Sailing Through Connecticut!

August 29 – September 2, 2022

Odetah Camping Resort was home for our visit to Connecticut.  It’s got to be one of our favorite campgrounds!  We’ve stayed at so many, but for the first time we actually took a day off from sightseeing or hiking to just hang out there!  

The campground itself has a lot of history.  It’s been in existence since 1905, originally built with cabins for families looking to escape the summer heat from NYC, Boston and other surrounding cities. Entertainers such as Milton Berle performed here!  In 1974, it switched to a Jewish children’s camp.  Penny Marshall was one of the notable alumni who came here during that short period of the camp’s history.  While the children were here, they would work on earning merit badges.  One of the badges was the “heart badge”, which stood for the heart of Odetah.  Finding the heart rock was part of earning this badge!  Soon after the children’s camp closed, it became the camping resort it is today.

Another interesting thing about the camp is the large pin oak tree.  In 1902, each of the 168 delegates to the Constitutional Convention were given a pin oak to plant.  E. Judson Miner planted his tree here!  In renovating the park in 1978, a tunnel was found, believed to be part of the underground railroad.  So many good things have happened here over the years!

Nothing too historical took place during our time on this property; however, we did enjoy kayaking and paddle boarding on their lake, relaxing in the pool and hot tub, and even playing a little on their splash pad!  They have a wonderful miniature golf course with an ice-cream shop right next door, a spa where you can get massages, basketball courts, a dog park and about anything else you could imagine (I do wish they had pickleball courts, but we probably wouldn’t have had time to play anyway!).  It really is such an amazing property!

Mystic is only 30 miles away, so we did manage to tear ourselves away from the resort to take in a bit of that historical whaling town.  

Mystic's historic lift bridge (updated from a sliding bridge pulled open by oxen!)

Mystic offers the Mystic Seaport Museum, which you can easily spend an entire day touring!  One of the major attractions there is the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship.  Of the over 2700 whaling ships once sailing the seas, this is the only remaining wooden whaling ship still in existence.  It was built in 1841 in New Bedford, MA.  It went on 37 voyages during its 80-year whaling career.  In 1941, the ship was purchased and brought to Mystic, named a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and has been part of the museum’s exhibit ever since.  It received a major renovation from 2008-2013 and in 2014 took it’s 38th voyage!  In addition to visits to New London, Newport, Boston, and Provincetown, the ship ventured into the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary!  Quite a contrast for it to be peacefully sailing amongst humpback, fin and minke whales instead of hunting them and rendering oil from their blubber.  This ship is second only to the USS Constitution (which we toured in Boston!) as the oldest seaworthy vessel in the world!

While touring the Charles W. Morgan, the docent shared many tales of life aboard this ship.  It was a bit disturbing but, at the same time, fascinating to learn the techniques used in hunting whales.  Once spotted (“Thar she blows!”), four men would board one of the several small whale boats and bring the small boat right next to the whale, driving a tethered harpoon deep into the whale.  Here is where it gets interesting for those four guys!  The whale then takes off, sometimes to speeds of up to 25 mph, taking that boat on what is called a “Nantucket sleigh ride”!  Hang on, boys!  From there, the details become a bit more gruesome, so we will leave it that the whale’s blubber is removed and brought aboard the ship where it is rendered into oil used for lanterns, transmission fluid and such.  Their voyage didn’t end until all of the oil barrels stored in the ship’s hold here full, which could be up to five years.  

One of the small whale boats to take for a Nantucket sleigh ride!

Having basically no nautical knowledge, it was fun to experience a little while on the Charles W Morgan.  We witnessed how a sailor would have climbed high up to one of the yards to set a sail.  Dick also had the opportunity to play a part in singing a little sea shanty while helping raise one of the yards.  Think of these words sung to a tune very similar to the Beverly Hillbillies theme song: “Oh, I wish I were an admiral aboard a man-o’-war.  Sam’s gone away on board a man-o’-war…”  Although it was fun to play sailor for a few minutes, I don’t think either of us have what it would have taken to survive on a whaling ship!  It was a rough life!

Also, included in the museum is the shipyard where renovations are done, including the Mayflower II which we had toured while in Plymouth, MA!  While we were touring the museum, renovations to the Kalmar Nyckel were being done.  This ship is a replica of the original Kalmar Nyckel which rivals the original Mayflower.  While the Mayflower brought colonists to Plymouth, that was its only trip across the Atlantic.  The Kalmar Nyckel made a total of four round trip crossings of the Atlantic, bringing colonists from Sweden to Wilmington, Delaware.  This replica will be under routine renovation for 30 days before heading back to Wilmington.  We are hoping she will be “home” in time to take us out for a cruise when we are there in a few weeks.  How cool would that be?

Probably the most important boat in the entire museum is a small work boat named the Gerda III.  This humble little boat is responsible for saving so many lives.  Just walking the grounds of the museum, it was easy to overlook this ordinary looking boat.  We only discovered it after having taken a short boat ride on the Liberty.  The Liberty is a smaller boat on which the museum offers rides of the Mystic River.  During the 25-minute cruise, you see all the ships and boats harbored at the museum, giving you a different perspective of them.  It was during this cruise that the captain mentioned the Gerda III.  What a treasure!

Enjoying the view with a drink from Spouter Tavern

In Mystic, we also found the Argia and took another cruise along the Mystic River out to Block Island Sound.  There we had another opportunity to play sailor!  This time we help “set sail”.  It’s funny how you say and hear things all of your life and never really think about where a word or phrase comes from.  The Argia used engine power to navigate the river, but once we reached the sound, we set the sails and were then fully under wind power.  It was interesting to look northeast and to Rhode Island, south to New York and north to Connecticut, all connected by the waters of Block Island Sound.  

Along the cruise we heard several interesting stories!  The first was about the Morgan Point Lighthouse.  Ezra Daboll (a veteran of the War of 1812) was the first keeper of this lighthouse.  When Ezra died in 1838, his wife Eliza continued running the lighthouse.  When it became know a woman was running the lighthouse, town officials told Eliza a woman is not capable of being a keeper, to which she responded, “Well, who do you think has been running this lighthouse?”  Eliza began a petition, which all of the sailors happily sighed.  Eliza officially became the second woman ever to be a keeper!

The story of North Dumpling Island is not only interesting but also pretty entertaining!  In 1986, Dean Kamen (inventor of the Segway) purchased this land.  After purchasing the property, Dean discovered that both Rhode Island and Connecticut claimed this island for collecting state taxes.  Dean begrudgingly paid taxes to both states until he was denied permission to build his own wind turbine on the island.  This was the final straw of frustration for him!  Dean “seceded” from the United States, declaring his property the “Kingdom of North Dumpling”.  He established a constitution, a flag, currency (the dumpling), a navy (consisting of one boat) a newspaper (The Dumpling Times) and even a national anthem (a parody of America the Beautiful).  He refers to himself as “Lord Dumpling”.  President George H.W. Bush (a friend of Kaman’s) eventually got involved.  An official “non-aggression” pact was signed!  Kaman now pays taxes only to the state of New York and has been able to build a wind turbine.  Combined with solar panels, North Dumpling Island is completely off the grid!   We need Kaman to show us how to get our camper off the grid!  It would be a much smaller project for this engineering marvel who holds over 1,000 patents!  

North Dumpling Island

As the Argia approached port, the crew struck the sails and we were again under engine power.  Thus ended an entertaining and informative cruise.

Connecticut was a whale of a good time!

Next up:  New Jersey!