Mystic Pizza – Jake & Eddie’s Excellent Adventure 😎🐶

When I planned the trip I learned about Mystic. Such a cool name! I quickly lesrned two things: (1) There was a Seaport Museum with old ships you could tour and (2) There was a movie called Mystic Pizza that was somehow associated with the town. So I decided to stay for a day.

We headed north out of Dover and made our way northwestwards. The idea was to bypass The New York city area to the west and make our way back to the coast from there.

We left Delaware and entered Pennsylvania, driving towards the Pocono Mountains near the border with New Jersey. Years ago, I had heard about this area from my colleagues who worked in the New Jersey area near New York. It was a popular destination for skiing and mountain activities. Although I had driven through this region, I only remembered it was in the mountains.

Delaware Gap National Recreation Area

We stayed the night at a very nice campground near the Delaware Gap National Recreation Area. We enjoyed our walks and the local wildlife!

The next day’s drive went through the Recreation Area. Very scenic!

Somewhere in New York. Disgustingly dirty roadside stops.

East Fishkill 🫨 Why would you even fucking name a place this?

(Turns out kill means a riverbed or a body of water in Dutch. They settled this area and used this to name a lot of the places they came across.)

We ended up crossing into Connecticut as we dropped out of the mountians.

We drove almost the entire length of the state before reaching the campground near Mystic. While the location was pleasant, its proximity to the Interstate caused excessive road noise. To make matters worse, there was road construction on the Interstate. On our first night, we were awakened by an hour of a massive engine doing something somewhere so loudly that the trailer shell resonated!

Mystic

The next day Jake took the morning off as I visited Mystic. I promised him we would go back later and do some walks!

The name “Mystic” is derived from the Pequot term “missi-tuk” describing a large river whose waters are driven into waves by tides or wind. Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in 1784. The village is located on the Mystic River which flows into Fishers Island Sound. The Mystic River Bascule Bridge crosses the river in the center of the village. It is very much a tourist town, especially with the Mystic Seaport Museum.

Raised bridge on the main road through Mystic. The concrete is a counterweight for the bridge roadway, requiring a lot less energy to open and close. Usually, the counterweight is located below the bridge surface. My guess is the small size dictated they be on top in this configuration.

Mystic Seaport Museum

The museum is the largest in the United States. The site holds a collection of ships and boats and a re-creation of a 19th-century seaport village consisting of more than 60 historic buildings, including many rare commercial structures that were moved to the site and meticulously restored.

I spent a couple of hours touring the site. Some of the highlights included the Whaling Ship Charles W. Morgan, a shop filled with old clocks and sextants, and exhibits on whaling and its impact. Knowledgeable staff were in abundance and eager to answer questions.

*Charles W. Morgan* is a whaling ship which was active for 80 years. She is the only surviving wooden whaler from 2,700 ships that operated in the United States whaling fleet. On her deck are huge try pots used to render blubber into whale oil. She came to Mystic Seaport in 1941 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Wikipedia

Clocks and Sextants: The site featured numerous exhibits related to navigation. This room housed a collection of clocks and sextants used by mariners during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Timekeeping on a ship was an arduous task. Constructing a clock that would maintain accuracy and withstand the harsh environmental conditions of the sea proved extremely challenging. This was a ships clock crafted by a clockmaker in Mystic around 1800. I was astounded by the intricate construction, featuring both wooden and metal gears.

This was an awe-inspiring piece of artwork. I sensed that it depicted real-life hardships during the era of whaling. I was astounded by the intricate details of the line drawing.

Detail of the drawing. I would think the white Christian nationalists would deem this about as woke as it gets! In your face, Cheeto Satan worshippers!

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit here. It was an excellent representation of the seafaring life of the coastal inhabitants of the New England area.

A Slice of Heaven

It was then lunch time! Time for a Mystic Pizza!

Mystic Pizza opened in 1973. A screenwriter was vacationing in the area and was captivated by what she experienced. In 1988, a movie about the lives of three waitresses working there was released. It was well reviewed and the restaurant became a sensation, with people crowding to get A Slice Of Heaven! It’s run by the grandchildren of the original owners.

And the pizza was delicious! Crispy with the cheese on top of the fillings. Yummy!

Mystic Pizza: mementos from the movie and other Hollywood glitz!

Coastal Scenes

I drove back and picked up Jake to explore some of the coastal areas. We enjoyed beautiful views from nearby Stonington and the harbor near Mystic. I briefly spoke with a guy who was about to go scuba diving in the 50-degree water! Turns out, he’s an ex-Navy diver trained in Panama City and is currently working on submarines in nearly New London. How incredible is that? And he was cleaning the bottom of a boat! 🤣 They always told me Navy Divers were a breed-apart!

Latimer Reef Lighthouse off of Stonington Harbor

There are many well-maintained cemeteries in the area. It was quite unlike anything I had seen before. Some of the monuments were exceptionally detailed and remarkably well-preserved. They served as a testament to the wealth and prosperity that the region experienced during its early days in America. They were a testament to Moral Materialism at its peak.