It was Laurie's mom's birthday and she had said she wanted to visit the Mystic Seaport Museum. We packed into Susie's rented Jeep, and drove to Connecticut. Laurie and I had been there two years ago on our previous Jersey adventure, but were anxious to see it again. We walked around, looked at the ships, visited the shops, took notice of the gardens and displays, and enjoyed a very nice and temperate day.
I'm always struck by the craftsmanship that goes into the building of the old sailing ships. When you look at the detail of a wooden structure on a ship like a cabinet, you have to remember it was constructed using hand tools. Every hole or slot in siding or beam that is made for a peg or panel, was painstakingly done with care and expertise with awls, augers, and chisels guided by hand. When you see descriptions of how the keel is laid, board upon board, it was done by hand. No tools, or motorized cranes. Engines of a bit later were still crude in that all the parts were hand forged. It is just amazing.
There are, as I said, shops along the wharf that display sea life in the whaling era. A watch and compass maker, a print shop and a typical home. An apothecary, and a doctor. The crudeness of life but the strength of the people who lived it is inspiring. Many today would disparage the life of those who hunted whales, but in the days before people had discovered oil and how to refine it, Whales provided the basis for many needs. It was a temporary necessity for progress in the time it was needed.
We had lunch there and enjoyed the time with Laurie's mom and sister. Clowning around with the displays that had you put your faces through to get fun photos was a blast.
For more information about this wonderful place, you should visit their website.
http://www.mysticseaport.org/
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| Mystic Seaport on a beautiful day |
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| An old ship part. What is this ting? |
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| Tools of the trade at the Oyster company at Mystic. |
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| Mystic's two-story lighthouse. A replica of the 1901 Branch Point lighthouse. |
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| Classic Fresnel lens as seen in the lighthouse. |
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| Masts |
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| Oh! That's what it is. |
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| Laurie and her mom |
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| Watch and compass maker |
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| The print shop |
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| Looms upstairs in the family home. |
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| Beautiful. Corkscrew Vines |
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| Girls need clean ears |
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| Susan's turn |
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| No comment |
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| Fall 2015 |
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| Interesting device to scrap the mud off your boots. Laurie's mom had to identify it for me. |
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| Sundail |
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| Apothecary shop |
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| Who doesn't love a wooden Indian? |
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| General store |
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| The girls. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. As if. |
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| Us |
