Old Saybrook, CT

petey · #1 05-22-2006, 11:02 AM

I took the wife away for a little weekend get away. The destination was Old Saybrook/Essex, CT. Yup that's right. I drove 8 hrs to ride an old Steam train and watch a musical Li'l Abner at the Goodspeed Oprah house. (Hey, even I have some culture!)

Here's a few pictures of our trip. The weather was very cooperative, and aside from sitting in traffic for 2 hrs on I-95 North of NYC, the trip was very nice. Kind of put me back 6 years to when I had to sit in traffic every day in D.C. I don't miss those days.

I'd recommend this little get away to anyone who wants a fun filled day.

Old Saybrook shore

petey · #2 05-22-2006, 11:03 AM

Causeway in Old Saybrook. We walked 5 miles along the Hudson Bay in the morning and this was along the way

petey · #3 05-22-2006, 11:05 AM

The place puts me in mind of the little sea town in Jaws.

Public beach

petey · #4 05-22-2006, 11:08 AM

Gillett Castle in Haddam along the CT River. We saw this from the train and River boat ride. This castle was built by the original character of Sherlock Holmes and is opening up next week..Shame we missed it. I would have liked to have gone through the building

petey · #5 05-22-2006, 11:09 AM

Essex Steam Train. We took a 2.5 hr ride on the Steam Train and River boat. 45 Minutes up to Deep River, CT, road the boat and came back. Website is below.

http://www.essexsteamtrain.com

petey · #6 05-22-2006, 11:13 AM

GoodSpeed Operah House where I saw my first musical, Li'l Abner. It was very comical and quite the experience!!

Don't get suckered into the first florr seating. The limited viewing on the second floor balcony wasn't all that "limited". I sat in seat 11 & 13 and could see the whole show with no problem and in fact thought they were better seats than orchestra seating. Prices aren't cheap, but it was worth the 8 hr trip.

http://www.goodspeed.org

Thargor · #7 05-24-2006, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by petey
Gillett Castle in Haddam along the CT River. We saw this from the train and River boat ride. This castle was built by the original character of Sherlock Holmes and is opening up next week..Shame we missed it. I would have liked to have gone through the building

I have been inside this castle twice. Its very nice inside and the grounds are beautiful. If your ever in the area again you should try to make time to take a tour

royinidaho · #8 05-27-2006, 10:06 AM

Quote:

I sat in seat 11 & 13

Hmmmmm, either yer'a double wide

or is that how well the week end went

Good to see that someone has "culture" around this fire

fabsroman · #9 05-27-2006, 10:56 AM

Roy, I was going to say the same thing, but I am betting that one was his seat and the other was his wife's, or they attended two shows, but it seems as though he only attended the Li'l Abner.

Me, I have been to a couple of musicals. Saw Mama Mia which was pretty decent. Saw Cats which was okay. Saw "Oh" in Vegas which wasn't too my liking at all. I cannot even remember what the title of the "Oh" show was and I cannot even remember the plot, if there even was one. Just a lot of music and acrobats. Won't be seeing any of those shows again.

Petey, my one year anniversary is coming up and my wife and I area looking for a little get away. I was thinking about taking her to Venice, Italy until I found out airfare is $1,300 a piece. I went 5 years ago and it only cost $600 to fly. I guess it is the result of rising gas prices. Anyway, can you shoot me a PM and let me know approximately how much the entire weekend cost you guys.

Jonesy · #10 05-27-2006, 02:41 PM

Petey, I love those old trains. We have an old steam train here that takes you throught the Black Hills. Fabs, the Black Hills are a great place to take a vacation. I know this because I was born and raised here and my life is a vacation. We have Mt. Rushmore, Deadwood, Custer State Park, Badlands National Park, Windcave Nation Park, Devils Tower and much, much more. Hell, you guys should all come out and visit. Be more than glad to be your tour guide. Between my friends and family, have many, many Ranches we could explore. Have brought out people from the East before and they said they see more wildlife in a day here then they see all year back home. So if you like wildlife there is plenty here.

fabsroman · #11 05-27-2006, 05:29 PM

Jonesy,

That would be a great vacation for me, but something tells me that my wife would kill me. She isn't too much into the outdoors. We went for a 18 mile bike ride along the C&O canal last weekend and she was crying for a couple of days about how sore her butt and legs were. She is more of a city type person.

royinidaho · #12 05-27-2006, 10:04 PM

Fabs, 18 miles??- you're mean

"I was going to say the same thing, but I am betting that one was his seat and the other was his wife's" - yea but....why the seat between them.

fabsroman · #13 05-27-2006, 10:25 PM

Roy,

I didn't push her to do the 18 miles. In fact, I let her decide which lock we would turn around at. It took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to go that far, and usually I would have done that in an hour or less. She felt fine until right after we turned around. About 5 minutes into the return ride, she started feeling like crap and we had to take several breaks to get back. We had to pass two more locks before we would get to the starting lock, and each one had a parking area. I offered to drop her off at the next lock where there were plenty of people, ride down to the car as quickly as possible, and then drive it back to pick her up. She declined.

I was also wondering why the seats weren't right next to one another, but I didn't want to bring it up either. Might just be a typo on his part. The 2 and 3 keys are pretty close together.

petey · #14 05-30-2006, 07:56 AM

Jonesy,

Yup, I rode that train too

the last time I was in your area. I will agree, that there was more to see in the Dakota's than in Conneticut, but the drive was much less plus my wife loves the beach and sea shore. I'd rather sit and watch the sun go down over a mountain side than watch it set over the ocean but that's just me.

That train ride in your area showed a lot of rock wall, but it sure was fun anyhow. What else do you expect to see while going up a mountain (or hill)? I wish I could make it back to your area soon.

Fabs,

The get away wasn't all that expensive. I gave you the links to the websites and the prices are there. You can ride the train and boat for $52/ 2 people. Dinner train is $65 per person if you choose to that instead. Musicals ran anywhere from $26 - $60 per seat at either Goodspeed Oprah house or Ivorytone playhouse. The only other fees were hotels, gas and meals. Depending on how good you eat, you can add $300 or more on top of that for the hotel and gas and meals. I think I had $60-70 one way in gas, that price was a bit higher than I figured b/c I didn't miss the NYC traffic like I had wanted too.

Seat 11 & 13 was my wife and I.

Roy... You have culture too?? ha ha. Well you're a product of PA so that's good enough