3 December, 2008

Groton Connecticut: A Journey to the Submarines

Welcome aboard to the Groton, Connecticut, a great destination for a New England vacation experience. Situated along the shores of Thames River and Mystic River which is a few miles from the Long Island Sound. This town is the largest municipality among Connecticut, New Haven and cities that surrounds Rhode Island with a total land area of 117.1 km2, where 81.1 km2 is land and 36.0 km2 is water. The town has a census totaling to 39,907 population as of the year 2000. The racial demography of the town is composed of 6.95% Black American, 83.61% White American, 0.83 Native American, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 3.33% Asian, 5.01% Latino and Hispanic and 1.66% belongs to other races. The town’s standing on education is highly valuable and is the home of Avery Point campus, University of Connecticut.

The Interstate 95, which is the in-town airport of Groton, has four exits and 2 Amtrak Stations. The transportation facilities are running smoothly across the road and often experience traffic congestion. The Groton is indeed the leading town of the region. The Town offers numerous outdoor activities, beautiful tourist attractions and annual festivals. This town is a great avenue for biking, prime hiking and shell fishing. Such can be done at the Bluff State Park, an 800 acres peninsular land.

Groton promises great attractions for its visitors. You can experience an interactive and exciting oceanographic expedition with the Project Oceanology of Groton. This educates the passengers and visitors about the aquatic environment while enjoying a ride in a floating laboratory. The Town of Groton celebrates the Greenway’s River Festival every June which is a commemorative celebration of the Nashua River. This festival features cardboard canoe races and live entertainment.

Groton have popular tourist destinations including the U.S Navy Submarine Force Museum which is known as the home of the finest submarine collection of documents, artifacts and photographs in the entire world. The county’s very first nuclear-powered submarine, which is the USS Nautilus was built in Groton. Dramatically, four years after its launch, the submarine became the very first vessels to be able to sail underneath the polar icecap. The submarine is now moored on Thames. A self-guided tour to the vessel allows great access to the terrifying and claustrophobic corridors which is usually one person wide. The submarine looks pretty much the same as it was during the 1950’s, embellished with Marilyn Monroe pin-ups. This is indeed one great tourist attraction within the vicinity of Groton.

Other popular industry includes the US Naval Submarine Base, the Electronic Boat Division of General Dynamics, Inc. known for its submarine construction facilities, the Global Research and Development Campus of Pfizer, Inc. Groton also have traditional fishing boat fleet and other advanced medical supply manufacturers.

If you are out for an aquatic expedition, the Town of Groton is the place to be. With facilities catering submarine and other oceanographic activities, there is no doubt that Groton is a unique place for a marine journey. The Municipal park and the state offers a great access and an amazing view of the water.




Filed Under: Attractions, Groton Tourism


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