Road Trip Day 2

Zooming as best I could

June 30 – I slept so good in that huge king bed with so much room to myself.  We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel.  Bill made his waffle and I had French toast.  There weren’t too many choices but carbs.  Once we loaded the car we headed for Guilford and drove out to see if we could see the lighthouse.  It’s 3 miles out and there’s only a ferry on Wednesday – Saturday so another failed attempt to get a stamp for my lighthouse book.  I did get some really distant photos and called the lighthouse “keepers” and left a message but never heard from any one all day.

We stayed off the interstate and mostly stayed on Hwy 1 up along the coast.  We went though many small towns and enjoyed seeing the ocean and the harbors and the nice quaint little towns.  We passed an Ocean State Job Lot store and have seen them quite frequently so decided to stop and see what they sold.  It’s pretty much like a Big Lots store.  We got a few things but now the mystery is solved.

Some of the small book buildings and kiosks

I was reading in the AAA book about the town of Niantic and it said they have a huge Book Barn of used books.  They were right!  There are 4 parts in 4 areas of town but we went to the big one first and it was great.  There are many small buildings scattered around and benches and chairs to sit on.  It’s under shade trees and has gardens, turtles and goats you can feed.  There’s a playhouse for kids while their parents look at

One of the mystery book buildings

books.  We both got a bunch of books.  The paperbacks were $1 and Bill got some hardbacks that were more.  We asked for a seafood lunch recommendation and we were steered to a small place across from the water, Skippers.  We were told it was all fried but I didn’t feel like looking around and they had outdoor seating so we could look out over the water while we ate.  I had a appetizer portion of fried clams and a side of cole slaw.  Those were some of the best clams I’ve ever had.  Lightly battered and so tender.  Bill had a burger but tried clams for the first time and said they were pretty good.  That’s a lot coming from him.  After lunch we went to another one of the Book Barn stores that was said to have a lot of mystery books.  It’s not nearly as big but we did come away with another 5 books.  We should be set for the rest of the summer.  I know I am. 

Bill and buoy in front of Maritime Museum

Leaving Niantic we stayed on route 1 into New London.  I thought I would get to see at least one of 2 lighthouses.  Not!  We did find out there are 5 in the vicinity but 1 is on private property so it may never be a possibility.  We attempted to visit the Custom House Maritime Museum but they were closed.  We stopped at the tiny visitor

Nathan Hall school

center building to ask some questions and pick up some literature.  One of the ladies asked where we were from and we said Florida.  She asked where and I told her right outside of Orlando.  She asked “O-co-ee?” and we were shocked, no one has ever known of Ocoee.  Ends up her niece moved there just over a year ago and she’s been down once to visit.  We left our car parked there and walked down the old part of town a bit.  There is an Amistad Landing and the Custom House is where the slaves were brought that took over the ship Amistad that was coming from Sierra Leone.  There was a movie about it.  So the port where they ended us is named for the ship.  Further downtown is a nice Amtrak station and the school building where Nathan Hale attended school for 1 year.  It’s a little red building and looks very out of place with all the marble and concrete in the area now.

Leaving New London we drove past (several times) the Coast Guard Academy that is on the outskirts of town.  They were having a graduation ceremony and the stands were filled with white uniforms.  We drove to the gate but the indication is it’s a high security thing so if we go back we will take our passports to maybe make it easier or possible to go on the campus.

It was time to call it a day and head back home.  We took a back way to end up in Windham so I could stop at Aldi to get something to cook for dinner.  Ended up we didn’t cook it but had Bill’s leftover lobster and Mac and the rest of the rotisserie chicken.  Molly was glad to see us and when Rick came over to bring the key he said she was the friendliest cat he’d ever seen.  She came out to see him each time and let him pet her and rub on his leg.