RainyDayMagazine packed up and went off to Connecticut this weekend.  We checked into a beautiful B&B called the Queen Ann Inn in New London on Saturday.

The Queen Anne Inn is wonderfully appointed with lots of period details.  We would recommend this Inn except it has been sold and will no longer be open to the public after August...

We stayed in the "Rose Room".  It had a large comfortable bed... which was exactly what we need after drinking margaritas all night! 

On Sunday, we drove around the New London, Lyme, and Mystic area and checked out various sites (Fort Trumbull, Gillette Castle, Florence Griswold Museum).

Built from 1839 - 1852, Fort Trumbull was one of a group of 42 forts constructed for the defense of the US coast and harbors.

Gilette Castle, on the other hand was constructed by a flamboyant actor for his own amusement.  The view from the Castle was pretty spectacular.  The day was fairly hazy, but one could still see for miles in all directions.

We started to get pretty hungry after climbing all those castle stairs.  Since our next stop, the Florence Griswold Museum, did not open until 1PM, we had some time to search for a place to dine.

We drove around some, but we didn't see any places that caught our eye until we were almost at the Griswold Museum.  There was an inn across from the Museum called the Old Lyme Inn.  They had a very inviting outdoor patio dining area, reasonable food, and very good service. 

By the time we were done with lunch, it was already well after 1PM.  We spent the rest of the afternoon walking, painting, and poking around in the Florence Griswold Museum.  Go here to read all about it!

On our way back to Boston, we took Route 1 along the coast until Mystic CT.  There was a big traffic jam right in the center of town, so we figured we might as well stop and stretch our legs.

It turned out that it was just the normal weekend traffic going across their really old drawbridge.  We walked around a bit, looked for some ice cream, and had a very pleasant break.  We'll have to come back to Mystic and look around some more.

Don't forget to tell them you read about it on RainyDayMagazine :-)

We make the drive between Boston and NYC at least once a month.  On Route 95, there is a sign for the Florence Griswold Museum around Exit 70.

We must have passed it about 50 times when Carolyn decided that we MUST find out what the museum was all about!

Well, we combined a few events and made a weekend of it in CT.  We stayed in a wonderful B&B in New London.  Had lunch in the Old Lyme Inn. We drove around the New London, Lyme, and Mystic area and checked out various sites (Fort Trumbull, Gillette Castle, Florence Griswold Museum).

NOTE:  Click on the various images to go directly to links related to those images.