We headed out early to see the Parade of Sail of Tallships as Opsail came into New London. It was HOT….heat index in the high 90s even by late morning. They were running late…a couple hours beyond the published schedule. We were nearly melting then only got to see one of the big ships actually under sail…The Coast Guard Eagle. They blamed calm winds and mechanical trouble…..all probably natural hazards of a gathering like this but for this spectator, too much. I’m glad we went but it wasn’t really fun. We got to spend a little more time with Carol though…she joined us in the miserable heat. We had some great clams and ice cream afterwards!

We attended a one room school….Mr. Albert was our teacher. I’m sure he was at least 75 years old. We flunked geography but that’s because it was a trick question. How many states are in the Union? 37 of course, not 50 since the date on the board was July 6, 1876. We did a little math and practiced our phonics…that was some hard reciting.
We saw a Dead horse thrown overboard. It was a ritual where the sailors ceremonially throw their debts (a straw stuffed canvas horse) overboard once they have worked them off. It came with a sea farers song and everything.
They are in the middle of a major restoration of the Whaler Charles W Morgan. We got to see and hear all about the craft and the special lumber and stuff. That was cool. It is supposed to be sea worthy again on its 150th birthday next July. They have a lot of work to do.
We caught a concert of sorts. One of the staff is really big on seafaring song and ceremony. He sang and played guitar or mandolin. It was a great way to share some wonderfully colorful stories.
Besides all that we saw how they make sails and rope and process whale on board.
It was hot and muggy but still a fun day. I’d recommend it.

It’s been great hanging out but now we are heading on to Mystic, CT and beyond

Thunderstorms threaten so no cruise to the Thimble Islands this time. Instead we checked out Dinosaur State Park. Yeap, it is tracks in the mud (sandstone now).
We learned some stuff…or relearned it: Why you find tracks OR fossils but never both. Dinosaurs evolved over hundreds of thousands of years….they didn’t all live at the same time. Continental drift..the land masses moved hundreds of miles. When they find a cluster of footprints like this they get their own name…not a dinosaur name ‘cause they don’t know for sure who made them.

Devils Hopyard, a tiny Connecticut State park. It is along the Eight Mile River with a pretty little waterfall and some great vistas over the rolling green mountains. It’s a nice place for a couple days while we hang out with Carol and Dave.

Bummers, very noisy, crude neighbors and the place is totally unsupervised. At least our first and last nights were enjoyable.