Mini Golf and Hammonasset Beach

Have I mentioned that there are so many fun things to do in Connecticut? Thursday, August 2nd was our 13th anniversary! It is amazing in some ways that we have been married for that many years... in other ways it seems like we have always been together. That is a happy thing.

We spent a fun (hot and humid) morning playing miniature golf close to the dock where Bruce catches his ferry to and from work each day. I have decided that living in the humidity would be hard for me because I would always have bad hair (judged only on my experience with my hair, not any of the hairstyles of the lovely people that we were with or saw). The kids loved mini golfing and they loved even more that my lack of talent made them feel very gifted with their abilities.

We spent the afternoon at Hammonasset Beach State Park. In the park is Meigs Point Nature Center where they have all sorts of sea life that have "come" to the center for rehabilitation from injuries. The kids got to hold so many crabs (hermit and otherwise) and learned that clear jelly fish are okay to catch and hold... the colored ones are the ones that sting (although I am not really willing to take the chance...). Sophia kept moving over to the rubber animal area--definitely my kind of petting zoo :). Ryan got some great photos of some of the creatures the kids caught (and later released) at the beach.

The beach at Hammonasset was so nice... the "sand" is really a rough mixture of tiny seashells and doesn't feel too great on bare feet... next time around we will for sure bring water shoes. The water is different than what we are most accustomed to (SoCal beaches) because there aren't big waves to ride on... it makes it nice for younger kids though that you don't have to worry so much about them getting clobbered with frothy crashes of waves every 10 to 15 seconds. The kids found some friends Massachusetts to catch ocean life with and brought many creatures to shore to show them off. Sophia and I entertained ourselves by "washing her hair" and playing "In and Out" where we name a body part and put it in the water, then bring it out, then back in, then back out... Elbows were the body part of the moment in the bottom right photo. The bottom left photos should be picked up by Dasani for a little promo, no?

The kids and I LOVE the beach and could spend endless hours there. This time around Ryan loved it too since there was so much animal activity to photograph and video.

Ryan and I ended our anniversary with a lovely dinner at a Brazilian grill that Bruce and Terri gave us a gift certificate to. They stayed with the kids (again!) so we could have a quiet night out. We spent a few minutes at the local beach (once we found it!) chatting and enjoying the sound of the water. Why don't I live closer to an ocean?

All in all it was a lovely day and we all went to sleep tired and happy.

Devil's Hopyard and Chapman Falls

Our next stop (only a few miles away) was to Devil's Hopyard State park which is home to Chapman Falls. The falls were lovely and it was so peaceful there. I loved seeing Sophia walking with her Grandma and Grandpa... she loved being with them! Olivia and Coleman liked exploring on all of the big rocks and Grandpa helped them cross over the water to get closer to the falls. This was one of those hidden gems... I don't think we would have even known to look for it if our favorite local tour guides hadn't taken us there.

Close to Bruce and Terri's house is a really cool bridge that lowers for trains to cross. We stopped and walked along a pier where many people were fishing and crabbing. Throughout the week we saw a few birds native to the area and only got photos from pretty far away :).

We ate dinner that night at Pizza Works in Old Saybrook... which had some very fun trains that kept the kids busy until our yummy gourmet pizza arrived. I love Sophia's expression while she is talking to Terri... she very clearly adores her Grandma and loved all of the attention she gets from her.

Gillette Castle

Our biggest challenge during our week long stay in Connecticut was deciding what to do... there were so many options! Bruce and Terri have been there long enough that they have seen quite a bit and made great suggestions. We loved everything that we did and know that we could have easily spent several more days checking out all the Connecticut (and all of the surrounding states) have to offer.

After a fun few hours at the local beach (which I neglected to take any pictures of!) we took a drive to Gillette Castle State Park, which is home to Gillette Castle, commissioned by William Gillette. He was a famous actor in his day (the early 1900's) who is most well known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. He was kind of a quirky, eccentric guy and his personality came through in the home that he built. From the outside it looks like a medieval fortress, but on the inside had all of the modern conveniences of the day. He designed secret passageways and a state of the art water system to put out fires if necessary. He also positioned mirrors so that he could observe his guests' arrivals and actions without them noticing. It was really interesting to see how he lived and got me wondering about which of today's famous people might someday have their homes preserved for tours and such. We have plenty of movie stars and athletes that (to put it kindly) are "eccentric" in their own right.

I loved all of the rock that was used around the castle. It was great for some photos of the kiddos... I especially love the one Ryan got of Sophia hanging from the rail... those blue eyes just pop!