Connecticut Passage

Loved Connecticut, I think I was supposed to be born and raised there lol! The architecture of the buildings and homes, the lush green trees and grounds, quaint towns and of course the perfect fall weather... I was loving every minute of it!
We spent our first day going to Mystic Seaport which is an old historic fishing town and where the historic "Morgan" ship resides. Morgan is the last surviving American wooden whaling ship, built in 1841 and has sailed all over the world during it's active period for whaling. Morgan made its 38th voyage in 2014 and has been in restoration at Mystic Seaport for the last 2 years, while touring Seaport we got the opportunity to see the restoration crew pulling the Morgan out of the water for the 1st time since restoration started in 2014 to be dry docked. Pretty awesome to see and the history and stories that this ship holds is remarkable. Ships like the Morgan were typically used to harvest the whales blubber for their oil which was used for lamps and machine lubricant before petroleum was discovered in 1869. Thank goodness for petroleum because the whales were about to become extinct.
The historic town which was also a launching point for many of the civil war ships has all been restored. It was like going back to the 1700's, going through each building (the school, church, homes, blacksmith shop, etc.) to see how they lived back in then...how times have changed!
Next we headed to Stonington a neighboring town along the Atlantic Ocean to check out the shops and pubs. Came across a couple little treasures and ended up at the recommended Water Street pub known for it's excellent food and a top hangout for the locals. At first we were the only ones in the pub so we took advantage of striking up a conversation with the bartender and servers before all the locals trickled in. Before long we felt like we were part of the locals as everyone was so friendly. We soon learned that our bartender "Chris" also had a 1 man band and played the town of Mystic every Thursday night at the Voodoo lounge and invited us to stop by. How could we pass that invite up, we would be there! Soon the pub was filled by the locals, we met the couple that were sitting next to us and exchanging stories of where we're from. We were suprised to hear that they sailed the seas for 7 years and home schooled their daughter on the ship and would dock when they needed to resupply. Apparently, their daughter today says that was the worst 7 years of her life, lol! What a life I'm sure, much more enjoyed by the parents. Anyway, very interesting couple, great bartender and excellent food in Stonington, CT!
The following day we took a trip into Mystic another cute little tourist town with all the artsy, local, over priced shops lol, however, we did find a tasty ice cream shop that was right up our alley!! Oh and we had to stop by the famous Mystic Pizza parlor (Mystic Pizza was the 1988 movie that started it off for Julia Roberts) then off to the Voodoo lounge to listen to our new friend Chris and enjoy a little happy hour. His music was great, very appreciative that we showed up, another night of great entertainment and great food!
Now off to Salem/Boston...more to follow!

Beautiful Mystic Seaport

An old fishing boat that we toured

The historic "Morgan" beginning pulled out of the water

The famous "Morgan" now on dock!

The darling historic town of Stonington - a street of the restored historic homes

A view of the Atlantic Ocean from Stonington beach

A once active lighthouse

Another historic home in Stonington - love their architecture

A historic building in downtown Stonington 

A view of the counter balances of the draw bridge in Mystic getting ready to raise - outside the window
 of  the yummy ice cream parlor

At the Famous Mystic Pizza parlor

The Voodoo Lounge listening to our new friend Chris play some great music