Monday 10 September: 2nd day of rental car from Stonington, CT.
A rather rolly night, Cloudy Bay has rocked us badly all night, as the Atlantic swell got bigger and we were exactly side-on to it. And the sound of rain on the deck didn’t help calming our mood.
Over breakfast, the coffee is almost spilling out of mugs and the plates are sliding on the table! It’s almost as bad as rolling down-wind across the Atlantic! This is the point where we draw the line: let’s get the hell out of here! Quick look at some paperwork which we need to send out by courier, and we are ready to get out into the rain, and in the warmth of the car, which hopefully will drive on a flat line without rolling! Day two of road trip Connecticut!
First stop is the old whaling town of Mystic, where we drive around to see the village. The waterfront is very pretty, and there are lots of boat yards and workshops too. The tide is very high, large sections of the road are covered by water. The FedEx task is quickly ticked, and we can relax over a coffee. At M Bar, a converted petrol station, now a very interesting cafe with an industrial interior design. Still raining after we finish our coffee, and as we prefer to remain dry, we decide not to walk through the town.
We drive, on a very pretty country road, towards Pawcatuk CT and Westerly RI. They are different towns, at the border with Rhode Island, but they share the same downtown. Looks inviting for a stroll, with the usual quaint buildings, little shops and a very beautiful garden, but again the heavy rain keeps us inside the car. And we drive towards Providence.
On the way, we change our mind and turn towards Jamestown RI, since we missed seeing it while we were anchored in Newport. It is a small town, with nothing much in it. Lots of impressive properties which we admire as we drive through the island. During a short break from the rain, we pay a short visit to a hardware store, and we grab a hot dog in a cafe.
We then head towards Preston and Norwich, on a beautiful road, which cuts through forests and meanders up and down hills. Different from the scenery we had yesterday, but equally interesting. We notice some trees starting to get their autumn colors, and we hope we will get to see fall colors in their full splendor before we leave USA.
Rain still didn’t stop by the time we return to Mystic, so as we already drove through the town in the morning, we head for Groton. Where we also do a see-only as we drive through it, still raining.
A bit fed up with driving in the rain, we decide to return the hire car this evening, instead of tomorrow morning. Although, we are not exactly eager to return to Cloudy Bay, as she will still be rocking in the swell.
After a short Uber drive back to Stonington, we take shelter from rain in Dogwatch Cafe, just by the launch jetty where we spend precious time on flat land till the last launch, which runs at 8pm! Over snacks and drinks, we chat with a British guy at the bar, who is related to a family in West Mersea. What a small world.
The trip back to Cloudy Bay is very cold and wet. As the launch draws along side Cloudy Bay, the swell is sending her up and down some 1 meter and it’s pretty tricky to jump on board. As soon as we are inside the heating goes on. The twin Webasto diesel-fired heaters quickly make the cabin cozy. Then a bit of paperwork admin, and early to bed before we both get sea-sick with the excessive rolling.