Mary and Gary take a week's vacation every year and this year they asked us to join them. She decided to go to Mystic, CT, about a four hour drive from here, so we rented a luxury Cadillac, so neither one of us had to put mileage on our cars and to have a great driving/riding trip. On the way down the car started shaking. We got down to the hotel and called the rental company to find out what we could do. They suggested taking it to a dealership to repair or pick up another car. Not wanting to waste a day at a repair shop, we opted to get another one. After talking to four places, we were told none were available. They finally found one at the New London location and would be there in the morning, so the next day, Jack and Gary drove the Cadillac there to trade it in, but when they got there, they claimed no one called to reserve a car for us and everything else was already reserved. They gave us a mini-van, a mini-van! Needless to say, we were not happy. Mary spent more time arguing with the rental company. Finally, they were going to deliver a luxury car to us at the hotel and after waiting all night, never showed up. This company was the rental dealership from Hell! We were also supposed to be called by a manager but never got the call. At least the mini-van ran good and all our luggage fit, so we ran around the rest of the week in it. When we returned it back to St. Johnsbury, all we had to pay for was the insurance. That works, end of story.
So our trip didn't start out too well but we had fun anyway. We went through the Mystic Aquarium and even met a guy who worked there who got us in for half price, how about that. The Aquarium is a good size with whales, penguins and various other sea life. They have two "touch" tanks with shell fish and stingrays which we didn't touch. We did watch the sea lion show that was funny and walked a lot. We walked around Old Mystic Village shops and found a place selling "bubble tea" (tea infused with "bubbles" of flavor). I had one in Frankenmuth so I forced Mary to try it. They made us a slushy with milk that tasted awesome. We also went through the Old Mystic Seaport, a working shipyard. We saw the Mayflower II that was launched the day before, watched guys working on ships, demonstrations on rigging, sailing, ironworks, etc. and walked around all the restored houses and shops along the harbor. We also walked inside several ships at the docks; one being the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving wooden whaling ship and took a tour of the harbor aboard the Liberty (a small tour boat).
We found a really good place to eat, the Mystic Diner, where if you go home hungry, you didn't order anything! Meals were massive and very good and their cheesecake is to die for. We drove around some back roads just to see where they went, did a "right turns only" day and got lost, and Jack played tour guide in Newport, RI. showing them where he was stationed, looking at where we had timeshares, driving along Ocean Drive, walked a few feet on Cliff Walk (a 3 miles long bay front pathway), and toured downtown. We even took them to the LaForge Restaurant that had the world's best clam chowder when we were there. But, nothing stays the same because the chowder, which was good, just wasn't the best anymore. So much for going back to something you remember.
One day Mary, Gary and I went on our own "shop hop". For those that don't know what this is, I'll explain. Once or twice a year several quilt shops participate in a one to four day shopping experience called a "shop hop". If you do quilting, like Mary does, you sign up for the shop hop and get something like a punch card to mark for each shop you visit which entitle you to free giveaways, great sales and a chance to win great prizes. I saw one, a huge basket filled with patterns, material, tools, etc. I can see why Mary likes doing this so much. Of course, we won't on any sponsored shop hop but it was really fun and Mary even met a woman who said she stayed at her campground. We stopped at six shops between Connecticut and Rhode Island in seven hours. We'd set the GPS, look around the shop, set the GPS for the next shop and repeat the process. One shop told us that they were having a shop hop with ten shops participating on the 12th and it's by bus with breakfast and lunch included; we will miss it but sure sounds like fun! Wondering what Gary did while we were shopping, well he just enjoyed the ride and conversations between us and only got out of the car once. He was a really good sport.
Mary and I also played bingo at the Foxwood Casino and she won $250! AND, of course, we played cards almost every night. She still won more than I did...but we had lots of fun.
Mystic Aquarium
Sea Lion Show Beluga whales Penguins were cute
This picture is made from small pictures - just amazing Ever see this before?
a display of animal scat
Mystic Seaport
Our Harbor Cruise One of ships we walked through Gary and Jack onboard
Mayflower II
One mast being prepared an old Viking ship
rigging being prepared for the Mayflower II
Iron works part of the village
Ships along the docks Charles W. Morgan, only surviving wooden whaling ship
Crew quarters bottom where whales were put - not a lot of head room
Quit Shop Hop
We saw this at one of the quilt shops we went to. Mary has the material to make one now - a doggy rug.
And now for the good stuff! Like I said, we ate at the Mystic Diner, boy do they have good food. This is the breakfasts we ate "all by ourselves". Yummmmm Needless to say we didn't eat lunch that day.
French toast with bananas, pineapple and coconut and one with bananas, strawberries and whipped cream, and Gary's plain old waffle with blueberries
pineapple, and coconut - Gary's was a plain waffle