CT is for Baseball

Groton CT

Baseball and Sea Food

4-5 July 2021

This Fourth of July Weekend we visited Groton Connecticut, home of the world’s first atomic submarine, the United States Coast Guard Academy, one of the finest maritime museums and The War at the Shore Independence Day Baseball Tournament.  Russell was scheduled to play games Saturday, Sunday and Monday and we decided to take advantage of the opportunity for another RV adventure! 

Due to rain all games were cancelled for Saturday so we also delayed our plan to fly down Saturday.  In fact the weather wasn’t looking very promising for Sunday either so initial we considered cancelling the trip out right, but Sunday morning Jaimie challenged me saying “that plane can fly through clouds can’t it”.  So we quickly got our bags packed and headed to the airport.  Russell’s first game was at a very gentlemanly 2:30 so with an hour and fifteen minute trip time we were able to enjoy a leisurely morning before heading to the airport.

The weather did force us to plan into an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) departure out of Franklin County.  But climbing out were able to finds a few broken areas and remained VFR as until we got on top at about 5000ft and picked up our clearance to Groton New London Airport, KGON. We cruised down at 9000ft and had a smooth ride with a very slight tail wind.  The only squak (issue) on this part of the flight was the autopilot was porpoising a little bit at cruise. Not holding altitude but instead giving us a little up and down roller coaster ride above then below the selected altitude.  Always something to fix.

As we crossed into Massachusetts it was clear we would need to do an instrument approach to get down below the clouds at Groton as the cloud layer below us had become solid as far as we could see.  Checking the weather at Groton they were reporting winds from 230 and clouds 1300 above the ground.  When we checked in with Providence Approach we requested the RNAV 23 and they happily agreed.  As we descended into KGOR we entered the clouds about 5000ft and didn’t fully break out until 1300ft.  But when we did we were greeted by a great view of the Long Island Sound and the sub base. It was definitely my day to fly and I was lucky to make a very nice greaser landing.

The service at the Mystic Fixed Based Operator (FBO) is outstanding. After parking us the line person brought our rental car right to the plane for us and offered to help us load up our gear. We did a quick FBO tour to share information (our credit card info) and we found a newly remodeled building which even includes a ping pong table for those long weather delays.  The staff was very nice thought there was a $15 overnight fee even when you took their slightly over priced gas – somebody has to pay for the ping pong balls:-).

On Sunday Russell’s games, were at two separate fields which gave us the chance to see a little bit of the area.  After finding the field for the first game and a quick run to Russell’s hotel to pick up a missing uniform shirt – we decided to drive down to the water and go for a little walk before the game started.  We found the Niantic Boardwalk a short trail that lead out to a fishing pier in the middle of the Niantic River. The trail was nice and we checked out a kayak launch and dock as well as checking out the local fisherman who seemed to be doing OK as we saw a two foot striper landed during the short time we were there.

Russell’s first game started well with the Cannon’s taking a four run lead in the first, powered by a two RBI double by Russell. But unfortunately the boys couldn’t hold on and a few poorly timed errors and a string of walks resulted in a 11-4 loss. Russ has his typical good game going 2 for 3 with a walk. 

Since we had to change venues for the second game we took the opportunity to stop at a Dairy Queen for a little refreshment and then took the scenic route along the coast to the second game at Dickenman Field.  This field was notable for the beautiful stone building built along the right field line.  Again this game started well for the Cannons who despite giving a a few runs in the first battled back to remain tied going into the 4^th inning.  So with the score tied starting the 4th inning in his first start since little league Russell took the mound. He faced four batters gave up one hit and no runs! Not bad!. Russell also hit a huge almost home run driving a ball about 390ft down the right field line, but unfortunately the ball went about ten feet right of the pole.  Again it ended up being a loss for the Cannons but Russell went 2 for 3 with walk including a very well hit double to right center that made it to the fence on one bounce.

After the game Jaimie and I bid Russ a haste goodbye in an attempt to get dinner before everything closed.  Jaimie scouted out a nice seafood place with views of both the inlet and the ocean – the Fisherman Restaurant on Long Point.  We enjoyed our first raw oysters of the year!  A great meal just in time. 

After dinner we drove back toward Groton and checked into our room at the Navy Lodge.  Incase we had forgotten that today was the Fourth of July the whole trip we were treated to fireworks shows along the route.  The room at the lodge was nice and included a kitchenette for those who had a longer stay.  The Navy Lodge is situated on a hill overlooking the Thames River and is directly across the river from the Coast Guard Academy making it a great location for watching fireworks. 

The next morning after enjoying a COVID inspired “grab and go” breakfast of cereal and yogurt we headed out to explore the Connecticut Coast.  We started by driving down to see the Submarine Force Museum next to Submarine Base Groton.  While the museum didn’t officially open until 0900 and we arrived at 0830 we pulled into an overlook and were able to speak with one of the ombudsman who too was waiting for the museum to open.  He had been a submariner back in the 1950s on diesel boats and then worked at Electric Boat his whole career.  To hear him talk about it and his two sons who both worked at Electric Boat was a true joy. 

But despite the draw of the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine, we decided to visit Mystic Seaport this trip and the Submarine Museum next time.  When we arrived in Mystic the Seaport Museum was still closed but this ended up being perfect as it gave us time to drive around Mystic, seeing the famous counter weighted drawbridge and even Mystic Pizza.   We even had the time to find park bench along the Mystic River and watched the drawbridge open to allow the working boats downstream. 

The highlight of the day was the Mystic Seaport Museum.  We were able to tour many ships from the areas rich maritime past.  Oyster boats, lobster boats, training ships, whaling ships and even a fire boat.  Jaimie organized our tour and we were able to attend a number of presentations on whaling and sailing these amazing ships.  After touring the whaling museum we even did a quick show at the planetarium to get a tour of the night sky.

After a half day enjoying the Museum we drove a short way down the road to a very authentic clam shack – SeaView Snack Bar.  The line wrapping around the building attested to the authenticity and quality of their food.  Jaimie and I took advantage of our new sharing a meal “thing” to sample a few more menu items. We shared hearty full belly clam dinner, New England clam chowder and extra coleslaw.  It was all delicious and especially enjoyable as we consumed it on the river’s edge with a great view of the tall ships tied up at Mystic Seaport.

After lunch it was time to headed back to the airport and the Mystic FBO.  Again the service was great letting us drive the car right up to the airplane, giving us a golf cart ride to and from the FBO. The bill wasn’t too bad and we grabbed an extra pen and water to help offset the cost:-).

roton Ground had our clearance for us as soon as we checked in and it was just as we like it “as filed” meaning no changes to copy down and punch into the system.  The IFR condition of the field combined with a number of aircraft such as the banner tow trying to work under the clouds resulted in a fair amount of congestion and about a 30 minute wait on deck to before we were cleared to take off.  As we took off on runway 15 we had a great view of fisherman’s island and Mystic before starting our turn north under the clouds.  But as we climbed up we entered the clouds about 1000ft. Not unexpectedly as soon as checked in with Providence Approach they had a reroute for us, but nothing to dramatic, just enough to keep us around the busy Boston Air Space. Interestingly the new routing took us right over Worchester MA and WPI.

You think Jaimie is getting the hang of this flying thing?

The flight home took about an hour and twenty minutes with clear skies on top of a 4500 foot cloud deck.  The weather in northern Vermont was much better and we pasted the last to the solid cloud layers around Rutland and were able to make a nice uneventful landing at Franklin County.  So with a 230pm take-off from Groton CT we landed in Swanton VT prior to 4pm and were home before dinner to enjoy a Margarita on our deck overlooking Lake Champlain.  Life is good!