The Great American Journey

GAP WALK JOURNALS - VI

Friday - August 29, 2008 Day 177 0.0 miles

Total Connecticut miles - 40.7 Walking Days - 88

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1564.7

This was our day of fun in the sun - or not, the not being that there wasn’t a lot of sun, but it wasn’t raining either. Our choices for the day took us north about thirty five miles to Mystic, CT and to Groton, CT.

We drove to Mystic first and stopped at Friendly’s for our breakfast. As we sat waiting for our food I noticed a man and young boy studying the sign on Lady Mag (our van). They were looking at the map of the country and the route shown on it. The boy seemed very fascinated by it, so I got up and went out to talk to them. What a delight! Nicholas was the young boy, and his father Paul had served in the Coast Guard for 28 years. What a joy to talk with them both.

Then on to the Mystic Aquarium which is something like the Monterey Aquarium, yet it had some different things as well. Of course, it’s been awhile since I’ve been to the one in Monterey, so I suppose it could have added quite a bit.

We saw white Beluga whales - beautiful, and that’s something I had never seen before. They had a seal from California and sea lions from the west coast also. There were the bright red sea nettle jellyfish and the upside down jellyfish, both of which I got some great pictures. The penguins were cute as always, and we enjoyed the “ride to the bottom of the sea” at the Challenge of the Deep where we came face to face with a giant squid.

It was a little after 2 pm when we left Mystic and headed back south to Groton and the Nautilus Submarine Force Museum. This was very interesting as we toured the Nautilus Submarine down steep stairs and through narrow, low, step-through hatches. It was really neat.

When we came off the submarine Norma met a set of grandparents with their little granddaughter waiting on the dock. The conversation turned to what we were doing here all the way from California. I soon joined the conversation. Maurine and Tony (we didn’t get the grand-baby’s name) were great to talk with. Soon their daughter and her husband and two more children came from the Nautilaus, and we were introduced to them. They were Janet, Michael, Regina (I think) and the younger Michael.

Next we went through the Museum and then out to head back to our motel. We stopped to eat in New London at a Chili’s. After dinner we stopped at the grocery store for bananas - a must for us. Then it was on to Guilford where we stopped at Starbucks (I’m enjoying my ChaiTea Latte as I write this), then to get gas. While I pumped, Norma washed the windows. A man on the other side asked her how long it took us to drive out from California. Her answer was to explain what we were doing here, and that she flew out while I had driven out earlier. I gave him my card and answered some of his questions. Norma is becoming a good PR person.

Back to our room and time for getting ready for tomorrow (a walk day) and journaling. By the way, I found today much more tiring than walking all day. We were on our feet most of the day, but it was a lot of standing - much more tiring than walking. Not that I didn’t enjoy the day - I did. It was fun to see some of the area and experience some different things, and still get to meet wonderful people.

Wow! It’s early, and I’m almost ready to climb into bed to get a good night’s sleep. Maybe I’ll get to read the rest of the letters I picked up at our last mail drop on Monday. So for now, good night all.