Short trip - Connecticut shore / Long Island

Hi, all:

Second weekend in July, DW and I will most likely be in New London, CT for a short day of business before driving back to Delaware.  I thought I might add a day or two and make it a little more pleasant trip.

I was thinking of maybe taking a day in Mystic (we've never been), and then maybe catching the Cross Sound Ferry to the northeast corner of Lonkgisland and cruising home that way via West Hampton and down along the south shore (also never really been) to the Verrazano Narrows.

Does that sound like fun?  If so, what points should we aim for?  Or is there something else we should look into between there and here?

Thanks!

Mystic and the casinos (if you are into that sort of thing) are the only points of interest in that part of Connecticut. Cross sound ferry sounds like a good option, or go to Newport Rhode Island (highly recommended).

In reply to Woody :

Thanks!  We're not casino people, but I thought the Mystic seaport area might be fun for a few hours and it is just up the road.

Newport was highly recommended, but it's north, and we're headed south to go home.  Thanks again for the input.

One of the casinos in CT has an enormous kart track... friend of mine who lives in groton has been.. I'm trying to remember which one

In reply to Duke :

Mystic aquarium is pretty good too, but it is not part of the Seaport.

If you are heading south, the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat is pretty cool, as i the Shoreline Trolley Museum. They might even let you drive the trolley.

The goal is to break up a 6 hour drive into a couple pieces, and insert some fun into the trip.

Is there a scenic route along on Long Island, and anywhere worth spending the night?  I'm thinking:

Friday - travel up and business.

Friday night - stay somewhere nice-ish in New London or closer to Mystic.

Saturday morning - Mystic Seaport or similar.

Saturday afternoon - ferry to Long Island; drive south some on LI; stay somewhere nice-ish Saturday night.

Sunday - travel rest of the way home via Verrazano Narrows and NJTP

Or, we can skip the LI route and just blaze back down via the I-95 corridor and all the unjoy that entails, and just try to get home ASAP.  That saves probably 60-90 minutes on the overall drive, but it drags us back via lower CT and then across Manhattan.  Still ends up on the NJTP (there's no real option for that leg - it's a matter of how we get there.

I can't imagine that driving down LI wouldn't be more fun, but I'm really not familiar with the area at all.

Either of those drives would be memorable, but not in a good way.

I have driven out to Long Island and then ponied up $50 to put my car on the boat so I never have to drive on Long Island again. 

Abbott's Lobster in the Rough, Noank CT

you can thank me later

I'd try to get an early start leaving Long Island on a Sunday, the traffic from the eastern end of the island through the city later in the day (mid-afternoon - evening) can be particularly brutal.

The rest of the trip sounds great!

If you drive back down through CT make sure you stop for pizza in New Haven.

Might be a bit of a hike but I highly recommend Nardino's Deli. One of the best hoagies/hero/grinders I've ever had.