Stonington, CT

On Sunday morning, August 15, we took Archie for a walk to Fort Trumbull that was just a half mile from Crocker’s Marina.

It was surprising that Jonny had never been there having grown up in New London.  It was a beautiful setting overlooking the Thames River.   The fort was built to protect the colonies from a British attack from the river during the Revolutionary War but it was never actually engaged in defense maneuvers.  Instead it served in various capacities over the years as a training center,  a supply center, and the Navy’s underground sound lab doing top secret work (and the reason Jonny never went there growing up).  The fort was open with descriptive signs and recreated spaces throughout giving the interesting history of the fortification. 

After our interesting walk, we left our slip at the marina at 11:40 for the short cruise to Stonington, the easternmost town in Connecticut.

It was an absolutely beautiful day - the high temperatures and humidity had abated and Long Island Sound was calm.  We went up the Mystic River to get fuel passing by the charming villages of Noank and Mystic.  The harbor was filled with boats of all sizes on this gorgeous weekend day.

By 2:25 we arrived in Stonington.  Our choices were to spend $100 on a mooring ball (the highest we’ve ever seen) or anchor in the same area for free. Guess which option we choose!  Stonington Harbor is stunning and our anchorage was filled with sailboats.  As the afternoon progressed, many of the sailboats left and we had plenty of open space around us.

The first thing we did was to take Archie into town to do his business.  Stonington is a historic Connecticut village and is considered to be one of the prettiest coastal towns in New England. Originally part of Massachusetts, it officially became part of Connecticut in 1662.  One of its historic claims to fame is that it repelled British attacks during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Pretty impressive!

The town is lovely with many old homes and churches that have been kept in great condition.  We enjoyed strolling through the shady streets and along the waterfront where there is a tranquil small beach.  Even the new construction is in keeping with the historic look of the village.

That evening we planned to celebrate our upcoming 35th wedding anniversary with a dinner at Noah’s Restaurant. We were searching for a nice place to eat and this one seemed to fit the bill.  It wasn’t until after we made the reservations that we realized that we had been there before. On our first big trip on Zendo when we did the Down East Loop in 2015, our good friends Addie and Lange joined us for the cruise from Sandwich, MA  to New London. It was September and we stopped in Stonington to celebrate my birthday.  We found this cool, friendly pub to have beers that day and we were having so much fun that we stayed and ate their excellent happy hour offerings for dinner.   Noah’s now has an excellent Sunday dinner menu so it was the perfect choice for us to relive a fond memory and celebrate our special event.

After a delicious dinner including the famous Stonington scallops we took the dinghy back to Zendo and savored our brief sojourn in this charming New England town.

New London, CT

We took our time on Friday morning, August 13 with each of us going for a paddle first thing.  Stony Creek’s Thimble Islands are such a perfect place to paddle - it’s calm and there are lots of interesting places to explore.  We took Archie for a quick walk on the small beach there where the port-o-potties have a map of all the islands and their names!

By 10:15, we unmoored Zendo and took off bound for New London.  We never can resist a trip to Jonny’s hometown even though the only member of his family who still lives nearby is his cousin Jimmy (who unfortunately we weren’t able to see this time).  It was a sunny day and very hot in keeping with the heat wave that is spreading over the country this season.  We had a smooth passage with calm seas and it was a good thing because we had forgotten to give Archie his CBD chewies that prevent seasickness. It took a bit longer than usual to get there however, because the current was against us the whole way slowing our speeed to an average of 6.5 knots.

As we approached New London, Jonny became quite moved as he always does to see his hometown from the water.  It is a beautiful sight with the traditional tall white New London lighthouse and the uniquely styled square red brick Ledge lighthouse in the middle of the entrance.

With Groton on our right and New London on our left we entered New London harbor and alerted the Shaw Cove RR Bridge to open to let us through.  I took the helm at that point and guided us to our face dock berth at Crocker’s Marina.  This is a very convenient place for us to stay because it’s right in town and we can walk to many of our favorite places.  We were delighted to be berthed next to a Catalina 30 sailboat which was exactly like the one we owned and loved in Miami Beach for several years!

After setting ourselves up for a couple of days on that very hot afternoon we turned on the air conditioning to cool off.  At first it started switching on and off which has been a problem for us.  Fortunately, a bit later it settled down, possibly because the temperature wasn’t quite as high and it didn’t have to work as hard.

We were eager to visit one of our favorite outdoor restaurants and proceeded to take Archie for a walk to Captain Scott’s.  We ordered steamers, lobster rolls, and corn on the cob and sat at one of their picnic tables looking out on the marina where Zendo was docked.  We finished up with a delicious ice cream cone from the dairy next door.  We were very happy with our choices!

The next day was filled with boat chores. Jonny worked hard cleaning the outside of the boat and washing off that “Georgia smile” that irritatingly surrounds Zendo’s hull. Meanwhile I defrosted the freezer (which has to be done every two weeks) and did two loads of the never-ending laundry.  

Our niece Samantha, Andy’s daughter, kindly drove down from her home near Boston to spend the afternoon with us. She was craving Captain Scott’s, clearly everyone’s favorite, so we happily returned there for lunch. This time we had their famous fried clams, a scallops roll, and Rhode Island clam chowder.  Sam then drove us to our favorite Michael’s Dairy which really took us over the top.  No more food for us!

That evening after Sam left for home, we walked into downtown New London to check out their funky bar scene.  There were plenty of choices and we chose one that had the best selection of beers on tap.  It was a nice way to end our visit to Jonny’s hometown!

Stony Creek, CT (2nd visit 2021)

We got up early to take Archie for one last walk in beautiful Southport harbor on Thursday August 12.  We really enjoyed staying at the Pequot Yacht Club and we liked it even more when the club manager charged us for only two of the three nights we stayed on the mooring!

After stopping at the fuel dock to fill up our water tanks and get a much needed pump-out we took off at 10:30 to return to the Thimble Islands. We are heading east once again as we explore Long Island Sound. It was a sunny and hot day but the seas were a little rolly so we were glad that we had given Archie his CBD which we have to hide in his ground turkey or he won’t eat it!  Thankfully, it works and he was a good traveler.

We arrived at the Thimble Islands and tied up at our friend Ted’s mooring ball.  This is such a good set-up for us.  We love it here.  Surrounded by beautiful little islands, we can easily take the dinghy into the lovely village of Stony Creek where the locals are starting to recognize us! And we can stay for free! What more can you ask?

Jonny went for a swim while I worked on the blog. We had a 6:00 Zoom call with the company that bought Jonny’s mom’s senior living community.  Then we took Archie in for a long awaited walk and finally sat down to dinner.  We were going to have a homemade squash and tomato gratin, salmon and corn on the cob. But it was so late by the time we were ready to eat, that we put the gratin aside to have another day and just ate the fish and corn. Later on we did some trip planning to determine where we would go next.  New London was the winning entry!

Southport, CT

On Monday, August 9 we left the Thimble Islands heading back along the southeast coast of Connecticut.  The day was warm and humid with overcast skies and calm seas. We were headed for the Pequot Yacht Club in Southport which is a village in Fairfield, CT where I grew up.  Southport is a very affluent and beautiful area and the yacht club is right across from the Country Club of Fairfield where I worked for a couple of summers as a waitress. It, like the yacht club, is very exclusive and surely the two clubs must share many members.

We entered the long narrow harbor leading to the yacht club passing Sasco Beach.  As we entered the yacht club area we saw all the boats lined up each secured to moorings at both the bow and stern. We had never moored in this manner but we were able to tie up with no problems.  We were perfectly positioned directly across from the clubhouse and launch.

The reviews of the yacht club were uniformly positive and so was our total experience there. The dock master was warm and welcoming and the dock hands friendly and patient. They needed to be because we made very frequent use of the launch service to accommodate both our dog walking and the large number of visitors we hosted onboard during our stay! The yacht club welcomes transients with reciprocal club memberships.  They also have a very active youth program and it was delightful seeing all the children learning to sail throughout our stay. 

Lisa joined us again, staying onboard for her last two nights of vacation. What a treat it’s been to spend so much time with her!

That night Jonny’s cousins Steven, Abby and Steve’s wife Ann joined us aboard for drinks and apps before we all headed over to Fairfield Center for a very nice dinner at Sinclair’s. The restaurant was very busy on a Monday night and we shared a large array of tapas and had a grand old time.  It was particularly special because Lisa and Abby had been in school together but hadn’t seen each since our wedding 35 years ago!  They are both recently retired teachers with two grown daughters so they had a lot to talk about.

On Tuesday morning we took Archie in on the launch for a walk through the beautiful village of Southport.

The homes are so lovely as are the large gardens surrounding them.  Ann, who is a landscape designer and master gardener, worked on several of the homes in the area.  The brick colonial overlooks the marina and was directly in our line of site from our mooring.

 

Unfortunately, upon returning to Zendo, Archie decided to relieve himself on Lisa’s berth for no good reason. What a brat! That determined the rest of our afternoon since we had to strip the bed from the comforter down through the mattress pad and bring it all to the laundromat.  Fortunately, Lisa had a car and the laundromat had giant washers and dryers so it didn’t take that long.

Shortly after we returned and remade the bed we were joined aboard by Mark and Barbara armed with all the ingredients to make the traditional sailor’s drink, a Dark and Stormy!  Jonny met Mark while solving the issue of the solar panel controller that was too small for our needs. Mark works for the company that sold us the controller and he was very helpful in resolving our issue.  Although the company is located in Fort Lauderdale, Mark lives in Branford and they had promised each other to get together when we were in the area.  We had a fun time chatting with them and enjoying those delicious drinks!

I was planning to make a marinara sauce for the ravioli we bought in Little Italy, but it got too late so Jonny, Lisa and I walked into Southport to have a quick bite at the local tavern.  It turned out to be not quick and not very good but we got a good walk in and a taste of an establishment frequented by community members who clearly were not those living in the earlier referenced homes!

Wednesday was our last full day in Southport and Jonny had committed to helping Lisa’s friend Michael, go through all the mechanical, electrical and rigging systems on his newly acquired sailboat. Meanwhile, Lisa and I met his wife, Jane at a local breakfast spot.  Afterwards we walked over to Southport Harbor where we waved at Michael and Jonny aboard Michael’s boat.  Lisa had stayed with Jane for much of her vacation and they had even traveled up to Maine to attend a memorial event for their friend Dara’s mother who had passed away earlier this year.

Lisa was flying back to Chicago that afternoon so we headed back to Zendo so she could pack her things. We said our tearful goodbyes but were happy to know that we’d see each other soon when Lisa and her family come to Miami for Christmas.

Later that afternoon our good friends Peter and Paula came onboard.  I’ve known Peter since fifth grade and Jonny, Peter and I met Paula when we were all freshman at the University of Connecticut in 1970!  Peter and Paula live in Longmeadow MA and they have a ski house in Vermont where we visited them last year.  Their son Eli and his family leave in nearby Westport and Eli has a new boat.  Their younger son Zach lives in California. He and his family were visiting Eli so they all came over to Zendo on Eli’s boat.  We then proceeded to follow him out on our dinghy and all eleven of us plus Archie went swimming off of Eli’s boat in Southport Harbor. It was so much fun! 

They then came back to Zendo where they all climbed aboard to check out our summer home.  The kids were especially impressed that we slept and ate and showered in this small space. They were adorable!

Peter and Paula stayed after Eli, Zach and the kids left and we discussed what we might do for dinner.  Happily, we got a call from another of Lynn’s childhood friends, Billy, who we were hoping would join us.  He and his daughter Julie helpfully picked up our to-go Lebanese dinner and brought it by so we could all be together.  The fun just doesn’t stop! It is so great being with dear old friends.  There is really nothing quite like it.  Peter, Billy and I will see each other next at our 50th high schools reunion in October (delayed by one year due to Covid). And coincidentally, Julie is in the process of moving to Philadelphia near to where Stephanie lives, so we will encourage them to get together.  As we finished eating, the weather changed with lightening and shifting winds.  Billy got a call from his son alerting him to a big storm about to hit the area so we called the launch and everyone scooted away to avoid getting caught in what was supposed to be a big rainstorm.  Jonny and I rushed around to close all the windows and the Stratoglass but it turned out to not be as bad as expected.  This was another event that was so engaging I completely forgot photos!

What a wonderful time we had during our stay in Southport! It was truly a great home town visit! And we would definitely return to the friendly and accommodating Pequot Yacht Club.

Stony Creek, CT (Thimble Islands)

After a wonderful stay in Milford, we headed out on Thursday August 5 for one of our favorite places - the Thimble Islands.  It was a warm and overcast day and we had a smooth, short two hour cruise along the Connecticut shore arriving at the Thimbles at 12:30.

The Thimble Islands are a rocky outcropping of little islands in the village of Stony Creek which is a part of Branford, CT.  Readers of this blog will recall several times that we’ve stayed here on a mooring ball belonging to an MTOA friend, Ted Graves.   Ted had removed the pennant from the mooring ball so Jonny had to climb into the dinghy to rig some lines so we could tie up which he managed to do with some effort.

As soon as we got settled, we called Ted because we had planned to take him to lunch at Pepe’s Pizza in New Haven.  After taking Archie into the town dock in Stony Creek to do his business we left him onboard Zendo and turned around again to meet Ted who was picking us up.  Off we headed to New Haven and the white clam with bacon pizza we were craving ever since we got to Connecticut.  It did not disappoint.  Ted was raised a notch in Jonny’s eyes when he ordered an anchovy (“fish of the gods”) pizza to take home.  Ted kindly brought us to a grocery store afterwards so we could pick up a few items that we needed.

After returning to Zendo we had a quiet rest of the day, relaxing, and budging only enough to take Archie back into town for his walk.  We are anchored in the middle of these lovely islands surrounded by other moored boats and homes built on the rocky outcroppings. The tree branches sticking out of the water mark the moorings that smaller boats use. 

On Friday we followed a similar routine heading into shore but this time venturing further into the village (such as it is) and admiring the beautiful and interesting homes, many of which line the shore.

Poor Archie got a little confused and started barking at a dog sculpure on one of our walks!



Later that afternoon, Jonny’s cousin Michael’s wife, Debbie, picked us up and we went to to their home in Hamden for dinner.  This is the same home we visited last year when during a sudden storm a tree fell on our car as we drove into their street! This visit was far less eventful but very pleasant. They have a fabulous garden, raise chickens, tend bees, all in an older and very attractive suburban neighborhood.  Debbie made a great gazpacho with vegetables  from their garden along with grilled char and corn on the cob.  We had a lot of fun chatting and catching up which was only marred by Archie who almost scared the life out of their new but aged cat!  We didn’t get back to Zendo until almost midnight driving the dinghy in the dark with a flashlight to guide us.  We were having such a nice time that I forgot to take pictures!

We spent Saturday and Sunday lazily enjoying ourselves in the Thimble Islands, walking, reading, and just taking it easy. 

The biggest excitement was paddling with Archie who seems to take to all his new experiences quite well (except for kitties)! 

It’s been very nice for us to slow our pace of travel this year. We’ve been spending more time in some of our favorite places and savoring the experience. Stony Creek with its Thimble Islands is surely one of those places.