As we worked our way up the East Coast our travels took us through Connecticut. It was particularly fun as my sister Julie and her husband Eric live in Guilford. This gave us a great home base and tour guides to hang with. We were also joined by my brother John (Mr. Fun) and his wife Kathy from Texas making for a small family reunion.
As an example of what can happen when our family gets together is this image of our "Oyster Shooter" contest. The idea is to build the best Oyster Shooter using any ingredients that work. It got pretty creative, and some potential best sellers were developed.
A really fun outing was touring the Thimble Islands out of Branford by boat. There are 300+ islands in this area that are named for the Thimbleberries that grow on them. There are tales of the Pirate Captain Kidd burying treasure somewhere on the islands. In the mid-1800s development of homes began on the islands. Many of the islands and homes have been passed down for generations. And if one does come up for sale, better bring your big money. They don't go cheap. But how cool to own a private island? One 7.5 acre island has an 8740 square foot mansion and a private golf area designed by Jack Nicklaus.
There are a lot of great places to visit, eat and drink in the area. And we made the most of it.
Our flights took us to some fantastic places and views. The coast of Connecticut is dotted by rocky coasts, marinas and harbors that have been active since the 1600's.
By mistake we actually landed on Fisher Island. Apparently, they don't really want visitors as we learned there was a $25 landing fee and nothing to really do on the island. There was a cool view of the Race Rock Lighthouse on takeoff., but not worth $25.
But we kept on going to Block Island where we had a great lunch and great views of the island.
Since flying in was fun, we decided to get Julie and Eric and take the high-speed ferry to Block Island as well. A great trip capped off by lunch and drinks at Dead Eye Dicks.
Our next stop is the state of Maine!
Very nice!