July 26 2012 Mystic CT to Turro (Cape Cod) MA

Couldn't get going too early this morning, because Mystic Seaport didn't open up until 9:00.  This amazing historical park and museum has been around since the 1940's and is dedicated to teaching and celebrating maritime life, whaling, sails, ships and history.  It was sprinkling a bit when we arrived and so we had the park mostly to ourselves for a couple of hours.  This led to some great individual and small group interaction with the excellent staff.  We got to learn about and watch the ceremony that sailors would do to celebrating paying off the debts that they had racked up.  It was called the dead horse ceremony.

There were beautiful artifacts, including some figureheads from ships.

We also met another of the amazingly qualified interpreters that we always meet.  This was one at a display on navigation, which as staffed by a retired Navy submarine commander.  He was a wealth of information.  We also had a great talk with a black smith, or ship's smith about the process of making and repairing metal pieces for ships.  This used to be a huge industry.  The shop at Mystic seaport is the only one known to still be around from all that were in use in the 1800's.

We saw a storytelling troop in action doing a great audience participation story.  Loved watching skilled storytellers at work.

We also got to see a ship that was under reconstruction.  This is the very last of the whaling schooners, out of nearly 3000 that once sailed the seas.  It is part of an amazing restoration, with the plan on making it able to sail again in another year or so.

Dick remembers going to this park in the 1950's.   Families are still coming here, and we saw a lot families and kids at day camp really engaged in fun and learning.

We left at about 2:30 knowing we had a long drive to the north part of Cape Cod to spend time with Dick's sister and her partner.  The drive went smoothly, although traffic was at times rather fierce.

We were able to make a quick stop to see, surprise.... more lighthouses.  This time a lovely one towards the north end of Cape Cod.  Then,as we were enjoying taking photos of it, there was as sign that said "Three Sisters Lighthouses", which we followed for about a third of a mile and found these three tiny little lighthouse that had once been where the larger one was, and had been split apart and now reunited again   Go lighthouses!  And four for one!

 And we got our first glimpses of the beach at Cape Cod...actually a series of amazing beaches.

We spent a splendid evening with Barbara and Joan at their fabulous Cape Cod style house.  Great food and good hospitality.  We also watched some of the rerun of the Women’s US Olympic trials for gymnastics.  Fun and helped get us in the mood for the Olympics to begin tomorrow night.