For Fourth of July weekend, we packed our bags and took a mini road trip tp Mystic, Connecticut. We stayed at a Vrbo that my father-in-law rented out for an extended weekend getaway. Mystic is a place that I have always wanted to visit. I’ve heard the scenery is beautiful, the aquarium is a must see, and the town has so much history. What better time than Fourth of July weekend to take our first family vacation?

We arrived later than we hoped Saturday evening. A trip that should’ve taken three hours took five… FIVE hours because of traffic. On long drives, Mel typically falls asleep, which is just what she did. Thankfully that’s how it was the majority of the ride so she didn’t have a chance to get bored all that time.

If you know a thing or two about Mystic, you know the famous restaurant, Mystic Pizza. This place is based off a rom-com from 1988. That is somethin I enjoy when going away, visiting a place that is unique/known to that area. The rest of the night was spent relaxing. The Vrbo had a spot nearby on the water that we were able to look out at the Mystic River. We sat in some Adirondack chairs, aside a firepit, a dock and passing boats. Our night was spent there.

Day two, my father-in-law and I went for a walk on the Mystic strip with all the shops and restaurants. I got myself a souvenir shirt, because you can never have enough oversized tees, peeked into some other shops and watched some boats along the river. In the afternoon, we all headed to the Mystic Aquarium.

Tommy had been there before but this is somewhere I have always wanted to go. Now, we get to come for the first time with our baby girl! Melanie loved it! The fish were probably the biggest thrill. She missed out on the beluga whales and seals since she needed a little cat nap when we got there, but she got to see sharks, jellyfish, the fish (of course) and more! That night, we spent watching a movie on Netflix after a very long back and forth of figuring out what everyone was in the mood to watch!

*Pro Tip: buy yourself a Roku stick for travel. If you read my “Our Baby / Honeymoon Weekend Getaway” blog, you know that Roku was a savior. Sometimes the Airbnb/Vrbo doesn’t have streaming access, plus you have all YOUR accounts saved!

The following day was an earlier one with some brunch, and some family. Melanie got to meet a couple of her cousins! One of them is just a couple months older so they enjoyed playing together. It was such an experience as parents getting to watch her with another tiny human, especially for the first time! Touching each others face, giggling and just watching them interact. What. A. Joy.

We all took a walk to our dock spot to get some sun and then headed to the strip to watch the drawbridge, and get some ice cream.

For dinner, we took a trip over to Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough. This had to have been the highlight of the trip for my husband… he was ready for his much anticipated lobster dinner! I’m not a seafood person so I was able to pick from one of their many fishless options. Although… I was offered some of a lobster roll and I tasted a piece of the lobster from that. Still not a lobster girl but at least I gave it another shot! Tommy and his family had been here years back so this was a place we were looking forward to revisiting.

Happy Fourth of July! This was our last full day away for the “weekend”. We had been looking forward to spending the holiday with family, and for Mel to meet more of her cousins! It turned out that today was the rainy day of the whole trip, go figure. The majority of the rain was in the morning and then it came and went throughout the day. There was plenty of room at this Vrbo to accommodate all of us being indoor, as well as outdoor.

Before everyone came over, Tommy and I took a walk along the strip for ourselves. We made a pact that when we go away we take home a mug that is relevant to the trip, and that is just what we did. We decided to wear matching American flag pajama pants, and we got plenty of compliments. People loved our festivity 😅

The plans for our BBQ were still on, even with the rain. We spent the afternoon into the evening with everyone. It’s exciting to watch the way Melanie is with people. She is so happy and bubbly, and the interaction with everyone is different since each person has their own way to amuse a baby. Today was another day that she got to be with one of her cousins, who is just a little older than her. Now that Mel can sit up on her own, she can be more involved.

Unfortunately, this was not the year for fireworks. There were some off in the distance but didn’t get any up close. We decided to call it an early night since we would need to get up to drive home in the morning anyway. Even with that, it was still a fun weekend away and a great first experience for the Walker family 😊

See ya,
Samm 🌻