Learning the Ropes

The forecast was for a gigantic scary storm so we had already planned to stay an extra day in Mystic to avoid crossing the Long Island Sound in eight foot seas. The weather predictions proved correct so we had a lazy morning listening to the rain and catching up on work and emails.  Once the storm subsided, we headed out to explore the Mystic Seaport (just stepped onto the dock and we were in it!), the nation's largest maritime museum. The museum is made up of several buildings and houses - a little village - that has preserved a number of sailing and whaling ships (most notably the whaleship Charles W. Morgan) and seaport buildings. 

We headed straight for the village planetarium for a mini lecture on navigating by the stars (we learned about navigating by the North Star in our hemisphere and the Southern Cross in the southern hemisphere). Afterward, we walked through the village and learned about whaling (terrifying and horrible for all involved), rope making, barrel making (to store and transport the whale oil) wood carving, and ship building. Lastly we toured the Charles Morgan where we found out all about how the lines and rigging on a sailing ship functioned, yes we "learned the ropes" of sailing. The volunteer staff were very good at explaining everything, and it was an enjoyable day.  

We had a really fun dinner at the The Captain Daniel Packer Inne, which was built on the Mystic River by Square-rigger Captain Daniel Packer in 1756 a fun in part due to the fact that Nancy and I had consumed a bottle of wine on the boat before departing, then imbibed in a delicious grapefruit cocktail at the restaurant. We ordered a cab home, and as we were climbing in, Nancy got a burst of energy and trotted/bounced down the street proclaiming she was running back to the boat. Of course, being the consummate gentleman, John N. oined her, and John and I cabbed back to the boat