On a New (England) Road again

Departing Maryland through New Jersey, where all gas stations are full service by mandate, and New York we arrived in Connecticut. After successfully but blindly finding a Norwalk riverside place we'd had a New England Chowder over 20 years ago that we'd since labeled the best ever, at the SoNo

Seafood restaurant we journeyed forth to our days destination of Mystic Seaport.






After checking in to the local pet friendly La Quinta (and yes Pounce is still enjoying his hotel rooms, especially when they have a window sill he can sit upon) we journeyed at dusk as always to anything on the water, in this case the Bridge restaurant (actually in Pawcatuck) for an amazingly tender and buttermilk crusted fish and chips after another chowder.

Today (just to keep track, Wednesday Nov. 4) we arrived at the entrance of this amazing historic village just minutes after opening and stayed until closing time. It was almost a mecca like pilgrimage to see the Charles W. Morgan (especially meaningful since we'd met one of the principal players in the ship's reclamation, Matthew Stackpole, and his wife Martha when they stayed at our bed and breakfast 2 years ago when doing a presentation to the Maritime Heritage Alliance Association in Traverse City).

We enjoyed so many of the whaling exhibits as well the re-enactors and their stories. Quite an amazing place
and we bumped into one of the crew on the Denis Sullivan at last year's Schooner Festival in TC, Kathryn, who was a was on another boat in Mystic waiting for a second crew to arrive; so small sailing world it is.




  At the end of the day we stopped in to CP Oyster Co. in Mystic for some local oysters for Cindy and Jay continued his clam chowder comparisons.

 All three selections, SoNo - Bridge - and CP have been good with only minor flavor differences - Bridge a bit hotter with pepper (which Jay preferred), CP more clammy broth with smaller pieces of clam. Cindy's take on the oysters, in the photo foreground with the Mystic River past the bar's windows - a selection of a Danbury, MA and two Rhode Island - a Ninigret Nectar from Ninigret Pond , and Conway Pearl RI all were small and salty with very minimal differences due to the closeness and similarities of their waters and all delicious.

 Tomorrow on to the Cape and Martha's Vineyard.