United States / New England / Thimble Islands
A Thimble-Full

Usually we can unlock a few island doors on our travels. But the doors to the Thimble Islands (off the Connecticut coast, near New Haven) were slammed shut. Ok. We looked for the Thimble Island style of tourism instead.

This group of rocky islands is perched right off the shoreline. Not much to look at from our vantage point. But we knew some of the Thimble Islands have colorful histories worth hearing about. So, like everyone else who ventures here, we took a boat tour.

Onto the boat docked in Stony Creek. One of 3 tour companies with local captains. Luckily it was late in the season. September's boat crowd consisted of us & only 2 other curious ticket holders for the 45-minute ride.

We heard legends, stories & gossip from Captain Bob. Some of it had to have been embellished. As is the case of anyone giving the same spiel over & over again. Highlights included: the name Thimble comes from a thimble-like berry. There are about 2 dozen inhabited islands. Captain Kidd has hidden treasure on "Money Island." The hurricane of 1938 killed 7 people. Jane Pauley & "Doonesbury's" Trudeau have a home on "Governor Island."

Better yet was hearing that "Mother-in- Law Island" was named for the intrusive woman who disturbed her daughter's wedding night. The newlyweds fled, leaving mom behind. But most fascinating to us was the General Tom Thumb tale. He courted Miss Emily. The diminutive daughter of a Thimble homeowner, on "Cut-in-Two Island," during the 1860's. But Barnum wouldn't allow them to be married.

The ride around was relaxing. The water had a mirror-finish that day. We saw some island houses. But heard nothing from the shorelines. We knew we'd do better in the summer, when we could see some islanders & hear some activity. One magazine writer described his summer boat ride as "touring an exotic watery zoo." Weird!

We really enjoyed listening to the islands' histories. It's undeniably juicier than what goes on today. Of course we really don't know what goes on today. "Thumbers" are a very private bunch. There are virtually no cottage sales or rentals that get as far as a real estate listing.

May be next time we'll do a kayak tour. To get someone else's slant on the Thimbles. And to get closer to the islands.

No doubt, it's who you hear what from that gives these islands their tourist style. That means we'll have to take the other tour-boat rides, too. Just to compare notes.