Sunrise/Sunset

We got up early this morning to catch the sunrise at the lighthouse. I say we but I was awake for a couple of hours before we left. It was 26° with ice on the windshield. There won’t be much commentary today, just lots and lots of photos and a few videos. You might think one or two sunrise, sunset or ocean pics but, no. I took hundreds, deleted a few and posted too many. 

We stayed here for about an hour watching the sun rise over Long Island Sound just enjoying the incredible beauty of Gods creation, thinking about the ebb and flow of the tide, how the earth revolves around the sun, making one complete orbit in a year (365.25 days) and spinning on its own axis, making one complete rotation in a day. Isn’t that incredible to think about?

Progression of the sunrise. 

And the moon is still high in the sky. 

The birds started feeding. 

This is to remember the brave men of Stonington who defeated a landing force from His Majesty’s “Ship Ramillies” bent on burning the town and its shipping. August 10, 1814. 

Mystic Seaport Museum Lighthouse

This replica of the Brant Point Lighthouse on Nantucket, located on the southwest point of the Museum grounds known as Siegel Point,was built in 1966. When the first Brant Point Light was built in 1746, it was the second operative lighthouse in New England (the first being Boston Light dating from 1716). The wooden tower, built in 1900 and on which the Mystic Seaport Museum replica was modeled after, is the lowest lighthouse in New England with its light only 26 feet above sea level.

Like the original on Nantucket, which has a 1,300 candlepower electric light and is visible for ten miles, the Brant Point Lighthouse replica contains a fourth-order Fresnel lens. Developed in France during the 1830s, the Fresnel lens, which efficiently focuses light to create that strong beam of light that characterizes lighthouses of today, was one of the most significant developments in lighthouse technology.

And the sun has risen. 

Early morning fishermen. 

We left the extreme cold of the shore and went back to Sift for breakfast. How oh how do we decide among all the beautiful choices. 

Hmmm, the chocolate croissant right in the middle or the cinnamon croissant knot on the bottom?

Or perhaps a scone?

Or this amazing looking avocado toast?

Just glance at the dessert case 

Settled on a vegetable croissant

And Jo Anne opted for the sticky bun. 

A photo of the chefs, Adam Young (owner) in the back left. 

This sign was in the Mobil travel center (gas station) and we thought it very appropriate following our treats. 

After we indulged in our morning sustenance, we left Mystic for a day and evening in Milford (an hour away). The plan was to shop around historic downtown Milford all day and then go to our cooking school tonight before heading back to Mystic. We decided to go find the cooking school first to ascertain how long it would take us to get from point A to B because we didn’t want to be late to class. Somehow after finding the school we were sidetracked by the Silver Sands State Park. The park consists of 297 acres of beach, dunes, restored salt marsh, open areas and woods as well as the 14-acre bird sanctuary of Charles Island. More about Charles Island below. Who wouldn’t be distracted by all of that?

Not to mention a boardwalk that runs all along and through the park. We walked just over 3 miles roundtrip on the boardwalk. 

It was about this time, when Jo Anne received a text from Southwest notifying her that he flight from Dallas to Lubbock had been canceled due to the shutdown and they would try to rebook her. 

Rock Doves

Jo Anne out on the rock wall

Branta Goose

Bittersweet 

After our walk and thoroughly enjoying our time at the park, we drove into the Milford historic downtown shopping area. 

I’m calling this the mixed-media house. 

We didn’t find anything that appealed to us for shopping but stopped in the Canvas Patch, an eclectic little shop with a very friendly owner. We talked to her for a good bit and she recommended a place for lunch. She said it’s the same owner for 60 years (and the same menu 😁), and the fish and chips and lobster roll were the best you would find anywhere. 

Jo Anne had the fish and chips 

And I had the lobster roll. It was chock full of lobster and good but neither of us thought it was the best. I’m still trying to get to New London, CT for the absolute best lobster roll I’ve ever eaten. Maybe tomorrow. 

After lunch, which was way too much food, Jo Anne found us a place to walk in the woods. We took the outer loop, just over a mile. 

The City owned Solomon Woods property is 100 acres lying west of Eisenhower Park on West River Street. It offers a number of unique wetland forest features that are aesthetically captivating and ecologically important. Vernal pools at Solomon Woods are vital breeding grounds for amphibians such as wood frogs and spotted salamanders in the early spring. Wepawaug Schist ledge outcroppings form ridges that the trail overlooks into a large central wetland and surrounding hillsides. Rock walls and abandoned wells offer a glimpse into the past when portions of this property were farmed. Tulip, Northern Red Oak, Red Maple, American Beech, Black Birch, and White Pine are the dominant trees. A diverse understory of shrubs, ferns, and other plants provide a landscape diversity unlike other public trails in Milford.

The main trail loops around Solomon Woods with several other trails connecting to the main trail. Along the main trail we crossed five small streams that have stepping stones.

Blue square on the tree indicating the Blue Loop Trail. 

Remains of an old farmhouse. 

???

After walking the Solomon Woods, I hadn’t had enough of Silver Sands State Park so we drove back to the park. Jo Anne still had not heard from Southwest on a new flight so she stayed in the car to get all that settled while I walked a different path at the park. 

This site is a breeding and nesting area for the piping plover (Charadrius melodus), a small, stocky, sand-colored shorebird about the size of a sparrow. The adult is distinguished by a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a single black ring around the neck. Its bill is orange with a black tip—not to be confused with a killdeer which has two dark bands across its chest and a solid color bill. The piping plover makes a "peep-u" sound. They are all hunkered down facing the wind, which was very strong this afternoon. 

Piping plovers winter along the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina south, along the Gulf Coast, and in the Caribbean. They migrate north in mid-March to breed on isolated, sandy-gravelly coastal beaches from the Carolinas to Canada. Nests appear in Connecticut in mid to late April. The four week incubation of 3-4 eggs per nest is shared by the male and the female. Chicks fledge in about 28 days and stay with the adults through migration. Birds that lose their nests and young can re-nest into early July. By late August, plovers begin their migration south.

There are serious penalties of fines and imprisonment for disturbing or taking the nests, adults, chicks or eggs. 

There is a sandbar that runs from the beach to the island (Charles Island). You can see the waves crashing along it. It is possible to hike out to the island at low tide, except from May - August when the islands nesting birds are left undisturbed, but heed the warnings below. 

Hikers should begin hiking 1-1/2 hours before low tide. 

By doing this you will be following the tide out.

Walking all the way to Charles Island is NOT always possible. 

Low tide DOES NOT always uncover the tombolo (sandbar) completely. 

Hikers should NEVER walk on any portion of the tombolo when it is covered in water. 

To ensure safe return to the mainland hikers should be 1/2 way back by dead low. 

It is important to know that changes between predicted and actual tides can be caused by weather changes or strong winds, which may shorten your hiking time. 

The wooded interior of Charles Island is protected for heron and egret rookeries. It is one of the largest wading bird rookeries in the state. The ruins of a Catholic retreat from the 1920s remain on the island. Popular belief says the island is the site of Captain Kidd's buried treasure.

Many birds can be seen at the park. Least and common terns feed here. It is also a wintering area for raptors such as the rough-legged hawk, the snowy owl and the short-eared owl.

There was a windsurfer taking full advantage of the wind. Love how the bird wanted in the video. 🤣

We decided Walnut Beach would be a good place to watch the sun set before our class. 

It was indeed a beautiful sunset. 

And now for the reason we are in Milford, our class at The Fig Cooking School. 

Since 2009, Fig has used hands-on cooking classes to bring people together over amazing food. Rooted in family tradition (the name "Fig" comes from Heide's daughters – Francesca, Isabella, and Gabrielle!), they’ve developed the classes to bring together guests of all backgrounds. The seasonal recipes feature flavors from around the world, and from their own backyard, (the chives and rosemary came from Jen’s garden) and are both approachable and illuminating for cooks of all skill levels.

Chef Heide's husband always says her cooking is the reason he married her, and we highly doubt he's joking. Heide will stop at nothing to make sure a recipe is perfect, no matter if it's the Austrian cuisine she grew up with, the Persian food she discovered in her travels, or the Nashville Fried Chicken she loves more than anything. A former full-time journalist and mother of three, Heide knows that nobody (least of all herself) has five hours a day to spend making dinner, so she opened Fig to show the world that healthy, delicious gourmet cuisine can be simple enough for any week night. Sure she trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York, but she says she learned the most from cooking over 30 years in her own kitchen. And since she knows that secret recipes are overrated, she opened Fig to share her innovative menus and time-tested techniques with everyone.

We had a group of ten, three nursing directors, a very young couple, a middle aged couple, a single woman about our age and the two of us. The group was great! Everyone had a decent level of cooking skills. 

The building itself is very nicely done. She has a wall of cookbooks all arranged by color. Pleasing to the eye but not very practical when it comes to finding a particular book or recipe. I have a feeling she doesn’t use them, just a collection. 

Snippets of rosemary to go on the pork. 

Topping the tenderloin with apple and pear stuffing and Dutch blue cheese. 

Ready to go into the oven. 

Irish whiskey potato soup ( only she used Canada Club whiskey)

Pork tenderloin and mixed greens salad with dried fruits and honey balsamic dressing. 

Bittersweet chocolate lava soufflés with vanilla Häagen-Dazs. 

We got along very well with all the other “students”. My only complaint was the class was made too lengthy as a result of the chefs non-stop “and um’s” (nearly drove me right up the wall) and her constant reading of the recipe trying to figure out what to do next. Her sous chef (who was absolutely delightful) had to keep telling her what to do and what things were for. You would have thought she had never made these dishes before. There was also an unnecessary time of introductions and sharing at the beginning and end of the class. However, after an evening of storytelling, laughter, and camaraderie with the others, we made the hour long drive back to Mystic making it to our Inn at 11 pm.

The Lord reminded me of this verse as I wanted to grumble during class. 

"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace."
1 Peter 4:8-10