September 30, 2015
We ended up spending over a month in New England. Cheri and I have never really spent much time here, and getting to know the people, the beauty and the feel of New England was a real joy and a major highlight of our RV journey.
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Mystic harbor as viewed from the Mystic River drawbridge |
We spent the last ten days of our New England adventure in Mystic, Connecticut. It happened by accident that we landed here. We were thinking it would be a good idea to stop here and eventually take the ferry over to Montauk on the tip of Long Island. It turned out, we found so much around Mystic, we didn't have to wander very far to find a world of adventure.
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Radio Waves are everywhere! |
First, there's the town of Mystic itself. Main street leads down to the drawbridge that goes up every hour at :40. We stood on the banks and watched the huge drawbridge go up and allow a small boat to pass. Along the main street are all kinds of shops, from ice cream and candy to physic readings and gift shops. My favorite was Radio Waves - a store that featured tons of old time radios and radio memorabilia.
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It's a slice of heaven - Mystic Pizza |
And right there on Main Street is Mystic Pizza. Of course, we had to stop in. They have flat screens throughout the restaurant showing the movie. We ordered a pizza and salad. It was outstanding. The sauce was so special. So, we had to go again, and again and again. And we tried other things on the menu - the eggplant parmigiana, spaghetti, calzones. It was all so good. Their pizza is what's known as "Greek Pizza." Instead of being baked on a stone or brick like Italian pizza, it's baked in a pan, which gives it a crisper crust. It was really tasty.
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The Constantines: Eleftheri & Ellie with their children and Dennis & Cheri. |
One day, my nephew Eleftheri, his wife Ellie and their two young children came to visit from New York City. We spent the day at the Mystic Seaport Museum, which is basically the old Mystic 19th Century Seaport kept alive with all of the original buildings. We got demonstrations on various jobs that were done in the old seaport, from blacksmith, to navigational tools to making barrels for shipping. We got to climb aboard the tall sailing ships in the harbor. Going down below was quite the adventure, as the ceilings for the lower decks were less than six feet. I had to stoop to walk around. It was a fascinating exhibit.
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Historic Stonington Lighthouse |
We also took a trip out to Stonington Lighthouse. Cheri has a fascination with lighthouses and loves seeing as many as possible. The lighthouses used to be manned all the time, and the lighthouse keeper would scan the horizon looking for ships and send them signals. The art of the lighthouse was lost when the lighthouses were automated. It's lovely to see these old distinctive structures of all shapes and sizes.
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The geese are outta here! |
Being in New England at this time is magical. The trees are showing their colors; the peak of the season is still to come here. It's also the time the birds fly South. Our campsite was situated right in the path of the geese migration. Every evening and morning, we'd hear the honking of geese flying overhead as they fly South for the winter. It's quite the unique sound. On some mornings, we also heard the hunters firing off their rifles. It's a little disconcerting to have the quiet, peaceful morning interrupted by the sharp, piercing sound of rifle shots.
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Full Super Blood Moon in Mystic |
Our time in Mystic will also be fondly remembered as the time we were able to sit out on our lawn chairs and watch the super blood moon. It was a crystal clear night and we had the perfect view of the Eastern sky from our site. We sat out and watched the moon slowly get covered by the Earth. When the entire moon was covered, the entire nighttime sky came alive and the Milky Way was visible over our heads. It was a magical night we'll never forget. I was surprised how long the blood moon lasted. It seemed like it sat in the sky for an eternity.
We have fallen in love with New England and plan to come back and get to know her better. Now, it's time to move South as Hurricane Joaquin is heading this way. See you on the road!
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