Plan our Mystic, CT weekend!
July 10, 2024 12:34 PM Subscribe
I asked this question about where to take my five year old daughter on a trip last month and the ultimate decision was Mystic, CT. We're going this weekend. Help us plan our itinerary!
Facts:
-We are staying at the Hilton near the aquarium.
-We definitely want to see the aquarium, the seaport museum, and the cute downtown area.
-We will not have a car. We are very good walkers and are not opposed to an uber if absolutely necessary but would prefer to avoid.
What do we need?
-An itinerary! We arrive around 12 on Saturday and leave around 4 on Sunday. What should we do when and in what order, to maximize convenience?
-Food recommendations! My kid is a very adventurous eater so pretend you're recommending for two adults (maybe don't recommend a bar, but other than that).
-Any other recommendations of not-to-miss things.
Facts:
-We are staying at the Hilton near the aquarium.
-We definitely want to see the aquarium, the seaport museum, and the cute downtown area.
-We will not have a car. We are very good walkers and are not opposed to an uber if absolutely necessary but would prefer to avoid.
What do we need?
-An itinerary! We arrive around 12 on Saturday and leave around 4 on Sunday. What should we do when and in what order, to maximize convenience?
-Food recommendations! My kid is a very adventurous eater so pretend you're recommending for two adults (maybe don't recommend a bar, but other than that).
-Any other recommendations of not-to-miss things.
The Seaport is a lot of fun. Beware that some activities are a little dull for young ones, but there are a bunch of hands-on things like the print shop which are cool.
I think that Saturday the 27th of July, 2024, is the Flag Ceremony for new cadets at the nearby U.S. Coast Guard Academy -- but if my estimate is wrong, and it's this weekend, it's kind of cool and worth seeing. The "swabs" -- think of Naval Academy "plebes" -- have been going through a tough month and this will be their first time off-campus and also the first time they can see their families in some time. The ceremony itself is maybe half an hour, but the area around where it takes place gets temporarily congested: there's big crowds but Coastie families are super nice.
Anyway, you might want to reach out to the Seaport folks and double-check that date: there will be extra people there in the morning, who leave before lunchtime. But it's moving to know that these young people will, in four years, be commissioned officers who help protect everyone in America's seaways and waterways.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:45 PM on July 10 [1 favorite]
I think that Saturday the 27th of July, 2024, is the Flag Ceremony for new cadets at the nearby U.S. Coast Guard Academy -- but if my estimate is wrong, and it's this weekend, it's kind of cool and worth seeing. The "swabs" -- think of Naval Academy "plebes" -- have been going through a tough month and this will be their first time off-campus and also the first time they can see their families in some time. The ceremony itself is maybe half an hour, but the area around where it takes place gets temporarily congested: there's big crowds but Coastie families are super nice.
Anyway, you might want to reach out to the Seaport folks and double-check that date: there will be extra people there in the morning, who leave before lunchtime. But it's moving to know that these young people will, in four years, be commissioned officers who help protect everyone in America's seaways and waterways.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:45 PM on July 10 [1 favorite]
Also, there is a small, cute retail store for Mystic Knotwork, but it's also worth walking two blocks farther to their workshop: https://mysticknotwork.com/pages/mystic-knotwork-the-workshop-on-cottrell-st-mystic-ct
The selection is probably the same, but your daughter can actually see people making the bigger items. She might want a bracelet: they are expensive, look nice, and last a long time. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 12:48 PM on July 10 [1 favorite]
The selection is probably the same, but your daughter can actually see people making the bigger items. She might want a bracelet: they are expensive, look nice, and last a long time. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 12:48 PM on July 10 [1 favorite]
My daughter is almost 5 and we live nearby in CT (for context)
We are also excellent walkers but if it's 85f a 45 minute walk is going to feel ROUGH.
that said, here are some spots on the outside radius of where you can walk (2 miles) that I think are worth taking an uber 1 way and slowly making your way back with lot of stops along the way.
Oyster Club (adorable treehouse with casual menu, excellent quality seafood, great for the 4-6pm bites, they have a more formal indoor area, would suggest sunday brunch if the menu looks good)
Nanas Mystic Bakery/Cafe on the water, excellent coffee and pizza, HOT made to order sourdough donuts and breakfast sandwiches. Close to a YMCA that has a decent playground ( a tiny young for your kid but a good way to spend an hour) as well as the programs that you can sign up for
The Mystic & Noank Library is old and charming, and it has cats that live inside of it.
Second the seaport museum and a nice walk around downtown - Also the olde mystic village is a MUST and it's going to be directly across the road from you, right next to the aquarium. (SKIP deviant donuts don't buy into the hype they are not good) They have a cute movie theatre that often shows kids movies if you are out all day and need a little break time before the next activity.
DM me if you have questions about anything!
posted by sarahnicolesays at 1:28 PM on July 10 [3 favorites]
We are also excellent walkers but if it's 85f a 45 minute walk is going to feel ROUGH.
that said, here are some spots on the outside radius of where you can walk (2 miles) that I think are worth taking an uber 1 way and slowly making your way back with lot of stops along the way.
Oyster Club (adorable treehouse with casual menu, excellent quality seafood, great for the 4-6pm bites, they have a more formal indoor area, would suggest sunday brunch if the menu looks good)
Nanas Mystic Bakery/Cafe on the water, excellent coffee and pizza, HOT made to order sourdough donuts and breakfast sandwiches. Close to a YMCA that has a decent playground ( a tiny young for your kid but a good way to spend an hour) as well as the programs that you can sign up for
The Mystic & Noank Library is old and charming, and it has cats that live inside of it.
Second the seaport museum and a nice walk around downtown - Also the olde mystic village is a MUST and it's going to be directly across the road from you, right next to the aquarium. (SKIP deviant donuts don't buy into the hype they are not good) They have a cute movie theatre that often shows kids movies if you are out all day and need a little break time before the next activity.
DM me if you have questions about anything!
posted by sarahnicolesays at 1:28 PM on July 10 [3 favorites]
seconding the Mystic Knotwork idea & adding a tie in (please forgive the pun) at the Seaport: https://mysticseaport.org/explore/village-old/ropewalk/
posted by HearHere at 2:50 PM on July 10 [1 favorite]
posted by HearHere at 2:50 PM on July 10 [1 favorite]
Shoot, I just saw that I wrote "expensive" when I meant "inexpensive"!
The bracelets don't cost much and are rather nice!
(I like knot-tying, and instead opted for one of their stickers on my water bottle.)
posted by wenestvedt at 4:14 AM on July 11
The bracelets don't cost much and are rather nice!
(I like knot-tying, and instead opted for one of their stickers on my water bottle.)
posted by wenestvedt at 4:14 AM on July 11
Best answer: I would probably recommend the following itinerary, weather permitting:
posted by Johnny Assay at 4:39 AM on July 11 [1 favorite]
- Saturday: Check into the hotel. Go see the Aquarium for the afternoon. Dinner at somewhere at or near Olde Mystic Village. Pink Basil is a fairly good pan-Asian place; Mango's does pretty good wood-oven pizza. The more interesting restaurants are in the downtown area, but these are pretty good too and they let you avoid walking/cabbing back & forth. Time permitting, check out some of the shops in Olde Mystic Village.
- Sunday: Walk or Uber to Mystic Seaport (~1 mile, 25–30 minute walk.) Spend the morning there. Around noon, walk to the downtown (~3/4 mile, 15–20 minute walk.) Lunch downtown and putter around for a few hours, probably including ice cream. Uber back to the hotel (I doubt you'll want to do a 2-mile walk at this point in the day), collect your bags, and depart. Or, if you are traveling light enough that you can carry your bags with you for the whole day, simply walk to the train station from downtown (1/2 mile, 10 minutes.)
posted by Johnny Assay at 4:39 AM on July 11 [1 favorite]
Back in the day, I took my son to the Seaport. After looking into a couple of other exhibits, we went into the sail loft. The docent there demonstrated how the sailmaker's bench worked. As we walked out, my son said "Now it's getting interesting." Let the staff do their job to show how things work.
A couple of other comments. Aside from the boating stuff, there a couple of houses showing how life was lived in the 19th century. There are a couple of playgrounds where kids can do kid stuff and climb on faux boats. Finally, try to prepare her just a little, maybe by explaining about sailboat and rowing boats, and fishing, clamming and oystering.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:51 AM on July 11 [1 favorite]
A couple of other comments. Aside from the boating stuff, there a couple of houses showing how life was lived in the 19th century. There are a couple of playgrounds where kids can do kid stuff and climb on faux boats. Finally, try to prepare her just a little, maybe by explaining about sailboat and rowing boats, and fishing, clamming and oystering.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:51 AM on July 11 [1 favorite]
With regards to the Oyster Club, I recently attended a fundraising dinner to honor Jacques Pepin. The main course of the meal was prepared by Renee Touponce who is the head chef at Oyster Club and The Port of Call. Her cooking was fantastic.
I loved the aquarium when I was a kid. I love it more as an adult. They have beluga whales in a tank with an big glass wall. My kids at that age were absolutely fascinated by that and by the touch tank.
posted by plinth at 9:08 AM on July 11 [1 favorite]
I loved the aquarium when I was a kid. I love it more as an adult. They have beluga whales in a tank with an big glass wall. My kids at that age were absolutely fascinated by that and by the touch tank.
posted by plinth at 9:08 AM on July 11 [1 favorite]
Make sure that you don't miss the planetarium at the seaport museum. I had to dig to find the schedule but it was totally worth it. Also, the seaport museum has a whole house with only kids activities and a cool ship-themed playground.
If you feel like coffee or a snack downtown, Lamplighter Trading Company is an amazing coffee shop with so much to look at. My seven year old was captivated by the place. Also, there is a very sweet cat named Ned who wanders in and out of the coffee shop and the nearby army navy store and record store. If your child likes cats, it might be worth it to try to find Ned!
posted by TurkishGolds at 10:44 AM on July 11 [1 favorite]
If you feel like coffee or a snack downtown, Lamplighter Trading Company is an amazing coffee shop with so much to look at. My seven year old was captivated by the place. Also, there is a very sweet cat named Ned who wanders in and out of the coffee shop and the nearby army navy store and record store. If your child likes cats, it might be worth it to try to find Ned!
posted by TurkishGolds at 10:44 AM on July 11 [1 favorite]
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posted by HearHere at 12:43 PM on July 10