History

Three generations from one family visited Mystic last weekend, and got the royal treatment!  It was a joy to “reveal” this special area.  2 grandparents, 2 parents, 3 young boys anxious to learn and explore.   All had visited the Mystic Aquarium in the past, but now were thrilled to get an insider look at…

Only private groups for Mystic Revealed tours this season.  Last year my Mystic walking tours and food tours were “open” to multiple parties.  I’ve always had small groups (max 6), but in the past it was fun to let couples or families from around the country and around the world tour together.  Not yet.  At…

Courtesy of Mystic Seaport Museum Early English colonists to Plymouth, to Boston and ultimately to Connecticut, initially hoped there would be mineral wealth or fertile, arable land to farm.  It didn’t take long to realize that this coast had neither.  New England’s primary resources consisted of two things:  fish, and timber.  Coastal Connecticut, and especially…

Courtesy of Mystic Seaport Today Mystic holds a very special place in the history of American whaling for one primary reason.  The Mystic Seaport.  Since 1941, the Charles W Morgan, the sole remaining whaling ship from the heyday of the U.S. whaling industry has been housed, maintained and displayed right here on the Mystic River….

Yes, the Mayflower (II) is in Mystic.  Why?  Because the Mystic Seaport Museum has an elite wooden shipbuilding center that was chosen to prepare the Mayflower for its 400 year birthday sail! In case you forget your middle school history, the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth in the fall of 1620. Next year in 2020, the…

We have several reasons we start our guided tours of Mystic at the Spicer Mansion.  First of all it’s a beautiful, recently restored classic example of a sea captain’s mansion.  The views from the “belvedere” are spectacular as the home sits on one of the highest points in the area.  Watch Hill Rhode Island,  Fishers…

Well I’ve been runnning Mystic walking tours for 90 days now (more as the weather has improved)….so yes, Mystic walking tours exist.  Several visitors have told me they struggled to find a guided tour doing their web search  —- self-guided tours seem to show up first.  This is understandable, Mystic Revealed is a brand new…

History tour with food included?  Or Food tour with history included?  Take your pick.  The very first Mystic Revealed “3 Seacoast Villages” food tour of Noank, Stonington and Mystic was blessed by a beautiful Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.  The sun gleamed on fresh lobster rolls from Ford’s Lobster at our first stop.  Boat traffic…

No walking tour or history tour or food tour of Mystic is complete without a “view from the bridge”.  The current bascule bridge over the Mystic River has been operating since 1922 — but folks have been crossing some kind of bridge at that location for over 200 years. Early crossers would have seen large…

There’s gold in California!  That discovery in 1849 had huge repercussions across the country.  In New England it meant ship builders and mariners needed to figure out how to get there (and back) quicker!  The golden age of Clipper Ships, that “clipped” time off the journey from New York to San Francisco, peaked in 1852….