New London/Groton CT area

[fourflys]

Anyone from here? I'm heading that way the first two weeks in February for a course at the Coast Guard Academy... won't really have time to ride, but I will have the middle weekend to knock around... and I will have a car...

any not to miss cool shops? restaurants?

Thanks,
Chris

[Bradford]

If you like boats, the Charles Morgan in Mystic Seaport might be your only chance to see a real whaling boat. It might be a bit cold to walk around, but I always enjoyed spending a day there.

If you want great restaurants, you'll only be an hour from Providence, which has a surprising number of great places to eat. (Just don't run William over if you see a big dude on an orange bike). Boston is just an hour past that if you are willing to drive that long.

[fourflys]

If you like boats, the Charles Morgan in Mystic Seaport might be your only chance to see a real whaling boat. It might be a bit cold to walk around, but I always enjoyed spending a day there.

If you want great restaurants, you'll only be an hour from Providence, which has a surprising number of great places to eat. (Just don't run William over if you see a big dude on an orange bike). Boston is just an hour past that if you are willing to drive that long.

I actually fly in and out of Providence....

[dave thompson]

I actually fly in and out of Providence....

Stop in and say hi to William. I understand he has lots of Tequila.

[AngryScientist]

i used to live in "rotten groten" for a while when i played with submarines for a living. it's predominantly a Navy town because of the base being there. i only stayed for a couple years before moving to Westerly RI, good times back then, good times.

worth checking out if you're into that kind of thing is the Nautilus Museum in Groton, lots of cool submarine stuff there. I still believe nuclear submarines are some of the coolest things on earth. it's changed quite a bit over the years, but as you probably know, Groton is home to Electric Boat, who build roughly half of the nation's nuc subs. There is a lot of pride in the town, pride in the fact that a nation that has totally given up on shipbuilding and fabrication in general can still produce a world class seagoing vessel.

that's worth repeating: world class submersible boats are still being made right here in the US by Americans. Welding, cutting, machining, engineering: good stuff.

beyond that, yes, providence has good food, and New London has good dive bars. Mystic CT has some decent eating too, a few miles down the road. if it was summer, westerly RI area has some nice beaches and the surf can be pretty riideable if conditions are right, but it's way too cold for that nonsense now, and most of the cool beachy joints are closed for the winter. have fun!

[pinkshogun]

the airport is actually in Warwick, 10 mile south of Providence. there are places to eat and drink all within easy walking distance of the airport

[William]

Stop in and say hi to William. I understand he has lots of Tequila.

That depends on the day of the week.;)

+1 to everything that has been said....especially the part about not running over big guys on orange bikes.;) The beach areas are pretty deserted this time of year but there are great restaurants around the area.






William

[nighthawk]

Track 84 near the airport if you need a good beer. If you are interested in good restaurants in PVD I could recommend a few.

[redir]

Heck anything is close when you are in RI. If you like Italian food go to Federal Hill.

Mystic is definitely worth seeing but I've only been in the summer lots of it could be closed down IDK.

[MattTuck]

Chris,

How far are you willing to drive? What type of things are you looking to do? Within a few hours drive, there's a LOT of stuff to see.

[ctcyclistbob]

There's a nice place in Mystic for food and drink, the Daniel Packer Inn :
http://danielpacker.com/wp/

The "DPI", as the locals call it, has a very cool (and historic) atmosphere.

[mistermo]

There's a nice place in Mystic for food and drink, the Daniel Packer Inn :
http://danielpacker.com/wp/

The "DPI", as the locals call it, has a very cool (and historic) atmosphere.

In Mystic, one must eat pizza...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystic_Pizza

[carpediemracing]

Paul's Pasta is good and right in Groton. Small place, homemade pasta, and you want to have a fridge for leftovers if you order the regular serving. Small serving is a normal one.

This is where we go when we're in the area. The Missus grew up in Groton, a Navy brat.

[shovelhd]

Mystic Pizza pizza is overrated but the place is a good visit and has good pasta. I prefer the bar side.

You are close to Newport. Any place on Thames Street is going to be pretty good. The Clarke Cooke House, Brick Alley Pub, the Lobster Bar.

[fourflys]

Chris,

How far are you willing to drive? What type of things are you looking to do? Within a few hours drive, there's a LOT of stuff to see.

Matt,
It just depends I suppose... I'm going to be one of the guys in the class to have a rental car... I'll have to share but I should pretty much have the middle weekend free...

Thanks all for the recommendations! I'm not a beer drinker :eek:, but I am a foodie so... ;)

I'm going to be in a senior enlisted leadership course over on the Coast Guard base... they're going to try and learn me something... :D

[nighthawk]

Foodwise, my recommendations are

beehive cafe in Bristol, RI

and in Providence:

Loie Fullers (French)
Rancho Grande (Oaxaca, Mexico)
Nick's on Broadway (fine dining?)
Julian's (also on broadway, eclectic? hip?)
Broadway Bistro (Italian, sortof)
Chez Pascal (French, also have a gourmet hot dog truck)
Sun and Moon (Korean, actually in East Providence)
Abssynia (Ethiopian)
Flan y Ajo (tapas)

Ill leave the googling to you if any of these sound appealing. I miss Providence all of a sudden... Great food city. I moved away a few years ago, but I'm pretty sure they're all still around.

...and sorry, I don't know Groton at all. :)

Have a great visit to the East Coast! Be sure to come back in August for the D2R2.

[William]

....Or July for the Rhode Island Ramble.

I'f you're into vegetarian food The Garden Grille Cafe is very good...
http://gardengrillecafe.com/

The Grill on Main, Twenty Water Street, and the Harborside in East Greenwich are also good.






William

[doublenines]

(resuscitating an older thread)

Some good recommendations there, but how about riding?

I'm heading up to GLP tomorrow for annual family vacation, and usually do 1 hour rides from GLP to Mystic (mostly up River Road). Anyone have some good loops (1 to 2 hours) that they can share? Even better, mixed pavement type rides because I'm bringing the gravel bike this year.

Thanks for any recommendations you may have.

[daker13]

You'll be reasonably close to Big River in West Greenwich, RI, which has a mix of dirt roads and singletrack... a lot of the trails should be pretty do-able on a gravel bike. I haven't been there in a year, but I believe William lives there or nearby, so he can probably tell you more. I don't know about CT.

[pinkshogun]

Arcadia State Park in Exeter, R.I. has enough fire roads to keep ya happy for a few hours. try to obtain a map as it shows the different grades of roads or park at the white church and jump in on either side of the road

[doublenines]

Thanks guys. Looks like I might be taking a field trip.

[evo111@comcast.net]

The sub base museum, the aquarium and the Pequot museum are interesting and pretty fun. The casinos have some decent restaurants if you like that environment.