Rhode Island

Day 47 Rhode Island

Saturday, June 13

SUNSHINE!

We awoke to sunshine, blue skies, birds singing, and warm temperatures today! Yessssss!

The healthy breakfast we ate is about the only meal that is smart lately…this is part of visiting RI. We know that we won’t be able to enjoy certain foods when we leave, so we enjoy ourselves without guilt. We will repent at home, oh yes…we will.

The weather was perfect for a bike ride so we biked down what is called the Galilee Escape Road (built after Hurricane Carol in 1954) toward the fishing docks. Before we got that far, we turned right onto Great Island. Biked over the little bridge and into another world. Quaint. This is what the New England Seaside is to me. At one time these were almost all summer ‘camps’ as they were called. They were mostly summer cottages for people from the city, and some full time residents, probably fishermen and people who worked in the fish processing factory. Now, they are interspersed with some large lovely homes.

Then we biked into the village. The ferry was loading up for a trip to Block Island, about 10 miles offshore. We walked out on the pier and watched the fishing boats dock. I noticed that all the deck hands were smoking…they must be doing well, cigarettes are over $8.00 pack here!
We stopped at a tee shirt shop that I always hit while I’m here. Then on to the end of the village, a beach and some jetties that line the channel between the ocean and the harbor. There is a reconstruction project going on that has taken over the beach and made the jetties inaccessible. This will be a sad summer for some who love this area. The jetty/beach/parking lot area is a place where many ocean loving, but not ‘beachy’ people love to come to sit in the parking lot at the edge of the jetty. There they may pull out a lawn chair, or just sit on the rocks watching boats of all sizes return to port, or to go fishing. Last time we were here in the summertime we noticed some even people tailgating, grilling sausage and peppers (RI is mostly Italian) that smelled so good, while watching the boats. This summer that won’t be happening…

Later we visited yet another cousin and her husband. I actually knew this cousin before I knew Jim. Her large family lived across from my aunt and uncle and their large family. Later I went to high school with her and her younger sister who was my age.

We enjoyed a few hours of reminiscing. Her husband is a few years older than Jim, but they’ve known each other’s families for years and he and Jim talked about the old gang. Back then, everyone knew everyone and neighbors all helped raise each other’s kids. Everyone was poor, and nobody noticed or cared.
After a lunch, many laughs, a stroll down the gorgeous beach at Matunuck and a lot of catching up on lives later we left. All nearing retirement, it felt like just yesterday we were all getting married, choosing careers and starting families. The years fly by, don’t they?

The weather was still great, and there was still a good deal of daylight left when we left at 4:30 so we headed back to the middle of the state (a 20 minute ride…RI is small!) to the city where we raised our family and where Jim had been a cop. We drove a big loop through town, past the two houses and neighborhoods that we’d lived. And also through the areas where Jim had spent most of the time on certain police beats. Many things have changed, many things exactly the same. Sweeping changes around the airport and most of an entire neighborhood gone for airport expansion. The houses are gone, only the trees remain…and they are SO much bigger than we remembered. Trees grow a LOT in twenty years!
Jim wanted some Italian bread to go with his to-go box from last night. We passed an Italian Bakery. If you are familiar with this part of the country, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. I wanted to stay in the car, but he insisted I accompany him into the bakery. Gorgeous pastries, and of course bread. And don’t forget the ‘tomato bread’ pizza strips…we only got one strip ‘for the road’.

Back to the campground, but not before I decided that I was ready for fried clams. Jim enjoyed his veal and Italian bread, I had my fried clams…a perfect day.

Tomorrow, rain forecasted….again…who knows? We are visiting yet ANOTHER cousin in the afternoon!