Nature preserves along the shore lure hikers and bikers. The Mystic Aquarium offers a look at sea life and sea exploration. It is the home base of Robert Ballard, who has uncovered a number of relics of the deep, including the Titanic. The Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center tells the story of the area's earliest inhabitants.

The town and the Seaport both are places to fall in love with all things nautical, to embrace wholeheartedly the words of poet John Masefield:

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied.

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If you go. . .

Mystic Seaport is open daily, year-round except Christmas Day. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from April through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from November through March.

Admission is $17 for adults; $9 for ages 6-12. Tickets are good for two consecutive days.

For more information, write to Mystic Seaport, 75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT 06355; call 1-888-9SEAPORT or visit www.mysticseaport.org.

For information about the Inn at Mystic, call 1-800-237-2415 or visit www.innatmystic.com.

Located in the southeast corner of the state, barely over the border from Rhode Island, Mystic is about midway between New York City and Boston.

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E-mail: carma@desnews.com