A Week In Rhode Island, And Thereabout….

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That’s right, we recently made a trip that was well overdue, and even better than we could have hoped for. We visited my sister, Jessica, in Rhode Island. Back in 2017, I had the opportunity to drive from Utah to Rhode Island with her when she moved. The drive was great, but I spent hardly any time in Rhode Island before flying back home. But I promised her that Rissy and I would come to visit soon. Well, 4 years later, we finally made it happen.

We decided to tag it on to the beginning of our trip to Belize. If you haven’t heard about our short term move to Belize, or wonder why we are doing it, read all about that fun adventure here. It was Marissa’s first time to New England, and the beauty of that region is only slightly less breathtaking than Marissa’s. She loved it, and so did I. Jessica was the perfect tour guide, and showed us the best of what Rhode Island and Massachusetts has to offer. So on Tuesday, we said goodbye to our family and our beloved, semi-adopted cat, and got on the plane. Let’s just say it was a busy week. Here is the rundown:

Day 1: Block Island

On Wednesday we woke up at 5:45am after only 3 1/2 hours of sleep (our flight got in at about midnight) to head to the coast to catch the 8:00am ferry to Block Island. Block Island is located 12 miles south of the mainland and is only 3 miles wide and 7 miles long. There is definitely an island vibe here, so it was great preparation for our trip to Belize. 😉

We arrived at the ferry dock an hour before departure because we needed to load Jessica’s car onto the ferry. It was an hour ferry ride and then we arrived at Block Island. We started off by doing the North Lighthouse Trail which is a sandy trail along the beach and only 0.7 miles to the lighthouse. There was a lot of fog on our way to the lighthouse but by the time we turned back it was beautiful clear skies. We saw lots of cute seals bobbing in and out of the water and lots of seagulls.

We then drove to the Mohegan Bluffs Trail. This trail is sometimes tricky because of the tide, so we went just 30 minutes after high tide to make sure we wouldn’t get trapped later on. There are 141 stairs to get down to the beach, and the view is incredible. We loved that the mist created a kind of magical scene. The beach was pretty busy, but the farther you walk, the less busy it gets. It was fun to walk the beach and see the colorful rocks.

After the beach we checked out the South Lighthouse which was cool, but much more crowded. We liked the North Lighthouse better.

We drove back down towards the North Lighthouse and found a perfect beach with a bench to eat our lunch of sandwiches and watermelon.

Time to find a beach to swim at! We drove to a supposedly great beach called Mansion Beach but couldn’t find any open spots for parking. It seems to be very popular, so if you want to go there, get there early in the day to secure a spot, or plan on a 20+ walk if you find somewhere to park along the main road. We decided to drive further south to Crescent Beach which was really nice, had plenty of parking, and the water was great. It was so beautiful and clear and not too cold. It seemed Crescent Beach and Town Beach are all connected and essentially one really long beach. We swam and stayed at the beach for a couple hours then decided to find a place for dinner.

We walked through town and chose a place called Poor People’s Pub. Marissa ordered their special recipe Mac & Cheese and I ordered the Shrimp Po’boy, while Jessica got their fresh fish tacos. Each meal was delicious and Marissa said the Mac & Cheese was the best she’s ever had. After dinner we walked around town and through some shops and then waited to get back on the ferry.

Day 2: Lexington & Concord

On Thursday we started off our day by getting donuts from PVDonuts and they were DELICIOUS! One thing about Rhode Islanders is that they LOVE donuts. I feel like I belong in RI just because of that. But anyways, it is something they take great pride in, and was one of the things I was most excited for on our trip. Donuts. I would definitely call myself a “donut-ie” (similar to “food-ie”, but more specific). Marissa likes Krispy Kreme, but not much else usually. But at PVDonuts, they have brioche donuts. They were airy, and buttery, and had so much flavor. Rissy admitted that they were some of the best donuts she’s ever had! I would definitely suggest the Dunkaroo donut, as pictured below, or the Nutella frosted, which was Marissa’s favorite.

After a relaxing morning we drove out to the coast and went to Iggy’s for lunch. I mean, after all, you can’t really go to New England without having New England clam chowder, right? Iggy’s clam chowder is delicious and you can eat it right on the beach if you want to. And we would definitely recommend getting the clam cakes to dip in it. Mmmm, sooo good! Then end it with some doughboys for dessert. 🙂

We then drove to Minuteman Historical Park and visited some historical sights from the American Revolution. The first site was where Paul Revere was stopped and arrested by the British regulars while he was on his famous midnight ride. Luckily one of his companions, Prescott, managed to escape and still made it to Concord. Another spot was the bridge where the “shot heard ’round the world” was fired- the first shots of the American Revolution.

Then we got to do one of our very favorite things, but something we haven’t been able to do for over a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic – we went to the LDS Temple in Boston. For those not of our faith, we believe these temples to be the closest place on Earth to Heaven. They are dedicated as Houses to the Lord, and are sacred. I won’t get into detail here, but if you are interested in learning more about them, here is a link. It was such a great experience and so good to be there again.

Day 3: Salem and Fenway Park

On Friday we got donuts from another place called Allie’s Donuts. Open since 1968, this place is a legend in Rhode Island, and a must visit. Their donuts were very traditional, but completely homemade and so so good. I highly recommend the Boston cream-filled donut.

We ate lunch at home and then drove up to Salem to explore a bit. We decided to opt for a do-it-yourself walking tour by purchasing an app. This turned out to be a great way to explore because first of all, it was only $5 to purchase the tour instead of the $20 per person that the bus tour costs, and we got to take our time and enjoy getting to walk around the town.

The app we used is called “Salem Witch Trials” and looks like this.

There is also an option to buy a combo pack on the app for Salem Witch Trials, the Freedom Trail, Lexington & Concord, and others, but we only needed the Salem one this time. It was perfect because we just linked two Airpod sets to our phone, and then shared the buds so that all three of us could be on the same page. It works easily with up to four people, after that more phones and headphones would be needed (this is actually the same thing we did for audio tours on the Freedom Trail in Boston and for the Newport Mansions).

The tour ended up being great, although pretty spooky and very tragic. There was so much about the witch trials that I did not know, but was really fascinating, especially from a psychological and sociological perspective.

On the way back to our car we found a cool little wand shop that had lots of wands for purchase, and seemed to be like a real-life Ollivanders™. The owner apparently realized a need in the community for witches and wizards to have a wand-maker, and opened up his shop. One thing is for sure, there is no shortage of people-watching to do in Salem. 😉

After Salem we traveled by train to Fenway Stadium (the oldest stadium still in use in the US) to attend a Boston Red Sox game. It was the first game in a series against the Orioles – and they won 8-1!

Day 4: Boston and the Freedom Trail

We knew Saturday was going to be a full day, so we got up early and drove the hour and a half to downtown Boston. There were a lot of cool sights to see and there’s so much history in Boston. There is a brick path that leads all over Boston and is called the Freedom Trail. We listened to an audio tour that Jessica had bought years ago that guided us to about 37 different sites in Boston, and then across the water at Bunker Hill.

We saw the gravesites of Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and John Hancock, as well as the five individuals killed in the Boston massacre.

Other sites we visited were places like the Old South Church (where the meeting took place just before the Boston Tea Party), Paul Revere’s house that was built in 1680 (that’s right, it was already 90 years old when he moved in), and the Old North Church (where the lanterns were shown “one if by land, two if by sea”).

We also stopped for lunch at the longest running tavern in America, called the Bell in Hand, open since 1795. The food there was amazing!!

As a side note, Paul Revere’s house is situated pretty much right in the middle of Boston’s Little Italy. If you want good dessert, we highly recommend stopping at Mike’s Pastry for an amazing cannoli. They make tons of pastries, but they are best known for their huge assortment of cannoli flavors. I got the Oreo and it was sooo yummy. Rissy got the Nutella, and while it was tasty, we would probably try something different next time.

The tour ended at the naval port, with a visit to the U.S.S. Constitution, a.k.a. Old Ironsides, the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy. You can go on board and below deck where the cannons and living quarters are, although some areas are off limits, since it is still technically “in use”. The guides on board are navy sailors. And just FYI, you must have a passport or driver’s license to get on board, as well as pass through security.

Oh, and we also got to go to “the place where everybody knows your name”. They did not know our names… but it was still cool to see in person!

We ended the day eating at a great seaside restaurant in Providence called Cello. They had live music playing, fresh seafood, and a great view of the harbor.

Day 5: Church and the Cliff Walk

Sunday was a very relaxed day. We went to church in the morning, and then after lunch drove about forty minutes to Newport. This is where all the big mansions are that we toured the next day. On this trip though, we just did the cliff walk. It is a 3.5 mile, moderately trafficked trail that follows the cliffs between the ocean and the mansions. There are gorgeous views throughout, and we even took the drone up for a flight while we were out there. Take a look at some of these shots!

Day 6: The Newport Mansions

On Monday we went back to Newport to tour the mansions. The first, and biggest mansion we toured was The Breakers. The ocean waves breaking along the rocks at the end of the property are the inspiration for the name. The Vanderbilts built and owned this home in the late 1800s- mid 1900s and it was very extravagant, which is a bit of an understatement. They used it as a “summer cottage” until it became too much hassle to manage, and they all but donated it to the Preservation Society of Newport.

The second house we toured was The Marble House and, you guessed it, it’s constructed almost entirely of marble. This house was beautiful and built basically with the sole purpose of showing off wealth. There was a beautiful room done in gothic style that was Marissa’s favorite. The fireplace mantle is shown below. Then to top things off, they had a Chinese Tea House in their backyard, that is open for tea on select days.

The third house was The Elms and while this one is also very big, it was slightly more simple inside then the others. Of all the houses, this one seemed the most “homie”. It also had the best landscaping and garden by far!

All were beautiful in their own ways. Each of these mansions were run by approximately forty servants, and were only used about eight to ten weeks a year.

For dinner we went to Pane E Vino for dinner. I ordered the Fusilli al Ragù Napoletano and it was so yummy. The fresh made meatballs alone made it one of the best Italian dishes I have ever had.

After dinner we got the most amazing ice cream ever from Udder Delights. They have awesome combinations of flavors that really were udderly delicious!

This was the last full day of our trip, and while it was packed full, we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Day 7: Departure to New York

On Tuesday we got up early to catch our bus out of Providence to Manhattan. We used Flixbus, and while it was three and a half hours of not the most comfortable ride, the $10 tickets definitely made it worth it. You can read more about that short trip here.

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