Mystic, Connecticut- Sips, Ships and Shops

Our family is attempting to travel to all 50 states through creative road trips. We prefer to choose a route which may have several destination stops throughout the trip. This often results in spending a short amount of time in one city. We love to get the flavor of the place that we are visiting by experiencing dining experiences, seeing a well-known icon from that area or simply experiencing the understated charm of that particular area.

This post shares about our time in Mystic, Connecticut. We arrived in Mystic in the evening after a full day in Rhode Island. We visited Connecticut as part of our New England Road Trip.

All of the details of our time in Rhode Island can  be found at  Newport, Rhode Island- Chasing Starlight and Mansions.

All of the details of our New England Road Trip can  be found at  50 State Journey- The Ultimate New England Fall Road Trip.

Since we had a great experience at a diner in Rhode Island, we decided to try another diner in Mystic. We visited Mystic Diner. We love the variety offered at a diner. Indiana needs more diners! After dinner, we checked in at our hotel. We stayed at Quality Inn Mystic-Groton.

The next morning, we decided to go to visit B. F. Clyde's Cider Mill. This was such a fun time and fit right in with all the fall vibes. This mill is the oldest steam-powered cider mill in the United States. We were able to see a demonstration on how the machine works and how apples are turned into cider. We, of course, tried the cider and apple cider donuts. They also were offering samples of their wine and hard ciders which my husband and I sampled. I would highly recommend stopping at B. F. Clyde's during the fall!

After visiting the cider mill, we wanted to tour the Mystic Seaport Museum. There was so much to see at this museum. We saw a variety of boats, learned about the history of seafaring and visited the historic seaport village. Even if you aren't particularly interested in boats, this is a fun stop. I enjoyed learning about the history and seeing the numerous village houses. We learned about printing presses and saw a demonstration of how they used to work. So much more than boats! And, the views of the water or beautiful as well.

We finished up at the Museum and were in need of a late lunch. We knew we wanted to visit some of the shops in Olde Misticke Village so we chose Pink Basil for lunch. We were so glad that we did! Pink Basil is an Asian fusion restaurant with beautiful flower decor. The weather was pleasant enough for us to eat on the patio. We got a couple appetizers and then all shared a Pad Thai dish and a Pineapple Fried Rice Dish. We all enjoyed all of the dishes and portions were plenty for all of us.

After lunch, we visited some of the shops in the Olde Misticke Village. I had read about a tea shop in the Village called "Alice in the Village" that we were eager to try. This shop is so fun and a must-see for any little (or big) kids in your life. When you enter the shop, you really feel as if you have entered Wonderland. The tiny details that they include make it feel like an immersive experience. The custom drinks were fun and delicious. They also had sweet treats to purchase as well.

After our time exploring the shops, we left Mystic and spent the night in Coventry, Rhode Island. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express as we had an early flight home in the morning leaving from Providence, RI. This was the conclusion of our New England Road Trip! We loved all of our stops and hope to be back to visit again in the future.

All of the details of our New England Road Trip can  be found at  50 State Journey- The Ultimate New England Fall Road Trip.

You can find more mutli-destination trip itineraries by following Middle of the Road Mindset on Instagram or Pinterest.