TUESDAY 10.8.19 CONNECTICUT (Mystic Seaport) Part 3

Our next stop was check out the Thomas Oyster House.

Native Americans new it, New England farmers knew it, New Yorker's knew it, western pioneers knew it and even miners knew it! Oysters are cheap, nutritious and delicious in their shells...so they say, I've never had one. For those of you who will “get this” my mom didn't eat oysters! Oysters can survive a long time out of water so they made for easy shipping. They can be eaten raw out of the shell (ewwwwww!!!) roasted, baked, fried or served in stews. Sold on the street in many cities back in the day, oysters were actually the first FAST FOOD! Who woulda thought?!?

New Haven, CT had oyster friendly waters, steamboat and railroad connections to New York city and it became the booming center of the oyster business in the 19th century.
By the late 1800's oysters could be enjoyed coast to coast as well as overseas.

Around the turn of the century Connecticut reached its peak in the oyster production. Thereafter oyster beds were shut down due to industrial pollution, storms ruined some oyster beds and some polluted oysters discouraged consumers and public taste just changed. Oystering has increased of late but now oysters are a luxury item and not the cheap fast food that made them famous.

From oysters to lobsters. Ever hear of a lobster car? Neither had we. Lobster-men and dealers kept lobsters alive in floating wooden crates called “cars” to await shipment or even an increase in price! The car here in Mystic Seaport is a reproduction of the ones used by lobster dealers around 1890. Lobster cars used by lobster-men were very similar but somewhat smaller. As many as 1000 lobsters could be kept alive in the car this size.

Next in line was the Ames Fish House. Isaac Ames built this fish house when he established his farm on the shores of Penobscot Bay in Maine. From the late 1830's to 1947, three generations of the Ames family used this fish house to store their equipment for the seasonal salmon fishery.

 Built from recycled timbers the Ames fish house is a typical example of fish houses found along the coast anywhere fishing was good.

When it was acquired by Mystic Seaport in 1969, the fish house contained fishing nets, boat and other fishing gear used by Robie Ames, the regions last commercial salmon fisherman.

Lobsters traps on the dock.

WALT MAKES ROPE!

As in most, if not all, places like this they have employees/volunteers who demonstrate how things were done back in the day. We came across this fellow showing how rope was made. 

 He asked for volunteers and I had to nudge Walt to get involved but he did step forward and had several turns at the wheel. 

It was pretty interesting to watch.  I never gave much thought as to how rope was made.

 After the rope was finished he cut it into four equal parts and gave it to each of the participants.

We have decided that we'll pick one the pictures here and put it and the rope in a small shadowbox and hang it in our camper as a reminder of Mystic Seaport.

TUESDAY 10.8.19 CONNECTICUT (Mystic Seaport) Part 1

We arrived safely in Connecticut yesterday afternoon and it was pretty much a boring drive.  I would really rather travel state roads rather than Interstate highways, but it is what it is. 

Let me start this with this post will be put up in several sections. I took over 150 pictures and I want to get as many as possible in.

On our way out this morning we stopped at the office to see what brochures they had and to get a feel for what else was in the area. While talking the fellow in the office he asked if we were going to Mystic Seaport today in particular. When I told him that yes, that was our plan he proceeded to tell us to be sure to take the gate pass with us to the ticket counter when we got there. This is a Sun Resort and they have an agreement with Mystic Seaport that the tickets would be half price on Tuesday's for their guests. You see, Sun Resorts has donated quite a bit of money to keep Mystic Seaport in great shape and this is the thank you for doing so. It would have cost us $54.00 but instead we only paid $27. HIGH FIVE!

Since we are only three miles away we arrived in no time at all. We were able to get parking right across the street.

Our first glimpse of Mystic Seaport was a 45 foot long, 25 ton tugboat named Kingston II. Most museums put up a banner or a sign when they announce a new attraction. Not in this case. The tug was placed here back in 2010 to announce a new attraction called TUGS!

Walking into the main courtyard we saw a huge anchor and of course we thought photo op right away!

This couple from Florida said they would gladly take our picture if we would take theirs.

First stop was the visitors center where we had to get our tickets.

Right beyond the entrance counter we saw a 4th order Fresnel lens. These are used in light houses to help guide ships through the darkness of night. These lenses come in different sizes from the largest (1st order) to the smallest (7th order). This 4th order lens can project light from these curved pieces of glass out about 15 miles. This light weighs about 500 pounds.

We were a little surprised to see one particular thing shortly after we hit the docks. There was a huge piece of tree trunk on display. Come to find out it was part of the Angel Tree we saw in South Carolina! Hurricane Hugo was to blame for separating this and about ten tractor trailer loads of prized live oak. Many pieces were used in the restoration of the sailing vessels brought to Mystic Seaport. Upper branches from this particular piece have been used for such a purpose but there is no plan to cut up the giant piece on display.

We were able to see a keel from a sailing ship built back in the 1700's. I don't remember the name of the ship but the keel was discovered and salvaged because it was stuck in the mud.

We were able to see the L. A. Dunton, a schooner brought here for restoration. Built in 1921, she is one of three remaining vessels afloat of this type, which was once the most common sail-powered fishing vessel sailing from New England ports.

It will take a little under a half a million dollars to bring her back to her original glory. Very few modern day tools will be used and all finish work must be done using the finishes and tools of the day back when she was built. 

We were surprised to see the Mayflower II here. To be honest, we didn't even know there was a Mayflower II!  The Mayflower II, a replica of the 17th century square-rigger that carried the Pilgrims to Plymouth, will remain in dry dock in Mystic Seaport as crews continue a $11.2-million restoration project aimed at preparing the ship for the 400th anniversary of the town's founding in 2020.

On the grounds we saw a diesel engine built in 1926 to replace the steam engine in the oyster boat named Flora which was later converted to a pleasure boat. When it was dismantled in the 1990's it went to a private collector who then donated it to Mystic Seaport.

During engine start up, the operator used a braided, cotton wick soaked in salt peter for its ignition system. I personally don't understand the need to know this but it was on the sign associated with the engine, so I thought if it was important enough to put it on the sign I would post it here.

We saw this long sailing ship mast laying along the dock.

I don't know what this ring is supposed to do but it made for a cute picture of Walt!

We passed this couple having a "discussion"  She wanted their picture taken here and he didn't.  We heard this going on so I asked him if he would take our picture.  He agreed.  She said, "Good and when's done with yours you can take ours.  I agreed.  He started to protest but I must have given him some kind of look because the protests stopped and he just gave it up and got his picture taken.

Go to Part 2