On my search for great places to have a couple’s date, I landed in Mystic Seaport on a partially cloudy Sunday afternoon in March. My first impression was, “Brrr, this place is cold.” It was a warm day inland but the cold ocean winds were a distraction to viewing the otherwise enchanting maritime village.

Mystic Seaport is a village based on 19^th century American maritime history and culture. Like many villages of its time it has the typical buildings such as a bank, a church, a school house, a general market, and drug store. However, unique to a maritime town are places like the cordage factory or ropewalk. The factory is in a very long building (only a fraction of what it originally was) where workers spun hemp fibers into yarn then twisted them into twine and rope using the length of the building to make the necessary lengths of rope.

Just a short walk away from the factory is the Shipyard where you can watch the staff restore an old wooden ship. The ships that have been repaired in the past like the L.A. Dunton can be found right around the corner in the harbor. The harbor is home to multiple tall ships that you can board to discover a true sailor’s life, even climbing below deck to see the galley, the cargo room, and the captain’s quarters.

Other places unique to a maritime village include the nautical instrument shop, the shipsmith shop, shipcarver’s shop, and hoop shop. Apart from the village exhibits, there are also several good museums. My personal favorite is the Figurehead Gallery displaying magnificent carved figureheads, billetheads, and catheads that rode majestically on the bows of ships.

Depending on the day you visit there are special events such as watching a cargo demonstration, helping to set and weigh an anchor aboard the L.A. Dunton, watching a whaleboat demonstration, making your own rope, throwing a harpoon, discovering the stars and planets in the planetarium, or charting a course in the Nautical Instrument Shop. In the summer months you can even take a sailing course from a professional instructor.

I give Mystic Seaport one star for a couple’s date, and four stars for a family outing. If maritime culture is of interest to you it is definitely a great place to look and learn. Because of the number activities geared towards children, families will get the most out this type of attraction.  I suggest you go when it’s warmer and bring kids.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Date Night. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.