stunning, with extensive craftsmanship and artwork. Every detail in every room, space, and structure was exquisite in its artistry. The self-guided audio tour worked well, so we could walk around at our own pace. Although these mansions were ridiculed in their time for their excesses, I’d like to think that skilled artisans who created all this beauty appreciated the wealth that funded their work.
After touring this mansion, we relocated to the Marble House parking lot for lunch. The Marble House was not as ornate or lavish but impressive in that it was made entirely of marble of different colors and origins in each room.
Larry sweetly got us a brownie and soda at the Chinese Tea House to sustain us for our last tour of the day at Rosecliffe.
We found Rosecliffe the least interesting, perhaps because it was always a party house and never a real “home.”
Mystic has been a lovely revisit, and next, we’re looking forward to adding our last state to the map!
“Down East” and “Up Island”
These terms never made sense to me until the Chandler at Mystic Seaport Museum explained them. The ancient Greeks divided our Earth along its height from the North Pole to the South Pole by longitude lines, starting at 0 in the Prime Meridian at Greenwich, England, and moving west with increasing numbers. For example, a location to the East of Mystic, CT, would have a lower number of longitude so that you would travel “down” to get there. A location west of Mystic would have a higher longitude so that you would travel “up” to get there. Long ago, Mariners communicated directions by longitude, so the western part of an island would be “Up” island, and the eastern part of a coastline would be “down east.” Now I understand why Northeastern Maine is “down east” (and hopefully you do too).
This understanding will also help when we get to Martha’s Vineyard.