A Day in Mystic (aka a dessert crawl)

Before I start the post, please read "Evolving Beyond Performative Activism: 10 Way to Confront Systematic Oppression" by Gabby - if you have time to read about my day of travels, you have time to learn more. It's a list that everyone can start with. Also, you have time to sign the petition for Breonna Taylor at petitions.whitehouse.gov and visit Black Lives Matter.
I took a look at my calendar, and realized I still had quite a few vacation days to use up before the end of the year. I can't go and see family just yet, so I never really thought about taking time off. Thankfully, my roommate Kate and I decided to take a Friday off and travel to the nearby town of Mystic, CT! We did some research, and had a long but fun day of adventures, strolling, and eats. I loved that we went on a Friday, since all of the places weren't that crowded.
We woke up at the break of dawn - 5:30am, to make our 8:30am rail bike appointment, along with the 1.5 hour drive. The Essex Rail Bike is very popular, so buy your tickets ahead of time for $25/ea up to a four seated bike! It wasn't preferred to bike that early, but it made us start our day early. It was very organized, clean, and everyone biked about 20 feet apart. The whole route only took 45 minutes, but made us hungry for our first stop...

Sift Bake Shop was what we were most excited about - the owner won America's Best Baker on The Food Network, and everything on their menu looked amazing. Once we got there, it was so hard to choose what to order! Kate and I each ordered 3 things for good measure, to try a variety. In total, we ordered: - Egg Sandwich - Mushroom Quiche - Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Walnut Cookie - Peanut Butter Praline - Strawberry Rhubarb Croissant  - Lavender Latte - Local Honey Latte

The drinks are pretty good, but all of the desserts and savory items were wonderful. We can't wait to make the drive back! I made a review on my Tiktok too :) Next, we walked around downtown Mystic for some window shopping. I didn't buy anything, but there were so many boutiques and cute shops. Since we went on a Friday, it wasn't crowded at all which was the best part! It was time for more shopping, and we did a short 10 minute drive to Olde Mistick Village. It was recommended to me from a co-worker, and had a lot of unique shops and cute restaurants. 

from the classic movie! we didn't up eating here though (heard the pizza is not that great..haha)

took a quick nap in Southington at the beach. would recommend for long day trips

I did not buy anything, except for some more food from Deviant Donuts. It was practically a dessert tour that day! We pre-ordered 6 donuts, as that was minimum to order ahead of time without waiting in line. The donuts good, but I think we were too full from Sift to really enjoy them!

Next, we went back to Sift Bake Shop (lol), but this time to have some cocktails on their beautiful roof called Mix at Sift. My kumquat mojito was to die for, and it was nice to take a break and rest for a couple hours. We just sat on the roof and enjoyed our drinks, and decided not to eat anything to prepare for our last destination - Buttonwood Farm Ice Cream!

documentation that I stood very close to bees

It was an hour out of our way, but so worth it! We found them on instagram, and saw they also had some sunflower fields to walk through. I ended up getting some blackberry chocolate chip frozen yogurt, and Kate got the Mocha chip. We both tried the homemade waffle cones (I asked for mine on the side), which was the best part. We eventually made it home at 9:30pm, after a full day of exploring! We have already decided to go back to check out some more cute stores and donut shops. Definitely a great day trip destination!