Just got back from spending a week at Groton Long Point (GLP) in Connecticut.  It was a last minute house rental.  It was a small house, but was ok for the week.  Unpaved, grass driveway leading back to a detatched two car garage. Front porch.  As you walk inside there was a staircase to the left leading upstairs where there were 3 bedrooms, one with a queen bed, one with a single bed, one with two singles and a "nook" in the front of the house, and a bathroom with shower. Walking into the house puts you in the main living area.  Off of that straight to left was the dining room.  To the right was the entrance to the kitchen.  From the kitchen you walk through the laundry area and then into a second bathroom.  There was also a door leading out to the back.  Nice piece of property.
We drove up on Saturday August 4 in off and on rain, sometimes heavy.  We took two cars.  I drove up with my daughter in her car and the rest of the family drove up (with the dog) in our car.  Traffic was awful and it took about 4.5 hours to get there (1 stop).
After getting unpacked we headed over to Olde Mystic Village and had dinner at the Pink Basil.  On Sunday the kids took the kyaks (the house provided two) to the "beach" and had some fun with those.  Then my son and I took a quick visit to Fort Griswald in Groton, Ct.  It was the scene of a British attack in 1781 (led by Benedict Arnold).  They have a monument to the battle which you can climb to the top.  The climb almost killed me.  I'm getting too old for that. 

My wife went out and got some floating devices including a giant clam shell and a couple of rafts. Later in the day my wife and I drove to Stonington to the overlook there.  It has a monument commemorating a battle that took place there in the War of 1812.  The view was pretty nice, lots of water and view of 3 states:  Ct, RI, and NY. 

Earlier in the day the wife went out and got some floating devices including a giant clam shell and a couple of rafts. The kids had a good time with those things.  Dinner that night was burgers and dogs (and veggie stuff for the vegetarians) at home.  The next day was another great weather day that began at the beach. (The wife went to the Williams Sonoma outlet).   The kids got a kick out of the dog swimming, but she'd only do it for a short while and then she was done.  We again ate at home and then went to Mystic Village for some ice cream.  Nice town, but very touristy and small.  Tuesday was a great weather day as well (they ALL were except for the day we left, which was no big deal).  Beach in the morning and early afternoon and then we went to Mystic again for a late lunch/early dinner at the Engine Room.  After that my son had to go back home to work so he took the dog with us.  She was fun to have and seemed to enjoy the water (no waves in the Long island sound) but she was also exhausted.  On Wednesday the kids did some kyaking in the morning and then we went and got a "parking permit" so we could park anywhere in GLP (it's a fairly "exclusive" community and they have "parking for residents and their guests" only.  Since we were renting we were a "guest").  After that we went to New London and had breakfast/lunch at Yoke.  Then I went to Fort Trumbull while the rest of the gang walked around New London. 

They weren't too impressed with it.  After that we went back home and went to the "South Beach", which was much nicer than the beaches that were just down the road for us.  A word about the beaches here.  Most are quite rocky.  They're not at all like N.J. beaches.  The "south" beach was nice though.  On Thursday we went to the US Nautilus museum in Groton.  Free!  I went with wife and two older daughters.  My youngest wasn't feeling well.  I got them to go by telling them we wouldn't be long and we weren't.  It's a great museum and you get a tour of the sub.  Even the girls liked it. 

After that it was back home and then off to South Beach for sun and swim.  While we were there we did get rained on a little.  A fast moving shower that cleared out pretty quick and left nothing but sunny blue sky.  Friday was our last full day there.  We started at the beach and were there until about 2 30 pm.  Then we went to the Olde Mystic Village and I dropped the girls off there for tea/dinner at Alices (?).  I then drove to Stonington again and visited the lighthouse museum.  I got four lighthouse stamps there.  Then back to the Village where the girls shopped a bit after dinner, then back home.  That night we went back to South beach to watch the sun set.  Saturday we packed the car and off we went, after making a stop at Abbots in Noank.  Karen got the small lobster roll ($19!!!) and I got a lobster bisque, which was quite good.  Then onto I-95 with another stop at the Williams Sonoma outlet (nap time!).  After that we made a quick stop at the Weir National Park and I got the stamp there.  After that an interesting drive the rest of the way home through huge rain storms.  Our "Flash flood" alerts kept going off.  The parkway was jammed so we got off and took back roads home, having to detour around some very flooded roads.  By the time we got home the rain had stopped and the sun was out.  All in all a nice vacation.