Travel Diary: Mystic

I have some extra days off for Jewish holidays this month, so my husband and I decided to plan a little fall getaway. We wanted to bring Bones with us since we’ve had to leave him far too often with all of the weddings this year. I did a lot of research to find somewhere within driving distance that would be dog-friendly and give me a fall foliage fix (I grew up in New England and I miss it most at this time of year). Mystic, Connecticut ended up being the best fit!

We picked up a car from my in-laws on Saturday and drove along the beautiful Merritt Parkway for as long as possible. When we got to Mystic, it was a little too early to check in to our hotel, so we stopped at Olde Mystick Village, an outdoor shopping center with tons of charm!

We grabbed lunch from Bleu Squid, which specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches and cupcakes, aka two of my favorite foods. Hubs had a four cheese sandwich with bacon and a peanut butter cupcake, while I opted for a grilled cheese with chicken and apple and an apple cider cupcake with brown sugar frosting. Everything was amazing, and we were able to snag an outdoor table where we could sit with Bones.

Once we were full, we headed to Hyatt Place, our home away from home for the long weekend. They’re dog-friendly (for a small additional fee), and they give your pup a couple of treats at check-in, plus a special sign to hang on the door so everyone knows there’s a four-legged friend inside. They put us on the first floor, which made bathroom trips a lot easier, and there was even a designated area for dog walking. Bones loved the room and jumped up on the couch only minutes after arriving. Although we took him with us for a lot of our activities, we did leave him alone there when we went out to brunch and dinner, and he was totally fine.

On Sunday morning, we followed the recommendation of our best friends (who were in Mystic last winter), and had brunch at the Harbour House Restaurant at the Inn at Mystic. The view was gorgeous and the food was great too. My husband had Lobster Benedict and I had the pancake special (with bananas and peanut butter), and both were super tasty.

After brunch, we headed to B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill. Let me just say that I LOVE apple cider, so this was a must-visit for me. They used to allow dogs, but unfortunately, someone complained and now they don’t. It seems like they’ve gotten a lot more popular in recent years, which is great, but means long lines. There is an active cider mill and you can see a demonstration at certain times on the weekends. They make alcoholic and non-alcoholic cider, as well as apple cider donuts and wine. We picked up some cider to bring home, and some donuts to enjoy while we were there. But, my favorite thing was the cider slushie. It was seriously one of the best things I have ever tasted.

Once I was over my cider coma, we stopped back at the hotel to pick up Bones. Next was Whittle’s Willow Spring Farm, an adorable little farm with apple picking and a pumpkin patch. It’s actually a bit of a challenge to find a dog-friendly place to pick apples, but this one was perfect. Bones had such a good time running around (on the leash, of course), and he even got a taste of a freshly-picked apple (one of his favorite human foods).

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for ice cream at Olde Mystick Village. I love ice cream more than most things, and I’m definitely picky, but the Coffee Oreo that I had at Mango’s was really good. I would definitely recommend making a stop.

That night, hubs and I ventured to Red 36 for dinner. It was a little bit hard to find, but worth it. He had clam chowder and a seafood pasta and I had panko-crusted chicken. The restaurant was right on the water, so I’m sure it has great views during the day.

Monday, we ate a quick breakfast at the hotel and set out for Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center. My husband and I are not the most outdoorsy people, but we decided to step outside our comfort zone and hike the trails. It was absolutely gorgeous and so much fun. Bones was a happy boy out in nature and we all enjoyed the beautiful, quiet contrast to our home in the city.

Everyone was pretty exhausted when we were done and we dropped Bones at the hotel for a nap. Next we headed to a little island off of Mystic called Mason’s Island for lunch at Kitchen Little. The place itself is kind of randomly placed at the marina, but the drive there was beautiful and I may have found my dream house. We repeated our brunch orders from Monday and hubs got Lobster Benedict again. I had pancakes, but went for blueberry this time, and added a decadent hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles because #vacation.

Once again, back to the hotel to get Bones and we were off again. Our plan had been to head to a dog-friendly winery about 40 minutes away, but I noticed as I looked up directions that they were actually closed on Mondays. Fortunately, it turns out that there was another smaller winery only 10 minutes away where we could bring Bones and sit on the deck. Because it was a random Monday for most people, it was super quiet and we took our time sampling the wine and enjoying the peace and quiet.

That night, we had dinner at Engine Room, the place I was most excited to try. They specialize in comfort food, beer and bourbon, and OMG everything was amazing. I had chicken and waffles and it was just beyond words. Hubs had a burger with a piece of fried chicken on it, which he greatly enjoyed. He was also a fan of the drink menu, which included several pages of whisky. Even though we were totally stuffed, I insisted on ordering monkey bread for dessert. My mom used to make it for sleepovers when I was little, but I haven’t had it in forever. Hubs had never tried it, and since it was a two-person serving instead of a full monkey bread, we went for it. I definitely ate too much, but it was just too good.

Tuesday was our last day, so we packed up and made our way to downtown Mystic. There’s a drawbridge which connects the two sides of the downtown and we went back and forth exploring the shops and hanging out by the water. Although Mystic is known for Mystic Pizza (thanks to the 80s movie), we found another pizza place called Pizzetta that had a big patio where we could sit outside with Bones. The food was amazing (hubs got the meat lovers’ and I got the Greek) and it was a beautiful day. I read a lot about ice cream in the area (see my previous comment about importance of ice cream) and kept seeing Drawbridge Ice Cream come up, so of course I had to try it. It was tasty (although if I had to pick, I would go to Mango’s), but it was great to end the trip eating ice cream on the water.

Overall, it was a great time and so good to be out of the city and back in New England. We got to spend a lot of quality time as a family, which we really needed, and it was so nice to find so many dog-friendly places only a drive away from NYC.