After a year on the road it was great to visit with family and friends. After two weeks of visiting with family and friends it was great to get back on the road again.
Heading south from New Hampshire, I wanted to spend a day or two on Narraganset Bay in Rhode Island near Newport. I chose to follow RI 114 south rather than I195 so I could see a little more of the surrounding countryside. Wrong! I passed through the small towns that had nothing much to recommend and spent 2+ hours doing so. By the time I got to the bay I had an attitude and was not impressed by what I saw at the bay. So when I couldn't find the campground right away I was outa there.
I stopped off at Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic, CT. I wanted to paddle to the submarine base at the US Naval Reserve in Groton, CT. on the Connecticut River. Except it was on the Thames River and not the Connecticut.
I put in under the I95 bridge over the Thames River at 9:30am with an overcast sky threatening to dump a load of rain on me. A moderate incoming tide and wind helped propel me upstream.
The submarine base is about 4 miles upstream from where the Thames River dumps into Long Island Sound but only 1.5 miles or so up from the I95 bridge. I passed the US Coast Guard Academy on the New London side of the river first. A large 3 masted schooner type ship was parked out front.
Beyond that were big rusty dry docks, crumbling wooden docks and barges and decaying wooden buildings. And they were still in operation. Quite a cultural shock for me after paddling in pristine (mostly) mountain lakes and rivers all summer.
On the other side of the river in Groton is a US Naval Reserve and the submarine base. Just before that is an old submarine you can probably pay $10 to take a tour on. Nearby was a pair of big white trumpeter? swans and a large gray swanling? A trawler circled around the river dredging up oysters or some such thing.
The submarine base itself was pretty much a disappointment. Lots of buildings, some cranes and a couple of dry docks. Several of what might have been submarines could be seen but they just looked like a bunch of beached whales. You really couldn't see much of them, if they were in fact submarines.
The tide and wind were pushing me along at 2 knots or so. Since upstream didn't look particularly inviting and dark clouds were forming I headed back. The highlight of the trip were the 40-50 white swans I saw in a protected cove on the way back. They went well along with the wild turkeys, deer, egrets and Canadian Geese I had seen earlier at the campground.