When Ed and Rachel Barnhart retired in 2004, the intrepid RVers hooked up their Alfa Gold fifth wheel on a mission to see all that God created and man constructed…and find the best pizza in the USA. From the beaches of Seattle, Ed and Rachel set their sights on Maine. From there they would turn south toward the sunshine, only to be greeted by the worst Mother Nature had unleashed in decades. Undaunted, the Barnharts headed off into the sunset, through the southwest and across the Rio Grande to the shores of Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. From sea to shining sea and back again, all in their first year exploring the country they dubbed the “Land of Awes.” In Chapter 17, Ed and Rachel enjoy Mystic’s Seaport Museum and New Haven’s heavenly pizza then deal with a slide-out that won’t slide in.
Vanderbuilt Cottage, The Breakers
The “southward” leg of our journey in the Land of Awes began in Newport, Rhode Island, cruising and viewing the “summer cottages” of the Vanderbilts, the Astors and other American aristocracy. Each of these palatial mansions exude opulence, and, passing through the city, there are dozens! The unofficial headliner, The Breakers, was summer home of the Vanderbilts and is now one of the most popular attractions in Rhode Island. Over 300,000 tourists visit each year!
Our next destination, Mystic, Connecticut, was founded as a farming community in 1654. The town eventually became one of the Atlantic Coast’s most important ship building centers. In its heyday, four major shipyards bookended the Mystic River. Later, Mystic became a vital whaling center, homeport of ships which set out for the Pacific – yes, the Pacific – on 3 to 5 year whaling voyages. These were the days when going from Atlantic to Pacific meant a treacherous passage around Cape Horn, running a gauntlet of strong currents, unpredictable winds, high waves and Antarctic icebergs. A harrowing – and lucrative – undertaking.
Today one of those long abandoned shipyards has become Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea, which houses a collection of nearly 500 sailing vessels. Exhibits range from the oldest wooden whaler in existence to small catboats. The waterfront portion of the museum includes the tall ships L.A. Dunton, Joseph Conrad and Charles Morgan as well as other historic vessels, which you can climb aboard and explore. But that’s far from all there is to see. In fact, it may take you several days to truly experience Mystic Seaport.
A chief highlight is the 19th-century village. Period buildings include a cooperage, nautical instrument shop, cordage factory, chandlery, sail loft and carver’s shop. One of the highlights of our visit was a cruise on the Mystic River aboard the Sabino, a circa-1908 coal-fired steam launch. As the afternoon grew cooler we found warmth in the lower cabin and discovered an open engine room with a full view of a working steam engine!
You can also tour the town in the romantic comfort of a horse drawn carriage and follow that up with a stroll through the museum gardens. You can watch ship builders in action, restoring antique vessels using time-tested methods and tools. In fact, shortly before our visit, museum craftsmen, using the original plans, had recently completed a keel-to-crow’s-nest replica of the notorious Spanish slaver “La Amistad.”
Browse nautical art in the Maritime Art Gallery or shop for books and souvenirs in the Maritime Store. While we usually pack a lunch, if you are so inclined you can grab breakfast at the bakeshop or enjoy a fine New England dinner at the Latitude 41° Restaurant. To learn more about the Mystic Seaport Museum, call 860.572.0711 or visit www.mysticseaport.org.
On our way back to camp we passed the Coast Guard Academy and had yet another opportunity to tour barque Eagle (see chapter 15). This time we had the only tall ship still on “active duty” all to ourselves!
Pizza from Pepe's
While in New Haven, following the advice of friends Jon and Margaret Wheeler from back home in Leavenworth, we stopped for a pizza at Frank Pepe’s. In New Haven, even the pizza joints are historic! Frank Pepe’s was founded in 1925 in New Haven’s Little Italy. It has been a favorite haunt of locals and students from nearby Yale for nearly nine decades. Since each respective Wheeler recommended a different pie, we ordered both and ate as much as our stomachs – and our consciences – would allow. Frank Pepe’s left us feeling full, contented and looking forward to leftovers!
After dinner we took the long way home, cruising around the Yale campus in the twilight. The colors of the falling light reflecting off buildings that had seen generations of America’s brightest and best come of age elicited goosebumps. If those walls could talk! Of course much of what you can see around here has a story to tell. The towns date back to the mid 1600’s, when famine and disease were constant fears and coastal mothers sent husbands and sons out to haul a life out of the sea. Inland, the woods are crisscrossed by moss-covered stone fences marking the edges of fields forgotten centuries ago. Occasionally you find a farmhouse, hearth and home to settlers who tore a living out of the land. In the process they laid the foundation on which we build. The blood and sweat spilled here and the whispered prayers of hope offered as each sail was raised and each seed was turned into the ground give these places a sacred resonance.
Ed and Rachel at Pepe's Pizza
Our route out of New England would take us across the most “white knuckle” stretch of our journey so far – from Mystic, Connecticut to Flanders, New Jersey. You might wonder at this seeing as we crossed the continental divide three times, but congested freeways and close-quarter bridges can be more harrowing than steep mountain paths.
Of course, our mood may have been affected by a small snafu that set our departure time back an hour-and-a-half. As we were getting the RV ready to travel the bedroom slide decided not to cooperate. After a bit of troubleshooting, we discovered that the slide gearbox was not functioning. We unhooked the mechanism, slid the bedroom in manually and tied it off so the slide out would not do so while we were traveling.
You just have to take these things in stride, understanding that such diversions are a natural part of the RV lifestyle. As one fellow RV adventurer said: “mechanical stuff breaks…and if it breaks, it can be fixed.”* Besides, as long as we are together, everything important is in the right place. So, with our lunches packed and a tank full of diesel, we pointed the truck south and headed toward our next adventure.
*Len Todd, see “RVing with Faith”
Read previous chapters by selecting one of the links below:
Chapter 17 – Mystic Seaports & Mysterious Mechanical Failure
Chapter 16 – Thunder Bay & the Lobstah Princess
Chapter 15 – Rock Lobstah? Ayuh, it’s Good
Chapter 14 – Historic Boston, The Commons & Uncommon Pizza
Chapter 13 – Plymouth Rock and Saugus Iron
Chapter 12 – At the Atlantic and Around Cape Cod
Chapter 11 – Marches, Mozart and Mozzarella
Chapter 10 – Loving Life on the Road
Chapter 9 – Picturesque Settings & Police Surveillance
Chapter 8 – Erie Museums and Niagara Mist
Chapter 7 – The Amish and Edison
Chapter 6 – Dutch Treats and Bavarian Festivals
Chapter 5 – Two American Icons – Miller Beer and Chicago Pizza
Chapter 4 – Touring the Twin Cities
Chapter 3 – Discovering Middle America
Chapter 2 – A Trip Around the Sun
Chapter 1 –Pacific in the Rearview, We Wave Goodbye