Other posts on this trip: Heading to Mystic, CT.

Yesterday was our first of two full days in the Mystic area. I’ve been to Mystic as a kid, once or twice with Adam over the years, and once we spent an afternoon at the Seaport (with H) on our way to Maine with my in-laws. But every time I come I feel like it’s new, and my sense of geography is weird until we get somewhere, and I think, “Ah, I remember this.”

This morning we walked Hamilton in the morning while our room was cleaned, then he hung out in the room in his crate while we went to Mystic Aquarium.

It was crowded, but not so crowded that we didn’t have fun. We saw the sea lion show, touched a stingray.

H got antsy during the sea lion show. Crowds, noise. Not her favorite, but she made it through to the end. She loved watching the sea lions swim from below, though, in that photo at the top.

And then we just did aquarium things, mostly too dark for decent photos.

She saw these kits in a closed gift shop at the end of our first exhibit, and it’s all she could talk about the rest of the morning. The main gift shop had a wall of them, so she picked out a dolphin (the aquarium didn’t have dolphins, but they have now replaced dinosaurs as her favorite animals).

So tired! We ran across the street to Olde Mistick Village to try and pick up cupcakes and grilled cheese from Bleu Squid Bakery and Cheese Shop (my GeekMom friend Karen’s recommendation), but they were closed for renovations. We stopped in the Toy Soldier on the way to the car, and H woke right up when she saw this:

So she adopted a black stuffed dog that looked closest to Hamilton (but I think is actually a lab), and we named him Mystic.

I called in an order and picked up some lunch here:

It tasted like Pizza Hut, not my favorite. But edible, and fun to finally visit. We brought everything back to the hotel, let Hamilton out, gave him treats, went to the pool for half an hour, and then hit the road again with Hamilton.

We headed right across the state border to Westerly, RI, which is maybe 10 or 15 minutes from the hotel. But Wilcox Park, behind their public library, is gorgeous. Hamilton loved it, so we got in a good long walk, sunshine, and outside puppy play.

And then we called it a day, and hung out in the hotel for the rest of the evening. Everyone’s content, and today is another adventure.