Connecticut by water.

 For the last few days we have been cruising the Connecticut coast.  Old Saybrook and Mystic Seaport have been two of our stops.  We stayed at The Saybrook Point Resort, on the Connecticut River, and Mystic Seaport on the Mystic River.  We are staying an extra day in Mystic due to weather, then will head to Rhode  Island, via Block Island Sound.  To say we have been to too many restaurants is an understatement!  These towns live for the summer boating season, and have bustling waterfronts with many places to experience.  Also, the history of our nation's founding is on full display, and the people here display a patriotism based on the role this area played in the revolution.    Due to a relatively short boating season (slows down after Labor Day) it is packed with boats from mega yachts to runabouts.  The prices are extremely high, but should be down by half on our return trip.  Most people here put their boat on the hard, and shrink-wrap it for the fall and winter seasons.  Naturally there are marinas which specialize in doing that, for a fee..  Here are some pics:

There is a large wooden boat show going on in Mystic.  One comes in here.  

The Mystic Seaport Museum is spectacular.  We could spend all day at it and not see everything.  These are maidenheads from different ships built during the heyday of wooden ship building.  

The story of how Native Americans were treated has not changed from Florida to here.  

The flowers here are in full bloom.  Birds are my thing but I am deficient in horticulture.  Alexis is my go to on plants and flowers, but she could not get this one.  If you know what it is please tell her!  

These kids acted out how a whaleboat launched its longboat, and hunted whales.  Quite entertaining.  Mystic also was a large whaling port.  The town collapsed in the early 1900s as wooden shipbuilding and whaling died out as industries.  In the 1920s town leaders started the museum, and it took off and now Mystic is a thriving tourist destination.  Another example how forward thinking leadership can salvage a town when its major industry collapses or moves on to greener pastures.  

One house at the museum was filled with replicas of boats though the ages.  This one is a replica of a tug  made in Houma.  

A house in Mystic with blue hydrangeas.  Alexis, for some reason, is very jealous that they are vivid blue here.  

Sift Bakery in Mystic, a popular local establishment.  We partook...

After partaking, this shop was a sign (literally) for me.  

The museum in the background. 

These pics are from Old Saybrook on the Connecticut River. 

Interesting dock pilings. 

Goldfinch.

The Frenchman, Lafayette, played a large part in our revolution, as displayed in the many plaques in his honor from Yorktown, VA to here.  

Catbird, with worm.

I had to ask why the fire hydrants had these poles on them.  So the fireman can find them in the snow!  We will be out of here by then. 

Whilst birding I saw this poster.  Alexis said it would be a funny tribute for my epitaph.  Ha ha.. 

Yale University started in Old Saybrook, and was later moved to New Haven.  Apparently the locals didn't let it go without a street fight.  

Old Saybrook home (with regular white hydrangeas). 

More blue ones.  

Blood Moon rising.  

Fog set in at Old Saybrook, and boaters have to be able to navigate in it as it often appears here without warning.  Radar is a must.  

Entering a fog bank.  Our VHF radio has a "fog" setting" which sounds the appropriate horn blasts through an outdoor horn.  First time we have used it! 

Port Jefferson, NY.

We spent the last three days in Port Jefferson, NY.  It is a small, but dynamic town on Long Island Sound.  We are headed across the sound to Connecticut today, and will spend a few days at a resort in Old Saybrook.  Time for some maintenance (for us), so we have booked spa, hair and other related items.  We will wait out the boating mayhem of July 4 at Newport, RI then start our trek north toward Maine via the Cape Cod Canal.  That route saves time by letting us avoid having to go all the way around Cape Cod in the Atlantic.  We will make several stops along the way until we reach our first port of call in Maine, Portland.  Here are some pics from Port Jefferson:

These lighthouses dot the sound.  

Entrance to Port Jefferson.  Once inside the jetty, there is a 5mph speed limit strictly enforced mainly to limit wake boats, jet skis, etc.  

Port Jefferson Yacht Club. 

As with all the towns on the sound, this one has a nice waterfront with parks, walking paths, restaurants, pubs, etc.  This statue depicts men launching a "whale boat".  These boats were used to ferry arms and other related items across to the mainland during the Revolutionary War.  If you were caught by the British with one, even on land, the penalty was death.  

Their version of a town beach.  Also, a Victorian era hotel in the background.  We had to laugh, as there are constant heat advisories broadcast by the Coast Guard on channel 16.  We hardly broke a sweat.  They are as unaccustomed to the heat as we are to snow!  

This ferry runs every hour with it's sister ship, disgorging cars and people from Bridgeport.  It is striking to us just how well things work here, and how there is so much pride in each community waterfront. 

This brought terror to my heart....

No, not shoes.  I found a bakery that had a cherry pie, my downfall.  

History of the port. 

The town mooring field.  

We took the dinghy out to explore the harbor.  Alexis sighted this deer.  

I assume one of the reasons things work so well here, is the accumulated wealth of the area.  This is a typical waterfront home.  

We stopped at this "beach" and went swimming.  The beach consists of rocks and sand and the water is still cool  here! 

Another home.

A power plant, with a big American Flag painted on it.  

Weather rolling in one evening.