Day tripping to the Connecticut Shore

Today we took our first summer day trip to the Connecticut shore. We had heard about the Niantic Book Barn and wanted to check it out. What a neat place. Outbuildings of various sizes contain thousands of books. The pathways have you going through gardens and bridges over ponds with koi and turtles. Several cats call this place home and you are welcome to pat them but not pick them up. I got to pat Jake and Blanche. Blanche reminded me very much of my old Joshua. You can pick up a Cat Spotting Guide in the bigger building.

The place is cleverly decorated with a whimsical touch making it a fun place to roam around. We also tried out their buying program. They will buy hardcover books for 50 cents and paperbacks at 5 for $1.00 but they are very selective. You can also get a higher value if you take store credit. They were very quick and efficient in this process. My only complaint about this place is--it's too far away! What a great place to stop by if you are in the area.

Here are the pictures from there, but stay tuned below as our venture continued.




Even an outhouse becomes a bookstore!



Jake
 




They provide you with a wagon to transport the books that you
hope to sell.

After getting our full of books and flowers and gargoyles and cats and such, we went down the road a little way for fish and chips at Skippers. We got to eat outside with a view of the ocean and the train that ran alongside the shore. The helpings were huge and tasty. We always seem to prefer fish and chips that we have had on the Massachusetts shore compared to Connecticut, but this one was very good.

After filling ourselves, we went for a walk along the Niantic boardwalk. We have been to several Connecticut beaches but not this one. The boardwalk is 1.1 miles but half of it is under construction. We walked along it and then wandered down to the water and got our feet wet. The water felt great. I couldn't find any sea glass, but there are many shells there.


Entrance way under the road to the boardwalk.

I don't collect shells any more but I had to pick up this very strange one. I haven't gotten a great picture of it yet, but here is the best I have been able to do. When it was wet, it looked like animal claws. I think it is a number of shells that have melded together. It was so creepy that George did not want to hold it for me when I wanted to put my sandals back on. Maybe it's a rare thing worth a million dollars. Well, I can dream.

 

From here we drove to Rocky Neck State Park. It is great that George has a senior pass that gets us into state parks for free. He wants to see all of the Connecticut State Parks. I think there are 167 (!!) if I remember correctly. However many there are, it's too many in my opinion but I go along with him.
We have been to Rocky Neck State Park but to be honest, we never go to any beaches in season. We always go when there aren't many people around and the sun is not baking us to a crisp and we can get in free.
This was a Tuesday and we were surprised at the number of people. We can only imagine what the weekends are like.

There is a bird sanctuary at Rocky Neck State Park

On our way home we saw signs for Devil's Hopyard State Park. We decided to take a detour. Unfortunately it too a little longer than we thought to get there and we did not spend much time there because we wanted to beat the rush hour traffic home. But the covered bridge and water were worth the detour to me.

 

 

Thus ends our first summer day trip.