New London CT Is Eerily Quiet and Beautiful

The week of the 4th of July is typically a chance for my family and I to get out of town on vacation. This year, COVID-19 had us rethinking things and scaling down big time. Instead of a full getaway, we'd piece together a few small trips. My wife Erica did some research to find a nice beach, not all that far from our house in Danbury, CT that was inexpensive.

She chose Ocean Beach Park on Neptune Avenue in New London, CT, we got a hotel room for one night in the city and the plan was to spend all day Monday on the beach, sleep over and play Tuesday by ear. The beach was spectacular and a fair price, just $18 for our car filled with the six of us. After spending the day soaking up the sun, we checked into our room at the Holiday Inn (not bragging) and set out on the town in search of a restaurant.

Based on my observations driving into the city, I thought this would be no problem, it was a problem. We walked around for forty minutes and encountered one shuttered door after another. It wasn't just restaurants, everything seemed to be closed and I'm not sure what I am missing here? I do not live under a rock, so I'm aware of what the coronavirus has done to businesses in cities and towns all across the country, but there has to be more to this story. These are the pictures I took of our little adventure.

I like looking at abandoned structures and photographing them. I like imagining what once went on there and seeing the people going about their lives in my mind. This was different, we are talking about a seaport city with beaches on 4th of July week and there was no one around. I saw plenty of cars on the street, but no people. Outside of my family, I counted eight pedestrians and one of them was a cop.

I'm not being critical, the city is beautiful and it seems a shame that it's as quiet as it is. There's amazing architecture and art wherever you look and no one to enjoy it. I did find a radio station along the way, so if I ever want to move for work and live in a city all by myself, I know just where I'm going.