Our Snail Tracks

October 23, 2024

We fell in love with the seaworthy charm of Mystic, Connecticut. Pre-colonial buildings and homes line the streets of the nautical town on the banks of the Mystic River. Main Street is walkable and filled with adorable shops, restaurants and charm.

Mystic even has a drawbridge over its river so boats can pass under. We were excited to see the drawbridge in action.

The Mystic Seaport Museum is a recreated 19th century village you can explore, complete with several preserved sailing ships. It is the largest maritime museum in the U.S., and highlights the town’s history as a shipbuilding mecca. More than 600 ships were built in the area starting in 1784.

The museum also has an active shipyard dedicated to preservation, where carpenters restore and maintain ships using traditional techniques. The museum houses the Charles W. Morgan, the last of America’s whaling fleet. It was built in 1841, and is known as a “lucky ship” because it managed to successfully make it through Artic Ice, numerous storms, and even circled around Cape Horn.

The Charles P. Morgan, photo courtesy Mystic Seaport Museum

Of course we had to check out the local Mystic Public Library.

I fell in love with the place, and got to meet one of the library’s resident cats. How cool is that–a library cat lives on the second floor!

Matilda, the lucky library cat who gets to live on the second floor of the Mystic Public Library.

Wrapped up our visit to Mystic with a fun lunch on the water.