A Rocky Neck Tradition

Tradition is tradition. And our tradition on New Year’s Day is to spend time at the Connecticut shore walking the beach. There is something cleansing about the motion of the ocean water as it ebbs and flows.

Over the years, we have developed our own tradition of throwing our troubles into the water. The idea came to us one day as we watched our son Mike perform the Dead Horse Ceremony with other members of the Demonstration Squad at The Mystic Seaport Museum.

Inspiration For Our Tradition

During the Age of Sail, sailors received their first month’s pay in advance to outfit themselves for the years-long voyage. They felt they worked for nothing during the first month, but at the end of that month they had paid their debt to the Captain. The Dead Horse Ceremony represented the end of that debt and the Captain would let them party. To the tune of Poor Old Horse, the crew would hoist their symbolic debt and toss it into the ocean. So, we skip stones at the water’s edge, symbolically getting rid of last year’s troubles.

Three Hundred Miles

The Connecticut shoreline is over 300 miles long if you count all the bays and inlets and has a number of beaches so we do have choices from Ocean Beach Park in New London to the beaches around Norwalk. For the past few years, we have been going to Rocky Neck State Park. To many, Rocky Neck is just another beach along the shore. But, with its camping facilities, hiking trails, scenic overlooks, crabbing fields and wildlife preservation areas, this state park offers more than just a casual dip in the ocean.

Sometimes, it’s just too cold on January 1 to do much more than throw our troubles into the water. But, other times, the weather allows us to explore the park. Rocky Neck is definitely kid friendly. What kid doesn’t like the beach? And the hiking paths are easy. Trails are fairly short and there’s not much up and down (gain in elevation, the madman calls it). Besides, any change in elevation is gradual.

Rocky Neck

The area that is now Rocky Neck State Park comes with an interesting history. It has been the site of a shipyard, a tannery and a very stinky fish fertilizer factory. In fact, rumor has it that neighbors tried to burn the fish factory down a couple of times and had quite the party when it finally closed for good. Some people credit the lack of development in the area to the smell of the fish.

This lack of development allowed Connecticut to purchase and preserve the 708 acres now known as Rocky Neck State Park. And, here the madman tips his hat to local conservationists who purchased the land in 1929 when a state appropriations bill failed due to lack of funds. The madman says he guesses that the state was always broke. Luckily money was found in 1931 and the state took ownership.

Depression-era Project At Rocky Neck

The park opened in 1932, near the beginning of the Great Depression. Four years later, WPA (Works Progress Administration) workers completed the Ellie Mitchell Pavilion. The Pavilion which sits on a bluff overlooking the beach is the state’s largest depression-era stone building and well worth a close-up view. You can even book a wedding here.

Bride Brook

Running through the middle of the park is Bride Brook, known to the Native Americans as Sunkipaug. Believe it or not this once formed the border between Connecticut and Massachusetts. According to legend, Bride Brook got its name thanks to a snowstorm and a wedding. In 1647, Lt. Jonathan Rudd and his bride Mary were set to tie the knot, but a snowstorm blocked travel. The magistrate couldn’t get to the ceremony. A replacement magistrate was on the other side of the brook, but only had jurisdiction in Massachusetts. So, the couple stood on the Connecticut side; the Magistrate stood in Massachusetts. Everyone was happy, and the brook got a new name.

Baker’s Cave In Rocky Neck

The other landmark in the park associated with legend is Baker’s Cave. During the American Revolution, this outcropping of rocks served as the hiding place for a member of the Baker family. As a Loyalist family, they were reluctant to have their son fight for the “wrong” side. The madman says if you go to see the cave, don’t expect Mammoth Caves or anything resembling it. It’s more like a pile of rocks created by retreating glaciers – this pile just happens to have a hole in it. But, if you happen to be hiking through the park, it is fun to check out.

Restoration Project

The other area that is fun to check out is the Bride Brook Area Restoration Project. Completed in 2010, this project cleaned up the tidal marshes along the brook, restored sand dunes and opened the channel to Long Island Sound. Thanks to this work, migratory fish like the Alewife and Blueback Herring can easily reach spawning grounds at Bride Lake. Their typical run is April through May and this year the madman has marked our calendar for a trip to look for them as they head upstream.

Wildlife Abounds At Rocky Neck

If we miss the run, the park is home to a vast number of different wildlife species from Blue Crabs to Turkey Vultures and even the Hooded Merganser which the madman calls a duck with a bib. Here is a link to a good pictorial listing of species you may encounter in a visit to Rocky Neck. Too bad the Mountain Laurel doesn’t coincide with the fish run because the path to Baker’s Cave is lined with massive stands of this state flower.

Looks like we may have to take another road trip to the shore in June to see the laurel bloom. First we have to get through the winter. The madman is wondering where it has gone and hoping that the warmth hasn’t upset our plants’ rhythm.

Although it’s almost warm enough for Lemonade, looks like we’ll enjoy the relatively nice weather with a cup of Hot Cocoa on the Tree House.