Some heat and humidity and a dead horse effigy

Yesterday I drove Noah to the Eastern part of Connecticut for a visit to my old "stomping grounds"... except that I really don't remember too much about the area we visited.

24 years ago, Dad got stationed on the submarine base in Groton, Connecticut. We lived there for 3 years. I was in 3rd-5th grades while we lived there.

We didn't attempt to find anything like my old school, or to visit the base (don't think they would have let us do that really). Instead, we visited a historical site, a state park, and a landmark tourist attraction...

First stop was Fort Griswold, where Benedict Arnold committed his famous act of treason.

 The photo above shows turrets where the guns were placed, looking out onto New London Harbor.

This is a photo of one of the trenches for the men to scramble back to the fort under cover. Because of Benedict Arnold's treason, the men defending Fort Griswold were massacred.

Next we went to Bluff Point State Park. Noah has been wanting a beach experience that didn't cost $40 in parking, and I found this place in Groton with free parking :) Dogs aren't allowed on the "beach" during the summer months because of ... snowy plovers?... or something like that nesting in the dunes. But the trails there were really nice and there's a great rocky beach area that apparently they don't count as "beach" in Connecticut. We enjoyed that very much.

Last stop was Mystic, CT... home of Mystic Pizza. We didn't eat any yesterday, but it's on the list of things to do when we go back there. Instead, we went to Old Mystic Seaport and had a great time looking at all the ships and restorations they're working on.

Tag met a "dead horse" dummy...

Apparently they reenact a ceremony of throwing a dead horse effigy over the side of the ship to represent casting off the sailors' debts. You learn something new every time!

We were pretty tired and a little sunburned by the end of the day, but we'll journey out there again. It was interesting rediscovering the area. I have very few memories of that time, but I do remember enjoying Mystic. Next time, we'll visit the aquarium, too!