Sunset through a window at S and P Oyster Co.
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Our innkeeper Josephine makes delicious granola, and cookies using her granola recipe. She promised the recipes if I email her -- YUM! I had 12 grain toast, yogurt and granola, a cookie and Keurig coffee. I have avoided Keurig because of the plastic waste, but short of heading to Starbucks, this breakfast is already paid for. Josephine and I chatted for a while while I asked how she started her bed and breakfast. This is my third trip to Mystic and her inn is clearly becoming the favorite.
Josephine gave me the skinny on three grand homes which I admired on Willow Street. They face west, towards Holmes Street, overlooking a pond near Mystic River. One house has been inhabited by the same family for 30 years; the middle and largest is the summer home of a Hartford software company CEO who is retiring and plans to live there after a glass addition is complete (lots of hammering at the moment); the third house is occupied by a couple with a young child.
Tien went to work and I had five days off. My first stop was PennyWise, a used clothing store where I'd bought a brown Pendleton vest a few years ago. I found a loose, lazy linen dress, a blue leopard-print cardigan and a jeans skirt. PennyWise is clean and organized. On my walk home, my niece began texting me. At the inn, I parked my butt on the porch swing to write to her. It was relaxing, even with the sounds of construction going on across the street. The swing became my favorite spot.
Tien was finished work at 3:30p. We met on Gravel Street and we walked the length. Gravel Street faces the water and is directly across from Mystic Seaport -- the houses are grand. I have wanted to explore here since my first visit.
It is Spring and everything is in bloom -- pink azalea trees, clematis, bearded irises, several colors of peonies including a rare (to me) apricot color, and lush hostas are everywhere. The hydrangeas aren't opening yet except for a lacecap variety. I also saw a dogwood tree for the first time. It's interesting to see flora where there are four seasons. It's so different from San Diego.
Dinner was at Red 35 Restaurant, owned by the Bravo Bravo restaurant woman. We shared fried oysters and five spice duck wings. I got a hair-brained idea to order lobster and requested it be undercooked. It came out perfectly. Why didn't I think of that before?! Nine out of 10 times it is overcooked and dry. Also, instead of using the drawn butter it came with, I used the lobster butter (guts) and it was delicious. Our meal was with Chris, Tien's work colleague. His hobby is sports photography, specifically basketball, and his images are excellent. What made him the ideal dinner companion is he is interesting AND he shows interest (what a concept!). His wife is creative with fabric, like me -- I would have enjoyed meeting her too.
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