Believe me when I say… I am a Texas girl through and through. It’s who I am, to my core, a loud and proud Texan, but oh my goodness, let me tell you… a little piece of New England stole my heart over Labor Day weekend. I never thought I’d say it, then again I had never traveled that far north to know, but I fell in love. Everything about the natural beauty of the state of Connecticut, the quaint charm of the Mystic community, the nautical harbor town inspiration, it was just perfect.
As a former Miss Texas and a lifetime fan of the Miss America Organization, I’ll be the first to say that I love Miss America being held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, it’s home and birth place. In 1921 the organization began as a bathing suit contest on the boardwalk as an attraction to continue tourism beyond Labor Day weekend, and 97 years later I had the opportunity to be a part of a continued and cherished tradition, right where it started. Competing in the iconic Boardwalk Hall, riding down the Boardwalk in the Show Us Your Shoes parade, and visiting so many historical Miss America locations were priceless pieces of my journey and memories that I’ll always hold deeply.
When it was announced earlier this year that Miss America would return to Connecticut for the second time and for the 100th anniversary competition, I was so sad. Following my experiences in Atlantic City and in the spirit of tradition, I had hoped the competition would return “home” to mark the landmark occasion. However, that all changed for me over Labor Day weekend.
My mom and I made a last minute decision to pack our bags and head to Connecticut for the 100th anniversary festivities and to see Mallory in her very own Show Us Your Shoes parade, something we couldn’t miss for the world. I had my speculations and doubts as we boarded a plane to an unknown territory for us Texas girls, and to my surprise, the state of Connecticut, but specifically the town of Mystic quickly became a location I cannot wait to return. It’s clear that so many of the communities in Connecticut surrounding the new home of Miss America at the Mohegan Sun have embraced Miss America making it’s way to the area, and it truly was such a fun experience.
If you’ve ever seen the 1980’s romantic comedy, Mystic Pizza, starring Julia Roberts, you might just know where exactly I’m talking about. Mystic, a small village tucked away in Groton and Stonington, Connecticut is a small community of roughly 5,000 people or less, reminding me a lot of another little small town I love… Fairfield, Texas. The entire atmosphere of the community caught me by surprise, not to mention the refreshingly somewhat cooler temperatures than we are accustomed to in Texas during September.
While we were only able to stay for just that day, there were so many things I immediately adored, and I have already made a list of places to see and visit when we return in December for Miss America week. Unfortunately for us, we were just a few weeks shy of exploring during the peak of fall foliage to see the stunning colors, and when we return in December we will likely be in for a rude awakening of New England cold weather, but let’s just say I am excited to see it all in the snow too!
So with that being said, here is a photo recap of our day trip to Mystic, Connecticut and all of the places we visited and loved. It only took one day for me to fall in love, and I can’t wait to add to the list of all the things we were able to do!
Stop 1:
We started our day prior to the parade with a stop at Deviant Coffee & Donuts in Olde Mistick Village, and Y’ALL. Holy cow. SO good. I had a snickerdoodle latte and maple bacon fritter and I’m still dreaming about them. The perfect combination to indulge in, but not so sweet that it made me feel sick. This is a high priority return-to spot come Miss America week!
After filling our tummies with sugary goodness, we spent some time walking around Olde Mistik Village to explore, and it made all my Hallmark movie dreams come true. I can only imagine how adorable this place is during the holidays. There are tons of shops, restaurants, and the prettiest small town sights to see.
Stop 2:
After taking some time to walk around, enjoy the beautiful weather and window shop a bit, we headed to the Miss America Show Us Your Shoes Parade to cheer on our favorite Miss Texas!
Following the parade we followed Mallory and the other Miss America girls back to the Mystic Aquarium to grab a few things before heading back to Olde Mistik Village for lunch and more shopping!
Stop 3:
We decided to have lunch at a spot that just looked super cute – Go Fish Restaurant, and it was simply wonderful. I had a lobster grilled cheese paired with lobster bisque and homemade kettle chips, and it was YUM! The crab cakes and brussel sprouts were also delicious!
After lunch we decided to explore more of Olde Mistik Village including some of the most adorable shops… like a local honey shop with literally every flavor of honey you could ever imagine, my favorite being the key-lime honey, the most magical little Christmas store, and much much more.
Stop 4:
After a little while we then decided to load into our rental car to head to downtown Mystic on the marina, where Mystic Pizza is located. The waterfront views, stunning architecture, and even more sweet little shops… it just got better and better! We stopped for ice cream at Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream and also visited the Mystic Pizza parlor location itself!
While I’ll always be one for tradition and have a special place for Miss America in Atlantic City in my heart, I think I’ve made room for loving this beautiful place almost as much. We had such a fun day exploring and I know we didn’t even begin to put a dent into many of the things that we still wanted to see and do while visiting Mystic since it was just a day trip. I can’t wait to go back, explore more and see the magic of it all come to life during the holidays. I know it’s going to be just like a real life Christmas Hallmark Movie!
xx,
Madison
