Land and Sea

On my second day in Connecticut, we went sailing. We boarded in Mystic and motored down the Mystic River. We had to wait in line with the other boats for the lift bridge to let us through. We saw boats of all shapes and sizes sharing the water. I think the people in kayaks had great bravery negotiating the water with ocean vessels. Most of the other people on our cruise were friends. They were a talkative group that included Mort, Sheldon and Nora. They talked non-stop and I could tell from the conversation that they had traveled many times together. They shared pictures of their grandchildren. They all seemed like nice people - just very talkative. We passed another sailboat that had a woman in a pink bikini lying on the front deck with her legs spread. I waved at her. She waved back. Mort says, "Did you see her? She waved at me." Sheldon says, "Mort, you are way off. She waved at me. We made EYE CONTACT!" On and on, they talked. After 45 minutes of motoring we progressed to the Fisher Island Sound. The sails were hoisted and the motor killed. Oh, the peace of sailing - scooping the wind into the sails and moving forward, cutting into the waves. It was wondrous. We sailed around the sound. The deck hands were busy with the ropes. They had a very precise way of handling the ropes and they spent at least 15 minutes getting the ropes piled just right, kind of fascinating to watch. We sailed by an island. The crew said the island is owned by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway - that upright self propelled platform. He invented the first portable insulin pump and the wheelchair that could climb stairs. He seems like quite an inventive fellow. He owns his own island and he has a wind turbine on it. Judging by the houses we saw along the river, he's not the only one with money living in Connecticut. We sailed along for another 45 minutes, listening to Mort, Sheldon, Nora and their friends. Then it was time to take down the sails and head back up the Mystic River. We passed a train bridge that swings out of the way for river traffic and turns like a Lazy Susan (for lack of a better term-never liked that phrase) to be in place when a train comes through. We watched the Amtrack heading east towards Massachusetts. I wondered if the passengers realized that they were traveling over such an interesting bridge? There is so much to see out here and I wished we could have sailed longer. I know there are a million facts that the people out here take for granted and for which I don't have a clue, being a "middle of the continent" child. After our sail, Offspring #1 took me back to his apartment and made me some lunch. What a luxury it is to have someone make your lunch. I mentioned that and he said, "Isn't that what you did for me for 19 years?" Why yes, yes it is. He took me hiking to a geologically significant area. Back in the olden days, when our earth land mass was known as Pangenea - when all the continents were smushed up tight against each other, Africa was connected to part of Connecticut. Here is a photo of a giant granite wall close to where the two continents were prior to splitting. If you look close, you can see the bore holes in the rock. This area was going to be a highway and was dynamited to smithereens by putting dynamite down the bore holes. The rock proved to be too strong and they abandoned the plan to put a highway here. We hiked a couple miles through this abandoned highway area, looking at the rock formations. We were getting hot and tired when we came upon a raspberry patch loaded with ripe raspberries. What can be more delicious that wild raspberries when you are hungry and thirsty? We drove around more country roads in Connecticut. The roads here, even back off the beaten path, are smooth and well maintained. He took me to see the Gillette castle. Gillette was a star of the stage back before moving pictures were invented. He played many roles on stage but was best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. He is the one who added the hat, the pipe and the trench coat to the Holmes character. Gillette promoted the Sherlock Holmes story and did a lot to make it famous. He had a giant castle erected on the banks of the Connecticut River. We were able to tour his home and go through most of the rooms. Gillette liked trains and he had a 4 mile small gauge train track installed over his property. His property has a wonderful view of the Connecticut River valley.