Mystic, Connecticut - August 27th to 28th, 2021
We are not big history buffs, but the small town charm of Mystic and the interesting history of ships and fishing drew us in. Then there is the attraction to water that seems to be instinctive. Mystic sits on the Mystic River, where it meets the salty Long Island Sound.
Friday was another hot and humid day. We walked around the town of Mystic most of the day. Walking into town from the parking lot at the Mystic Seaport Museum turned out to be a good idea. The traffic backs up in town for about ten minutes every hour when the drawbridge is raised and the parking lots in town charge for parking. The lot by the Mystic Seaport Museum is free and the center of town is less than a mile away.
The Mystic Drawbridge on Main Street over the Mystic River is the main attraction in town. The bridge goes up at 40 minutes past the hour every hour during the summer. It is not a large bridge and the boat traffic looks like it is mostly recreational, not commercial. The mechanism to raise and lower the bridge is interesting to watch in action. We sat in the Mystic River Park on the east bank to watch the bridge in operation.
After a stroll past the shops on Main Street, we headed back to Mystic Pizza for an early lunch. Yes, this is the place that the movie by the same name is based on. The pizza was pretty tasty. There was movie paraphernalia all over the restaurant and a large screen TV was playing the movie without sound. We have never seen the movie, so Right Buddy (RB) kept looking up at the screen since she was facing that direction, trying to figure out what was going on without the dialogue. Of course we had to watch the movie on YouTube later that evening. The movie was OK. We liked the pizza better. Although we devoured the small pizza we ordered rather quickly, it left room for dessert and ice cream later.
After enjoying the air-conditioning inside Mystic Pizza, we decided to try Sift Bakery so we could stay inside some more. Before lunch, the line at Sift Bakery was outside, halfway down the block. When we walked by earlier, we asked the crowd of people waiting in line what made Sift Bakery so special. One person responded that everything at the bakery was excellent, by the best pastry chefs in the country. She also said that the line is not normally this long. So when the line was no longer out the door after we finished lunch, we decided to check out what all the fuss was about.
The line was not outside, but the line inside took us about half an hour to get through. However, we were inside, out of the hot temperatures, and could eye the long cases of goodies. In addition to pastries and cookies, they sold bread and sandwiches. The French baguettes looked wonderful, with beautiful blistering on top. Half an hour gave us plenty of time to change our minds about what to get about a dozen times. It also gave us time to watch the chefs at work behind the large glass windows at the back of the shop.
RB ended up with a fresh-squeezed lemonade and a blackberry buttermilk croissant. Left Buddy (LB) had a coffee and the key-lime cheesecake. The pastries were works of art. We hated to cut into them, but we did. They tasted fantastic. The treats were well worth the wait.
The village of Mystic is rather confusing. First, the part of Mystic on the western bank of the Mystic River, is in the City of Groton. The part of the village on the eastern bank of the Mystic River is part of Stonington. Then the Mystic River is not a river but a three mile long estuary, being brackish water and tidal.
RB purposely ordered a light pastry to leave room for ice cream. LB’s cheesecake was a little more filling, so he was not ready for ice cream yet. To work off our pastries, we strolled down Water Street past the marina, watching the small schools of fish swim in circles near the docks. Back across the bridge, we continued walking to the end of Mystic River Park, but the streets past the park did not look that interesting so we turned around. The ice cream shop we had picked out was Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream, back on the west bank of the river. It was getting close to time for the raising of the bridge again, so RB was able to talk LB into getting back over the bridge so we could sit watch the drawbridge again while we ate our ice cream, inside, in the cool, refreshing air-conditioning.
Mystic Drawbridge makes their own ice cream, in small batches. RB’s mint chocolate chunk and chocolate truffle waffle cone was yummy. After LB finished his vanilla shake, he was feeling rather full, but he enjoyed it all the same. From there, we waddled back to our Red Tail Lodge (our van) at the Mystic Seaport Museum parking lot.
Luckily we had put the window shades in and had turned the fan on when we parked it so the van was not boiling hot when we returned. It was early afternoon, but we were done with the heat and headed back to Seaport RV Park (now called Sun Outdoors Mystic). The campground’s swimming pool was calling our names. This time LB joined RB in the pool. The refreshing water revived us. We don’t normally use the pools at the campgrounds, but it was nice to have the past two days. The weather forecast was calling for cooler temperatures the next day and we were looking forward to it.
What a difference a day makes! Saturday we woke up to cooler temperatures and cloudy skies. Most of the day was spent at the Mystic Seaport Museum. Admission is a little pricey, $25.95 per adult, but it was worth it. After almost four hours, we still had not seen everything, but we were saturated and called it a day. We are not museum people, but this museum is mostly outdoors. There are several old ships you can explore along with buildings containing about every aspect of ships. From building, maintaining, and restoring ships, to making rope, sails, and barrels. There is information and artifacts about whale hunting, lobster catching, and oyster farming. Some of the little details were fascinating, like glass prisms installed in the decks of the ship to spread sun light to the enclosed quarters below deck. Friendly staff were located throughout the little shipping village, ready to answer your questions and tell stories. There were hands-on activities for kids and sails you could try your hand at raising. There are even sailing programs for adults and kids, including the summer camp where kids can live and sail aboard the historic Joseph Conrad ship.
It drizzled rain off and on most of the day, but that just helped keep the temperatures down in the low 70’s, very comfortable. After the museum, we walked over to town for a drink at the Bank & Bridge Brewpub which is located in an old bank. Our table was right outside the old bank vault. It was a nice setting for a brewpub. LB said the beer was fine as well.
Then we returned to the Mystic Bridge Ice Cream shop. There are other ice cream shops in town, but why switch when you find something good? RB considered getting one of the fruit-flavored ice creams, but ended up with the same thing as the day before, mint chocolate chunk and chocolate truffle. LB mixed it up for a change and had a chocolate malt. It was all very tasty.
After watching the drawbridge go up and down one last time, we headed back to the van. Along the way, we noticed all the old, historic houses on the street. Each house had a small plaque on it indicating the year the house was built and the name of the original owner. Many of the plaques also listed the owner’s occupation, such as ship builder, ship captain, or shipyard owner. What a nice touch! Many of the houses dated back to the late 1700’s.
On the drive back to the campground for the evening, we were noticing that many of the houses outside of town lined their property with short walls of stacked field stone, especially the front property line along the road. When we got back to the campground this time, there was no need to go swimming as the weather was very pleasant.
We are not shoppers nor fans of museums, at least indoor museums, but we thoroughly enjoyed Mystic all the same. We probably put on a few pounds from all the food and drink we consumed, but hopefully we walked it off during the hours we spent at the Mystic Seaport Museum. If you are a history buff or love to shop in cute little towns, you’re going to really love Mystic. And don’t forget to leave room for dessert at Sift Bakery!
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(RB)