The husband has, for the very first time, given his crew this week off. On the second day of the most unnatural- for- him
hiatus -….. he got antsy.
“What was I thinking, taking this week off.. there is SO MUCH TO DO!@#*!.”
I pointed out for the two thousand and twenty seventh time in our history together that in the 27 years I’ve known him there has never been a time when there wasn’t SO MUCH TO DO!@#*! but life is too short and every single being needs time to unwind and rewind and that included HIM, let alone his work crew. I don’t know that he’ll ever truly get that memo, but I’ll keep trying. Needless to say he was in and out of the office all week. We did manage some fun though.. yesterday especially.
So.. off we went on a short ride to Stonington, CT .. a lovely old New England village with gorgeous old houses originally built for sea captains, etc. Many of the houses on main street date back to the 1700’s and are beautiful kept. Main Street rides out to a peninsula where you get an unobstructed view of the ocean. The color of the water this time of year is deep blue green marine. Gorgeous, wild, and COLD.
Stonington is located in New London County, population approx. 18,000. The first European colonists arrived in 1649 and officially became part of Connecticut in 1662 when CT received its royal charter. The town acquired wealth in the 1790s when its harbor became home to a fleet involved in the sealing trade – where the skins of seals clubbed on the Chilean and Patagonian coasts were sold as fur in China.
Ugh.
Back to the day – First up was lunch at the waterfront Dog Watch Cafe… loved it. We found the people to be very friendly and the food delicious… I didn’t snap pictures inside, the shame of it. I can tell you with certainty their Reuben sandwiches, Veggie Burgers, clam chowder and Bloody Marys are the bomb. The seafood everything looked pretty awesome too, maybe next trip we’ll sample some of that.
Then we drove down Main Street and I proceeded to drive the guy nuts with the stop and go that is necessary for good picture taking. It was very cold and the wind was blowing, so I darted in and out of the truck with great efficiency and speed, I must say. Still…. the chagrin 🙂
There are many charming stores and restaurants along the way…
.. and the jewels in the crown.. all the old homes…..
The beauty is in the details.. everywhere. Dental and crown molding abounds… love the design of this window…
The entire village reminds me of one of my other favorite places, Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard.
Most of these homes have ocean in their backyard or just across the way.
I could live here happily… love the color choices. What you see above is this homes backyard.
We also visited Stonington Cemetery located at the entrance to town… a 22 acre non-sectarian burial ground founded in 1849, although there are many graves dating back to the 1700’s. According to their website… The Stonington Cemetery was incorporated in 1849 when a small 18th century burial ground was expanded by a group of Stonington residents who created a significant horticultural and aesthetic landscape site. Many in the group made their fortunes in the whaling and shipping trades and were responding to the “rural” or “garden” cemetery movement of the time. The intention was to create settings for relaxation and contemplation rather than sorrow or loss.
Annie Wheeler was just 15 when she passed.
Below is the very gothic Billings Mausoleum. It was a showcase for the art glass of the J & R Lamb Studios but the windows are all boarded up so you can’t view the glass. What a shame – but I suppose vandalism avoidance is the reason.
The Mr. often talks about wanting a family mausoleum for when we have all passed. Personally I see it as a big waste. I want to be cremated and my ashes scattered where they might nourish a tree… or tossed off a cliff into the ocean. Use the money you might have spent on a lavish funeral and burial to donate to an animal shelter or homeless shelter. I like the idea of becoming one with nature again, instead of a rotting corpse encased in whatever.. forever. Who .. of the Billings loved ones.. comes to pay their respects now, I ask you?… and this will sit for centuries.. until someone decides it won’t.
HERE is a listing for a lovely ocean front condominium down at the bottom of Main Street in this lovely town… if I win the lotto we can all share it for a little respite now and then, ok? Ok.
It’s a new day all.. while we’re all still here… make it a good one 🙂
