A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Sponsored Post: I worked with Cross Sound Ferry, who graciously gifted us round trip travel tickets. As always, all opinions are my own.

I had been wanting to take the kids to the Mystic Aquarium all summer, and we finally went last weekend. We couldn’t have asked for better weather all weekend. So we piled up the car with our 8,000 bags, the stroller, the pack and play, snacks for the ride and floaties for the pool. We survived the 2 hour road trip with a promise of stopping halfway for some munchkins!

The aquarium was our main reason for going to Mystic. We arrived Friday, late morning, and headed straight there. You can bring your own lunch – they have tables outside for you to eat at, or they have a restaurant where you can find the usual suspects: pizza, chicken fingers, etc. After filling our bellies, and making new friends with a very friendly duck, we went on to explore the aquarium. My kids loved the Beluga whales, one of them was particularly photogenic! We looked at penguins, jellyfish, touched string rays, and even caught a sea lion show (get there early for a front row seat and you will be able to get up close and personal with them when the show starts!). We bought our tickets ahead of time to get the best prices!

After the aquarium, we checked into our hotel and went exploring. I always like to check out the local shops and bakeries in any city we travel to. Before dinner we went to the Lighthouse Bakery, a little bit tucked away from the main road. There weren’t a ton of options since it was late in the day, but we walked away with some very delicious treats, including tiramisu (not pictured) and some AMAZING raspberry bars.

Dinner came from a recommendation from a friend, the Engine Room. They weren’t accepting reservations that evening, but we went early and didn’t have to wait for a table. They have a cute little patio out front if the weather is nice, and high top tables and high top booths inside. The decor was definitely Instagram-worthy, the service was friendly, and the food was delicious. I wanted one of everything on the menu and could have definitely come here two days in a row. Everything was flavorful and we walked out full!

They have a kids menu that includes: Grilled Cheese, Chicken Tenders, Cheeseburger, Hot Dog, Mac and Cheese and Pasta with Butter. I was afraid that the kids weren’t going to like the Mac and Cheese, because they really only like Annie’s, and this was house made, but they licked their plates clean. That should say something to you right there.

After dinner we walked around a bit to work off dinner. There were a bunch of cute shops that we walked by (that were all closed), that I will have to visit on another trip here. FYI, we could have used one more day in Mystic, just to visit shops and wander around town.

Shops to stop at next time include: Trove, Mystic Sweet Shop, Fat Face, Sea Bags, and the Candy Shop (to name a few). Vault Coffee Roasters was also on my list, and if you go on Saturday or Sunday at 8am you can catch the Deviant Donuts pop up!

Even though we were stuffed from dinner, there is always room for dessert. We stopped into Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream for a little treat. It’s hard to tell what the kids enjoyed more, hanging out at the drawbridge or having ice cream. I tried the white pistachio and strawberry ice creams, both were very tasty. Other original flavors include: Mystic Mud, Chocolate Chambord, Lemon Chocolate Kiss, Chocolate Mint Oreo, Seaport Salty Swirl, and Mystic Turtle to name a few. They also make shakes, smoothies, and New York egg creams!

We decided to stay at the Hampton Inn, right near the aquarium. The hotels in the area were pretty booked, as Mystic gets a lot of overflow when there are shows at the casinos. We weren’t planning on staying at the hotel except to sleep and swim, so it didn’t really matter where we stayed as long as the rooms were quiet and clean (which they were). Pools are key with our kiddos to tire them out 😉 . Breakfast was included, so we filled up on waffles, eggs and yogurt before we packed up for our day trip to Long Island.

We picked up the Cross Sound ferry in New London, about a 10-15 minute drive from Mystic. We arrived about 30 minutes early to get our tickets and square away things since we were driving our car aboard. My kids were super excited about the idea of driving a car onto a boat! The process was smooth and everyone was loaded on quickly. It was a beautiful morning to be out on the water. I always love taking boats places when we can – another favorite thing is taking the water taxi in New York. The boat had upper and lower decks, so it wasn’t super crowded anywhere. There is a snack stand on board in case you get hungry, with plenty of tables both inside and out. The kids loved exploring all the decks of the ferry, we didn’t even have to break into our bag of tricks to keep them occupied. The ferry takes about an hour and 20 minutes, while the passenger only high speed ferry takes about 40 minutes.

Side Note: Cross Sound Ferry also offers a wonderful lighthouse cruise. Read more about it here.

If you’re traveling with kids, you know that they get hungry about every 12 seconds. I know for a fact that at school they have ONE snack between when I drop them off and when they have lunch, so how come whenever they are with me all day, they are hungry for snacks 8,000,000 times a day?!?! But in our house, being hangry is a REAL THING, so we stopped into Blue Duck Bakery for a treat (note: the kids had a muffin, I didn’t feed them cookies first thing in the morning. Although, truth be told, it has happened on occasion in our house). There were a lot of delicious cookies and pastries, top choices of ours included the sour cherry danish and the Linzer cookies.

There is also another coffee shop next to the carousel, across the street from the Blue Duck, Aldo’s Coffee Company .

The carousel was a big draw for my kids – they could have stayed here all day and their afternoon would have been complete. The carousel is located in a beautiful park with lots of grass for the kids to play on, and it overlooks the water.

The carousel is 100 years old and it is open year round. In season it is open daily and off season it is open on the weekends. The carousel features 36 horses, and while it says that you can grab rings (like the one on Martha’s Vineyard), it was not working when we were there.

There is two hour street parking right across the street from the park and public restrooms nearby.

Staying out all day can be tricky. One of my kiddos still takes naps – so when we got to lunchtime, there was an EPIC meltdown (to end all meltdowns). I took the other kids for lunch at Crazy Beans, a very family friendly place, while my husband handled the tantrum outside. Crazy Beans can get very busy (and the tips are cash only), so make sure to get there early.

There were so many cute shops right in town that I would have loved to check out, but didn’t have time due to said EPIC meltdown. Here are a few places I’ll check out next time: Goldberg’s Famous Bagels, Flavors Dessert Cafe, Kate’s Cheese Co., Sweet Indulgences, and Hampton Chocolate Company.

Side (kind of funny) story: when we came out from lunch, kiddo #1 was still having a meltdown. I carried him over my shoulder kicking and screaming, because we were way past the point of no return (if you have kids, you know just what I’m talking about). Now, you know that when your kid is having a meltdown in public, the last thing you want to do is have to deal with strangers who are a) trying to ‘cheer your child up’, b) trying to tell you a personal story about their own kids when they were young, c) trying to tell you that you should enjoy the kids while they are young because they grow up so fast, etc. or d) just trying to talk to you in general while you are trying to deal with your screaming child. An older man came up to me and said, “I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you if you were kidnapping this child…” and proceeded to just stand there are stare at me. Ummm….yes, if I was indeed kidnapping my child, I would have totally marched him down Main Street where hundreds of people could see me and I would totally admit it to you when you asked me just now. Meanwhile, my husband, who is Caucasian, walked up and the man takes one look at him and say, “oh, you’re together, ok then” and proceeded to walk away.

So after we get the kids into the car, we decide to drive around to see if we can get them to nap in the car (and avoid any more meltdowns). We drive by some amazing looking farm stands and an insane amount of vineyards. A few years back I came to Greenport and did a little vineyard trip with some girlfriends. If you come without kids, you may want to check them out – see more about my previous trip here. We drove by an old pickup truck with the bed overflowing with ripe tomatoes, a place selling fresh roadside oysters and there were more charming places than I could count.

We just drove down Main Street to see where it would take us, and happened upon North Fork Doughnut Company. I ran in while the kids were snoozing and picked up a half dozen for the road. How cute are these handmade doughnuts? They’re made with local ingredients, so just another reason to love them more.

The glazed and the cinnamon sugar doughnuts were delicious classics – fluffy and light. The Samoa tasted almost exactly like those delicious cookies, the closest I’ve tasted so far. The apple fritter just tasted like fall, delicious and sweet. The black raspberry jam filled doughnut did not disappoint, and they didn’t skimp on the jam.

When I was growing up, we didn’t have sugar cereal, except for special occasions. I loved Frosted Flakes and Apple Jacks (but only the orange ones – not the green ones). Fruity Pebbles were never my thing, but I bought one just for fun (it would look good in photos). The glaze on the cereal doughnut was delicious and I actually liked the Fruity Pebbles, well done!

After naps in the car, we head back into town and have some ice cream and one last ride on the carousel. We stopped at Greenport Creamery for a cone and I had just enough time to pick up a vintage bag from Sea Bags.

After a full (and eventful) day on Long Island, we took the ferry from Orient Point back to New London. We took a different boat, so the kids were again, happy to explore.

Did you know that the ferry offers a rewards program? They also have casino packages if you are coming from the Long Island side – your choice, Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods.

There is something so calming about being on the water. The evening boat ride was exactly what we needed at the end of the day. When we arrived back in New London, we were off the boat in under 10 minutes after we docked – perfect timing to grab a quick bite to eat for dinner.

Another friend had recommended the Mystic Diner. It was just what you would imagine it to look like on the inside and very family friendly. Let me just say three words: BREAKFAST. ALL. DAY. Either that or just skip straight over dinner and have pie!

Looking for pet friendly restaurants in Mystic, try Sea View Snack Bar, a cute outdoor clam shack with picnic tables that overlook Mystic Harbor. You might also try Pizetta, Pink Basil or Dog Watch Mystic.

We had the pool to ourselves Sunday morning and got all our energy out before our car ride home. The good news is that the hotel is right near the ramp for the highway, gas stations, the aquarium and bonus, there’s a Dunks right next door!

There were two bakeries that I wanted to check out before we left Mystic. The first was Li’s Bake Shop. This is the kind of bakery that reminds of you things your grandmother used to make (nostalgic baking). You can taste the love (and butter) in every bite. The buckeye brownie was my favorite – but you can’t go wrong here. Also pictured: whoopie pie, chocolate chip cookie, Mystic cookie, peanut butter cookie, croissant and lemon bar.

Sift Bake Shop reminds me of Paris. Adults turn into children as they drool over towers of pastries behind the glass. They have a large picture window so you can see the pastry chefs mixing up all the delicious treats in the back. The picture above does not do that sticky bun justice. It is big enough to share, but trust me, you aren’t going to want to. That caramel and pecan topping will make you think you’ve died and gone to heaven. I love macarons, not to be confused with macaroons, and these ones were just perfect. The shell had a little bit of a bite to them, but they melted in your mouth. We tried vanilla, pistachio, Meyer lemon and key lime.

So that was our weekend in Mystic. We stopped in RI on our way home to see if they had my favorite jam, but we were too late in the season. We will have to come back earlier in the season next year!

Tell me all your favorite things to do in Mystic, CT!

Tags: bakery, casual dining, dessert, family friendly, hotel, ice cream, restaurant, road trip