Mystic Country Isn’t Just About Mystics

September 9 – 15, 2014

To continue our trek along the Atlantic Coast we headed to Connecticut from Rhode Island and settled in at Old Mystic. When we arrived at the RV Park they told us about the Mystic Seaport and Museum. Guess where we headed the next day?

Izzy got her playtime in with her floppy so she wasn’t too pouty when we said we’ll see you in a while. Mystic Seaport is a re-created 19^th century village which gives you what life was back then. The crafters that run the Henry B. Dupont preservation shipyard are current day craftsmen but can work on 100 year old ships if necessary.

Happy Paws

 

You wander around and can enter stores that might be in buildings from the time and speak with the town folk about their lives.

Back In Time

Anchoring In

The Oyster Shop

 

Peaceful

They have several ships you can go on and check out. The first one we boarded is the L.A. Dunton, a schooner that was used primarily out of the Cape Cod area for cod fishing. There are a few pictures below deck that give you a sense of what your life would have been like if you worked on this boat.

L.A.Dunton

Fishing Boats on the L.A Dunton

 Drying Cod Fish Skins

Below Deck

 Life on the L.A.Dunton

Winter Fishing



As you wander through the village you can be entertained by volunteers. This gentleman was singing and telling you tales from the fishing life back in the 1800s. He has a beautiful voice and can play many unique instruments including whale bones. Ah to be so talented.



 

They have galleries that you can go into and we found this one that had some wonderful paintings and other items all concerning the sea and life on the sea or by the water. You could probably spend the entire day just wandering through the galleries and the museum.



 

New York Yacht Club Defender Trophy 1865

 

Once A Figurehead On Ships 

 

Art Work

The second ship you can go onto is a whaleship called the Charles W. Morgan.  The ship was registered on September 4, 1841 and sailed its first voyage two days later. Some of the Mystic Seaport guides that were on the ship when we were wandering through actually sailed it a couple of years ago which was marked as its 38^th voyage.

Charles W. Morgan A Whaleship

Crews' Bunks

 On Deck

Rigging

Captain's Quarters

Whaling from the Charles W. Morgan

Whale Boat from the Morgan



The last ship you can go onto is called Joseph Conrad and is a full-rigging ship. This ship is actually a floating classroom for school kids during the summer where they come live on the ship and learn how to sail. Pretty neat and apparently Joseph Conrad built it specifically for this purpose.



 

Joseph Conrad Full-Rigging Ship

If any of you are ever in this area it is definitely a must see. The town itself is quaint and filled with wonderful restaurants and a historic draw bridge. From here you can venture to New London and Groton which are both historic and home to a submarine base. We happened to be by the water’s edge on September 11 and the USS Annapolis was coming back to the base. Pretty cool site to see especially on that day. We were there to check out fishing so we were back the next day going out on a boat to catch some fish. Well hopefully catch some fish.



 

Seen Better Days

Mystic Drawbridge

Old Lighthouse Museum at duBois Beach

Remembering on 9/11

Old in New London

Ahead of the Sub  

USS Annapolis Heading Home

 

On our trip out to the fishing spots another submarine was cruising by us. We also passed by the New London’s Ledge Lighthouse built in 1909 and stands guard at the mouth of the Thames River.

Cruising By Us 

New London's Ledge Lighthouse

Our first fishing spot was close to this lighthouse which was being used by a group of sailing boats to sail around. It was fun to watch all the boats but it was more fun to catch a bunch of fish. We had to give plenty back to the ocean but that’s okay as we were able to bring enough back to our freezer so it is now restocked.

New London From the Boat

 

I think I won the biggest fish contest between Steve and me with a sea bass but he caught the biggest porgy. The flounder wasn’t around anymore which didn’t really matter as both sea bass and porgy are wonderful white flaky fish.

Look It's A Porgy

 

My Big Sea Bass

We drove around the area past Mystic and stumbled upon a wonderful harbor and beach even though it is pretty much a members only place. We still had a nice walk and enjoyed the view.

 

Birds Eye View

A Nice Spot

Life on the Water

Pretty and Unique

We were heading out on the 16^th for Florida New York which will give us an opportunity to go into New York City, but before I end this we did see a few mystics in the town of Mystic but Mystic Country is situated between Boston and New York and boasts as being the place to enjoy all that New England has to offer. I must admit I have to agree!

 

The Ocean State

September 2-8, 2014

I must admit I don’t remember a lot of details from my geography of America which was probably taught to me in grade school. I am not saying you are like me but I thought I would share a few facts about the next state we landed in for SITs adventure.

Rhode Island, nicknamed “The Ocean State”, is actually located on the mainland. Its official name is State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which is derived from the merger of two settlements. Rhode Island colony was founded near present-day Newport and Providence Plantations was the name of the colony founded by Roger Williams in the area now known as the city of Providence. No silly not that Roger Williams.

The last tidbit I will share concerning the history of the state is that it was the first of the original Thirteen Colonies to declare independence from British rule, declaring itself independent on May 4, 1776, two months before any other colony. I guess since they were first they can have the longest official name for a state!

General Rochambeau

 

We didn’t go to Providence but we did hang out near Newport. The RV Park we settled at for a few days is in the neighboring town of Middletown. It was a good spot for Izzy as we could do our walks in a nearby park that had a wind driven grist mill. Now Izzy wasn’t impressed with that but we were, although she was impressed with all of the bunnies she could sniff out and try to catch. I am glad she can’t catch them as I don’t think Steve would let her keep one for a pet.

 

The 8-vane “smock” wind grist mill was built in 1810 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. It was disassembled and moved to Paradise Park. Restored at the park it became fully functional in 1999. These grist mills operated in this area during the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The Millstone in the park has a plaque on it that states it was used to grind corn from 1840 to 1884 until it broke. I think they found a good spot for it to hang out now.

 

 

 

We explored Newport for a couple of days and enjoyed the harbor. The town reminds you of the history in the area with sidewalks and streets made from ballast stones. There are also many mansions around that can be toured. We decided to just drive around and gawk at them from the truck.

 

Plenty of Boats

Newport Harbor

 

Where's the Food?

Tide Pool Hunting  

Resting

 

What Are You Looking At?

 

A Small Mansion

They have done a great job with allowing access to the waterfront and Fort Adams. Steve was trying to determine if fishing would be warranted here so he found a couple of guys fishing at the wall at Fort Adams. We enjoyed walking around the area and watching a few boats but didn’t break out the poles.

 

 

 

Steve Checking Out the Fishing

 

Fort Adams was established on July 4, 1799 as a “First System” coastal fortification. The first commander was Captain John Henry who was later instrumental in starting the War of 1812. It was decided that Fort Adams needed to be replaced with a newer and larger fort. The downside to this is that construction took from 1824 to 1857. It served as an active Army post until 1950 but never fired a shot in anger.

 

The state now oversees the property and it serves as a busy seaport and a place for holding events.

Sailing by Fort Adams

After Newport we stayed a few days in Narrangansett at Fishermen’s Memorial State Park. The view from a couple of locations in the park provided you with an overlook of the town and the bay.

 

Izzy enjoyed our walks here since she found bunnies again. The downside for her was I couldn’t let her chase them off the leash. Lucky for them huh!

We found a nice par 3 golf course close by so spent a couple of hours enjoying the view and the weather. Par 3’s always challenge your short game which is good since we needed practice!

 

Our next spot during our journey is in Connecticut so will let you know how that goes.   

 

Why Is Cape Cod Called Cape Cod?

August 26 – September 1, 2014

Our drive from Boston wasn’t a long one since our next stop was in South Dennis on Cape Cod. We were hoping the week here would prove beneficial in giving us some more flounder.

The RV Park we were staying at for the week had a place where Izzy could go wander around without a leash so our walks were great since she could wander and sniff. It was also a great place for her to get a few runs under her collar!

 

Our Walking Trail

Come on Mom I Need a Drink

 

Almost Done With My Mile

 

We wandered to the harbor nearby so Steve could find out about fishing charters and if the flounder are biting. He had success so we booked a morning fishing trip on the Albatross out of the Sesuit Harbor.

Izzy hung out at the trailer and we got on the boat. The weather was great, Cape Cod Harbor was beautiful, and we had fun catching fish. Most of it wasn’t flounder but we did manage to bring in three founders that could go home with us. We enjoyed a couple of fresh fish dinners.

 

Heading out into Cape Code Harbor

 

Small Cape Cod Home!

Enjoying the Ride

Hoping for One More Flounder 

We weren’t sure what to expect on Cape Cod but I was curious as to why it was named Cape Cod. Could there be a lot of cod fish close by? Well, my research doesn’t really tell me why it is named that but in 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold named the tip Cape Cod and Samuel de Champlain charted its sand-silted harbors in 1606. Remember his name? You should since he has been to some of the other places SIT has visited.

Captain John Smith noted it on his map of 1614, and at last the Pilgrims entered the “Cape Harbor” but first landed near Privincetown on November 11, 1620, not Plymouth Rock. They left there and then settled at Plymouth Rock. Cape Cod was among the first places settled by the English in North America and continues to attract many visitors every year.

We did learn about the Pilgrims coming to Provincetown when we took a day trip up the cape. The town is a great place to see many different types of art as you wander the streets. The beach is great and wasn’t very busy when we were there.

 

Provincetown

 

The Beach

When you walk around you see the large Pilgrim Memorial Monument. This monument is constructed to commemorate the arrival of The Mayflower and the creation and signing of the Mayflower Compact. Surprisingly it wasn’t built until 1907 and completed in 1910. By the way it is 252 feet and 7.5 inches tall. No wonder you can see it from most locations.

We visited the Cape Cod National Seashore, part of the National Park Service, and had amazing views from the tower at the visitor’s center. You’ll never guess what we saw from there? You get one hint it is over 200 feet tall.

Color on the Cape

Cape Cod National Seashore

We stopped at the Nauset Light Beach which is within the National Park boundary. It was a nice day but we were surprised to see quite a few people in the water. Burr as it was only about 60 degrees.

 

 

Nauset Light Beach

The other thing you learn is that Cape Cod is now technically an island. It wasn’t always an island but in 1870 to 1914 the present Cape Cod Canal was developed. This saved much time for boats and ships traveling along the Atlantic coast. We checked out the canal for a potential fishing spot but quickly learned the window is small during the early morning hours if you expect to catch the elusive Striper.

 

At the Cape Cod Canal 

Moving Through the Canal

 

The Train Bridge

The Sagamore Bridge takes you across the Cape Cod Canal. We thought the upper protection they constructed was interesting as they are working on the bridge. By the way this is the bridge we get to travel over as we continue our adventure. Next stop Rhode Island!