Soon I turned south on 34 and saw my first stacked rock walls. I had forgotten that is typical for rock walls in Connecticut and have seen quite a few. 34 was a scenic winding road that followed what I presume is the Paugusett River since it is near the trail and state forest on the map but I don't see the name. As I was travelling 34 I spotted some extremely old, tall towers to my left and off the beaten path I went to explore the town of Derby. The town was founded in 1675 and everywhere seemed to be old Victorian homes, large stone or brick buildings, and a green in the middle on top of the hill. It looked like a fine place to have lunch.When I arrived at 95 the land seemed to be flatter. I decided to go down and get on 1 at Madison and noticed the Hammonasset Beach State Park was right there so I took a little side trip out to the point and viewed the land and sea for awhile. It was so quiet in October and yet the area must been bustling in the summer. I thought it would be a fine place to camp but it wasn't late enough in the day.
I continued down 1 until 154 took me around the peninsula below Old Saybrook. The outer area was lined with houses while the center was marshy in one area. The beaches were all private except for a town beach and when I would glimpse something I thought was a Kodak moment such as a lighthouse there was no place to pull off the road. The children had just gotten out of school and it appeared a nice area in which to reside. Old Saybrook was settled by a group of English Puritans led by John Winthrop Jr. that routed the Dutch traders living in the area out. The colony was named after Viscount Saye & Sele and Lord Brooke, heads of the settlers' Saybrook Co.At Old Lyme I toured the historic district down 156. An old white church with a tall steeple that was built in 1635 did get my attention. Old Lyme is a small town with a population of approximately 7,000 and was occupied at one time by 50 sea captains. I got back on 95 and crossed the Thames River at Groton, where the Nautilus submarine was built.
When I crossed into Mystic indeed there was a scenic viewing area where I stopped and had a magnificent view of Mystic and the harbor. Mystic is an even smaller town and the town of Old Mystic is north of 95 while Mystic is south of the interstate. By the mid 19th century clipper ships were being built here. Stores and restaurants are plentiful in the area. There is a museum and aquarium which I will leave for other visitors. A short climb up the hill into Old Mystic brought me to the Seaport Campgrounds. I had thought I might get to Cape Cod today but forgot that Rhode Island is in between. Hopefully I will get there on Friday and spend the weekend.
The Mystic Seaport is an area that appears quite nice with old whaling schooners including the C.W. Morgan. There are museums and artifacts there but I didn't want to pay $16 for a short tour. So I opted to drive on down the street into the town. What a delight. I noticed what looked like a good breakfast place where the locals seem to go and went into B B Dairy for a farmer's omelet.
From there I went over to Stonington which was settled in 1649 and what a quaint place. The very narrow street was bordered with old houses and I just couldn't take pictures of all the neat scenery I was seeing. I went down to the point, passed a lighthouse, small by comparison to those on the Outer Banks, and then stopped at the vista to look out over the water. Here was a marker celebrating the locals defeating landing forces bent on burning the town and its shipping on 8/10/1814. House after house on Main Street was worthy of a picture. I went on down the road driving past large old homes and rock walls on North Main Street to look for 234, Pequot Road, which was listed as one of the Connecticut scenic tours. It is an old country road that winds along the crest of a hill among houses and farms, with plenty of old rock walls.
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