Events of Saturday, October 30, 2010

          Fall has definitely come to New England and we are noticing that the days are getting shorter and that it is getting dark much earlier. Therefore, we have come to realize that we need to be settling into our camping spot by 5 pm or we will be doing it in the dark, which is no easy task. We have also realized that we don’t want to be driving in strange places in the dark. For one thing it is easy to get lost and secondly, we miss out on all the beautiful scenery we are driving by. These are all good realizations and plans, but alas, at times things don’t go as planned and we must be flexible. But you can only bend so far before you break.

          These lessons were certainly driven home for us yesterday. Rhode Island is a tiny state and it didn’t take long to transverse it from top to bottom. We actually pulled over to do some grocery shopping as we were scheduled to arrive at our selected dinner location before 5 pm. We were only minutes from dinner and then twenty minutes from our campsite. However, as Abby reported, the restaurant we had chosen for dinner was closed for the season (contrary to what is reported on their website‼) and so we drove on to our campsite in the dark. It turned out that our campsite is one of two sister campsites and we had arrived at the one with no facilities – no hookups, no electricity, no water, no dump station, no showers, no bathrooms – nothing. Good thing we are fairly self-contained in our RV. So we were rocked to sleep by the extremely high winds blowing off the ocean.

          This morning we awoke to a beautiful clear, sunny, windless but cold fall day. Caitlin got up early, put on three jackets and two layers of pants, shirts, socks and gloves, and went for a walk on the beach to see the sun rise over the ocean. Ben, now back to full health, went for his early morning jog – in his fleece. We had hot chocolate for breakfast (thank God for a working generator) and soon prepared to drive off to the sister campsite where we had shower privileges and a place to dump. As we drove into this huge 700+ campsite state park campground, I was wondering how we could have ended up at the other “fishing village” beach parking lot campground. However, when I saw the facilities, I began to feel differently. Jim parked the RV close to the bathrooms and while Ben and Lindsey cleaned dishes and Caitlin swept, Jim, Abby and I went to inspect our respective facilities. We discovered the showers required quarters and no time was given for how long each quarter would last. The door to the bathroom was a screen door and there were open windows along the roof line of the cinderblock building. It was – in a word – freezing. The water was warm, and then not so much, but it basically trickled out. Ben thinks we have better water pressure in the RV shower, and that is saying something. We showered as quickly as we could amidst the gnats, bugs, and spiders, wrapped ourselves in our towels and ran to the RV. There we cranked up the heat and finished getting dressed and ready for the day. We wish we had saved our hot chocolate until AFTER our showers.

          Once everyone was showered and dressed and somewhat warmed up, we dumped and headed toward Connecticut. The ranger at the Roger Williams National Memorial had told us about a Native American Museum and Research Center that told the Pequot Native American story from their perspective. He said that where the Smithsonian had spent $95 million on their entire Native American Museum, the Pequot Nation had spent over $200 million on this museum. Intrigued by his description of it, we decided to add it to our itinerary.

          The Pequot Museum is arranged in a variety of levels, connected by ramps and escalators that walk you through different times in the Pequot history. We started in the Gathering Space where two huge canoes filled with very life-like mannequins of Pequot Indians paddled their women and children to safety in Long Island after conflict with the colonists. From here we followed a ramp down a level to see a scale model of the reservation and learn about Pequot life today. Then it was a trip back in time. An escalator descended through gigantic glaciers into the Ice Age. There we learned their four stories of Creation and viewed the large animals of the Ice Age. In the center of this area was a life-size diorama depicting a family unit’s caribou hunt over 11,000 years ago. The detail on these mannequins, their clothing, tools and the animals depicted was amazing. Surrounding this diorama were several touch screens where different aspects of the hunt were explained. Then it was on to a similar diorama of the habitat of the Cedar Swamp which the Pequot people see as a sacred place. The diorama had every tree, bush, and shrub, as well as a representative of each of the animals, reptiles and birds one might find in the area.

          The best part of the museum was the 16th century Pequot Village. Carrying audio wands, visitors enter the village on the path that runs though the village. There are no fences or glass barriers here. Instead, there are 29 different full scale scenes of village life depicted on little islands with life-size mannequins. Numbered medallions embedded in the path let you know which numbers to press on your audio wand to hear about a typical scene. There are additional options with each scene that let you explore an aspect of village life more in-depth. The ranger had told us that each of the mannequins depicts a real Pequot Indian. The detail was absolutely amazing. Supposedly these mannequins copy their real-life counterparts right down to their fingerprints. It was truly a multi-sensory experience. As you walked through the village you could overhear the conversations – a baby cried here, a crow cawed there and in the wigwam a fire crackled and we smelled smoke. It was spell-binding and simply amazing.

          Before we knew it, it was time to see the film, The Witness, about the 1637 Pequot War. This dramatic movie highlighted the clash of the cultures at the time. It was a bit violent and not recommended for young children. Our kids were attentive but not overwhelmed by what they saw. It certainly gave one the Pequot’s perspective, but without some of the victim mentality that we have experienced with other Native American exhibits which was an enjoyable change. After the movie we returned to the village to finish up there and then toured the Clash of Cultures exhibits. Soon the announcement came on that the museum was closing and Caitlin wondered out loud where the day had gone.   

          Soon we were back in Harvey and headed on to Mystic Seaport. Gypsy, our GPS, took us along this beautiful road through the Connecticut countryside. The beautiful fall colors continue to follow us south as we make our way along the eastern seaboard. Upon arriving and checking out the visitor center, we discovered that the viewing of the ships through the ages at Mystic Seaport was not only not free, but very expensive and there was no family pass that would accommodate our family. So we decided to have Mystic Pizza and, in keeping with our ice cream parlor theme, check out Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream. Jim found on the web that the real Mystic Pizza of movie fame had rather poor reviews, so he found us another pizza place so we could have pizza in Mystic, thus enjoying Mystic Pizza. Our dinner at Angie’s Pizza was truly spectacular. We order several different single items to share – fried calamari, clam chowder, Greek lemon chicken soup, a Greek salad and a pizza. Jim ordered a gyro platter and soon dishes were being circulated around the table. In the end, everyone ended up fully satisfied and we had exposed our palates to a variety of new dishes. Then it was off to Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream, which is located on the drawbridge of historic downtown Mystic. Parking was rather interesting and we ended up with a nice cold evening walk along the waterway. At the ice cream parlor we enjoyed some of the most delicious ice cream we have had on our trip. However, while Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream did not receive top billing across the board, it pretty much was everyone’s second favorite. We all had double scoops except Jim, who broke the mold and ordered cake – in an ice cream shop‼ The nerve‼

          We had found a Walmart in nearby Groton, the township that contained the next item on our itinerary. However, our GPS was a little off and we found ourselves whizzing by, forced to cross a rather large bridge over a waterway. By now it was dark so we weren’t sure what we were crossing. After finally arriving at Walmart we found a nice dark corner and parked. Jim received permission to stay, but we had to be gone by 7am the next morning. No problem. The kids quickly cleaned up and got ready for bed and we settled down to watch the final half of The Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers. With images of two battle scenes in her head, the Pequot War and the Orcs onslaught of Helm’s Deep, Abby had a bit of a time settling down to sleep. Once she settled down, Ben was talking in his sleep about running out of mayonnaise. Soon everyone was quiet and asleep enjoying the deep darkness of the night.