Me with my camera!

So far we’ve been spending our summer close to home as Mr. D. has had a number of projects to complete and needed his weekends to accomplish this.  Finally, a major one has been crossed off his “to-do” list, so we decided to celebrate by taking a day-trip to the Conn. shore and treat ourselves to a lobster dinner.  Our destination was the little village of Noank, which is part of the larger town of Groton.  As always when I travel my camera is along for the ride, ready to capture points of interest, quaint and scenic nooks, or anything that I find delightful.

Noank is located at the mouth of the Mystic River at the point where the river empties into Long Island Sound.  Historically, it has always been a fishing village and that has not changed.  It’s streets are lined with old homes with much charm and character, and the businesses center around the fishing industry, and  associated eating places.

One such place, which is well-known, is Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough.  We have eaten there in the past, but not today.  Its very casual where you order at a counter, receive a number, pick up your food when your number is called and find a picnic table on the wharf to dig into some mighty tasty seafood.

Today we had our dinner at another less well-known lobster pound called Ford’s Lobster Co.

Ford’s mainly sells live lobsters to take home and cook, but there is a small outdoor dining area with umbrella-shaded tables and food prepared in a small compact little kitchen under a canopy.    It offers the same casual atmosphere you would expect in any of these outdoor dining places, but oh my, the food was wonderful. There was table side waitress service, so there is no need to juggle plates of food while you find a table.  Our meal consisted of  their clear broth clam chowder, just chock full of clams and potatoes and seasoned just right,  followed by the Lobster Dinner, which included a steamed lobster and melted butter,  french fries and coleslaw.  Served with frosty lemonade,  this meal was summertime shore dining at its best!

This was my big guy!

This is Ford’s dock where their lobster boats come in and unload the day’s catch.

While we ate our dinner a LARGE yacht came motoring by.  This area is very popular with boaters, with many sailboats but also motor boats too.

After dinner we drove up and down the few streets that make up the whole town taking in one stunning view after another.

The typical steepled church on the town Green.

Some lovely homes with shore views.

The little General Store where you can purchase  ice-cream, souveniers, and various necessities.

The village market, with a “bottle” shop next door.

A beautiful old Victorian home.

The decorative trim on the porch looks like paper cuttings.

A plaque on this house tells us it was once the town jail

I hope the few photos I have been able to include here give you some idea of how charming this little village is. You can see just about all you would want to in one day here, but this part of the Conn. shoreline is very popular with vacationers, and not far from Mystic with all its attractions.  As a vacation destination there is so much to see and do in this area,  I invite you to visit sometime.