by guest blogger, Jo Wood Knowing that one of the biggest cruise ships afloat was coming to New London, my curiosity got the best of me and I thought it would be interesting to learn a little more about the passengers who were travelling here to New England. I wondered what kind of things they might want to see and do. So, I offered up my services to the New London County Historical Society to acompany one of the tour buses on the day they arrived: July 4th. The ship offered quite a range of tours from Newport, Rhode Island to other places here along the Connecticut shoreline, such as Mystic and Essex. I had a nice cordial group of tourists ranging from eight years old to an elegant lady well into her 80's. I kept the information concise and helpfully interesting. I spoke about the history of New London harbor and the ship building of Mystic. Since we were headed to the Mystic Aquarium that day, I wanted them to know a little more about the Institute of Exploration that is now centered there. They were fascinated by the work of the famous underwater explorer, Dr. Robert Ballard. He moved his research center to Mystic in 1997. It only came to light a short time ago that Dr. Ballard was on a covert mission to uncover information about two nuclear submarines that sank back in the 1960's. The U.S. Navy agreed to help fund his research to locate the Titanic if he would first use his underwater surveillance robotic submarine to gather as much top secret information as possible from the bed of debris scattered on the ocean floor. My group was happily entertained at the Aquarium and also managed to get some shopping in at the Olde Mystik Village. This is a shopping center made up of a series of buildings that replicate an old New England Village. There is a wonderful range of shops from a General Store and Munson's Chocolates to a boutique that caters to cats and dogs. On the way back I told them about the local Indian tribes that occupy this part of New England. I also gave them a brief history of the Thames River, where their elegant cruise ship was docked. We can also brag about two of the largest are employers being located on the Thames River, Pfizer and Electric Boat as well as being the home of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Connecticut College, and the Naval Submarine Base which is home to 21 attack submarines, the latest having been christened a month ago as the New Hampshire. Now I am anxiously awaiting the next arrival of the Explorer with her cruisers. She is scheduled to come back for another visit Friday, August 1st. Hopefully I will meet up with another group of curious tourists who are anxious to learn about our wonderful little part of the world. Now I am off to get my tour guide uniform ready which just happens to be a white polo shirt and khaki pants! Follow me.... Jo wood is guest blogger and the owner of Showhouse Ready, an interior decorating & design studio located on Route 12 in Gales Ferry. | 
Email to a Friend
