The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

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My wife and I (sans children) just returned from a four day vacation at one of our absolute favorite locales:

This is not one of your ordinary beach towns that are so common up and down the East Coast. When staying here, you feel like you are immediately integrated into the community and not a tourist. At breakfast each morning, the staff at the inn would offer up the best of the local attractions and you could feel the sincerity behind it. We rarely needed our car as anything we needed was within walking distance. True village life.
One of the most enjoyable activities was a simple walk up and down the main street where we passed the locals walking their dogs or watering their gardens. I swear I could tell each and every one of them were stress free and thrilled to be living where they did. Here is a sampling of what we witnessed on these walks and I’m sure you’ll see why it was so enjoyable:          
          
You feelin me dawg? When can I move in? It was a garden lover’s dream to see it all and you could tell it was a community wide effort. I swear to you (and I know everyone says this when on vacation) we would move there in a second if all the particulars were worked out. You hear me Stonington? If you need an obsessive gardener and garden writer, call me. We’ll do lunch. 
Speaking of lunch, there are 4-5 restaurants within the village, all distinctive in their own way, that offer that local feel. We would have a margarita and guacamole at one and then eat from the raw bar at another. Along the way, we would listen intently to the natives talk about their adventures out on the boat or discussing the additions to their gardens or the new shipment of lobsters they just received. No where did I hear any discussions about the usual corporate crap and that put a smile on my face. 
Did I mention there were a number of local wineries in the area? Well now you know. We even purchased cheese and other deliciousness and had our own picnic inside one of the wineries while live music played:             

The back drop of the Long Island Sound wasn’t so bad either:

Each day we watched the kids at sailing camp and wondered if we could convince our kids to participate WHEN we move there:

Oh yeah, we also found a pristine unspoiled beach right over the border in Rhode Island (East Beach) and I didn’t long for the Jersey Shore for one second:

That is pure genuine happiness my friends:

One thing my wife and I promised to each other throughout this trip was that we would do our best to incorporate what we loved during this vacation into our every day lives. We know what we love and what we ideally would love to do professionally in the future. Now is the time to start working towards it. Thank you Stonington!

John

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10 Responses

  2. Man, we needed that! What a great getaway. And thanx for the pix! hmmmm—guacomole and lobster? uh huh….oh yeah, babe.

  3. john, the hubs and i were there just a few weeks ago. i captured an egret by the water.

    while in this area you should try abbott’s, lobster in the rough….it is absolutely the best and only the local’s know about it. fresh caught lobsters, dinning ouside at picnic tables on the mystic river, it’s amazing!!!

  4. So Mrs. ONG is okay with this move? Or is she clueless about that yet? You’ll have to tell her eventually…….
    😀

  6. I have to go there..soon too..living in Mass it’s not that far away…Thanks for posting this as it is now on my list of places to see…
    Can it get any better?

  10. Didn’t want this story to end. What a great “walk-through” and great pictures. Felt like I was right there eating cheese and olives with you guys. Thanks!!

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