Mystic, ConnecticutSep 23, 2009
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Wine Tasting
The grape vines
Lunch
After a couple of days of rest from New York City we went out exploring with friends we met from the Hudson Vally/NYC caravan. Their names are Cliff and Yvonne. We started our exploring by going to a winery and a lunch stop. Then we went to Mystic Seaport which is a living museum of America and the sea. The Mystic Seaport used to the the center of wooden ship building in the 1800's. They have moved a lot of historical buildings and boats there. Most of the buildings have volunteers in them to explain the building and the trade. They have a whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan. Right now they have it out of the water and they are doing some restoration. It will take 3 years. Also there is a replica of the Amistad. It was built here in Mystic Seaport and put in the water in 2000. It was here for some maintenance..... will take about 6 months. We did get to go on the deck of the Amistad, but could not go below deck.
First thing we did at the seaport was take a ride on a steam boat called the Sabino. That gave us a narrated overview of the seaport. It was basically a private guide as there was only the four of us and one other couple. This boat is all original and they use coal as fuel.
After a stop for muffin and coke, we went over the the Charles W. Morgan which is a whaling ship. This ship is the center point of the seaport. I got to go on the deck and also below also. The ship is all original, with only some wood replaced. What they do is remove one piece of wood, and make an exact copy and put that back on. For wood, the get Live Oak trees donated and then they have their own saw mill to cut the tree into lumber. They have a huge number of volunteers and also paid staff to do everything.
After that we toured the building and their museums. Even though we were there for 4 hours we only scratched the surface on what you can do at the seaport.
