The drive there? Terrible. The drive back? Terrible. Everything else in between? Wonderful! The drive there took so much longer than it was suppose to and it rained the whole time. Once we got there though it was amazing. Small town charm every where around. We of course went there without a plan and were just going to wing it!
Day One
Unfortunately we got rained out, so we didn’t do too much. Checked into the hotel and rested up a little bit. Looked around for places to eat and things to do. We finally settled on eating at The Jealous Monk. The atmosphere was good. The staff was friendly. The food was fantastic! I ordered the griddled cornbread and some bangers and mashed. Guys! So damn good!
Our cell phone service was very spotty, so it was hard to find other places and things to do after eating. The rain didn’t help, so we decided to retreat back to the hotel for the night. Besides we still had to plan what else we wanted to do while we were there.
Day 2
Aquarium and shopping day! We started our day out at the Mystic Aquarium. I haven’t been to too many aquariums, so I don’t have much to compare this one to. It was a nice little aquarium though! They are apparently one of only two U.S. facilities that hold Stellar sea lions and the only place in New England that has beluga whales. I think the beluga whales and all the jellyfish were my favorite exhibits. It’s so hard to choose though! These are just a few of the many many photos I took. I forgot to get the names of everything, so hopefully my research was okay and I figured out what these all were in the photos below. Enjoy!
After we were done enjoying the aquarium we headed on over to the Olde Mystick Village. An 18th-century inspired New England village. Filled with roughly 60 little shops and restaurants. The Jealous Monk is also located here! I don’t remember all the little shops we stopped in, however I definitely remember where we stopped to eat! Pink Basil. An Asian food restaurant located in the Olde Mystick Village. This was one of my favorite places we stopped and ate at for sure. I ordered the Spicy Ramen Noodle Soup and had an absolutely delicious drink that I can not for the life of me remember the name of. It was a special they had going on at the time.
Later that evening we wasted some time wandering around an old cemetery. It was getting late and everything else was closed and we’re weird. Give me a break! HA! Unknown to us, this actually came in handy on another night when we went on a haunted cemetery tour! More on that later. We found some wandering geese and also made friends with a cat hanging out in the cemetery. Enjoy these few photos below!
Day 3
We started our third day off at Go Fish. Another amazing restaurant in Mystic, CT! It was a beautiful place. We started our meal off with complimentary bread and some kind of spread for it. Again, I can not for the life of me remember what it was. I’m trying hard to remember what I need to, so I can contribute to this blog. It’s still all new to me and a whole new learning process. I was never the type of person to take pictures of my food, or document what all I did. It’s a hell of a lot of stuff to remember!
Anyways, in addition to the complimentary bread and spread, I ordered the Pan Seared Sea Scallops. DELICIOUS!! I also, of course, ordered a drink that I can’t remember the name of. All amazing things! I have yet to be disappointed in anything here in Mystic, CT.
After we ate we headed on down to Downtown Mystic. Holy crap guys! This place is so quaint and adorable. Super sweet tourist town. Little shops and restaurants lining the main road. I didn’t catch all the places we went to, but we sure fulfilled some time before our next scheduled event. Book store, ice cream parlors, clothing stores and so much more! One thing people seemed to love was the Mystic Drawbridge.
Finally, after a long day of shopping and walking, we went back to the hotel to rest for a little. Tonight was the night for our Mystic Moonlight Graveyard Ghost Tour! We booked the tour through Seaside Shadows. They had a few different tours to choose from, but we wanted the spooky, creepy one! Plus it was within walking distance to our hotel! The tour is filled with a lot of historical facts about the people who once resided in Mystic a long time ago. Very interesting and informative. Some of the names on headstones we saw in the other graveyard we visited on our own came up in this much older graveyard. I took lots and lots of pictures, but only really captured something in one photo (if you believe in that sort of thing).
Day 4
Today, we drove down to Stonington, CT. We had lunch at Dog Watch Mystic. A local BBQ place. Food was to die for! I started off with the Smoked Brisket Chili and ended with the Brisket Grilled Cheese. I know I keep raving about all the food here, but seriously guys, I can’t pick a favorite. Not that I have ever been able to do that, but still. Another amazing restaurant with awesome food and awesome staff!
After stuffing our faces we took a drive over to Stonington Harbor to look out at the water. We stood along the shore for a little just taking in the view.
The calming sounds of the water were relaxing! We didn’t want to leave. However we had places to go and things to see. Off to the Stonington Lighthouse it was! It’s a small cute museum with a lot of historical facts about Stonington and the surrounding areas. You can still climb all the way to the top!
When you buy a ticket for the Stonington Lighthouse Museum you receive a pass to the Captain Nathan B. Palmer House Museum too. I love museums and I loved going to these two. My only complaint would have to be that we couldn’t explore the Captain Nathan B. Palmer House Museum on our own. I know the workers are passionate about it, but I like to go at my own pace. Oh and there was no air conditioning and it was a 90 degree day. Yikes! I still enjoyed myself though!
Day 5
Bravo Bravo. Need I say more? Yeah, I suppose I should! Bravo Bravo is an Italian restaurant in Downtown Mystic. The pasta is made in house! I ordered the Pappardelle Bolognese.
Afterwards, we headed off to the Seaport Museum. We fully regretted waiting until the day we were leaving to go there. We had no idea how big it was and they didn’t have anything on their website stating our tickets were good for two days! We had to jam as much as we could in because we had a long drive home ahead of us. If you ever make your way to Mystic, CT I highly recommend at least going to the Seaport Museum! You could easily spend two days just enjoying a leisurely stroll through the museum grounds.
This was a bit longer of a post, but I had so much I wanted to share! I wish we had more time to explore Mystic and the surrounding areas. I definitely plan on adding it to my “places I’ll visit again” list! Enjoy!
Naturally Taylor 