There is a persistent myth than figureheads we mostly scantily-clad women, but in reality, figureheads portrayed a wide variety of subjects, including animals, heroic warriors, celebrities and literary figures, and most human likenesses were fully clothed.
We woke up and had breakfast in the RV, then headed into Mystic. There are two major attractions in Mystic – an aquarium, and the sprawling Mystic Seaport Museum . Our attractions consultant – Andy Goldstein – recommended the Coast Guard museum at the Coast Guard Academy in New London as well. We also discovered that Coastal New England is littered with Maritime Museums.
We were done with Breakfast by 8:30AM, and the Seaport Museum did not open until 10, so we went to the Coast Guard museum first. It was small, but very interesting. We had some trouble finding the right gate, and the guard had to call someone to make sure the museum was open (and the person he called had to ask someone else.) We were there for 45 minutes or so and did not see another guest – or docent. But the exhibits were excellent though they did not tell the history of the MSSTs (Maritime Safety and Security Teams), nor the roles that VideoRay played in equipping them with underwater inspection capabilities. Oh well…
From there we proceeded the Seaport Museum, a place you could easily spend an entire day or longer. Scott was recovering from partial knee replacement on his left knee about 8 weeks ago, and covered almost 6000 steps and several flights of stairs, so this one was a challenge. It is good to get exercise, though.
One fascinating exhibit was the Mystic Model shipbuilding club. The guy we talked to was building model submarines, and we had a great discussion on ballast and such – he was very smart.
On our way to Provincetown, Cape Cod we ate dinner at a place near Sandwich that a VideoRay colleague highly recommended (and we would too after eating there) – Gannon’s Tavern – and enjoyed Taco Tuesday.
The trip from dinner to our next campground in Providence at the end of Cape Cod was dark, so there were not many sites to see along the way. The road had sections mostly through woods, interspersed with areas packed with roadside restaurants, many of which were closed for the season. The Dunes’ Edge Campground was pretty with trails over and through dunes shrouded by trees, but otherwise pretty disappointing. Only 20 amp power, and the showers required quarters. However, Tom discovered that one of them had a stuck solenoid so it was free – we all used that one (at different times, of course.)
On to Salisbury Massachusetts tomorrow after dropping off Gary at Logan Airport for his flight home after his two day “most exceptional OWGrv” vacation.