Rhode Island Adventure

This was our first time to stay in Rhode Island and we had no idea what to expect in the smallest state in the country.  One woman suggested a restaurant in nearby Westerly that serves clam chowder and clam cakes.  "You can't get more Rhode Island than that," she said.  So we checked it out.  The clam cakes were more like clam balls.  With ketchup they were pretty good and the chowder was OK--not as good as at Fisherman's Warf in San Francisco.

Westerly is in the southwest corner of the state just a few miles from the southern shore.  Newport, RI, is in the southeast corner of the state so we didn't get to see that iconic location.  But we enjoyed our nearby coastal areas, including Watch Hill and East Beach.

This Merry Go Round is right next to the beach in Watch Hill.  Kids were having a good time there.  The city beach there cost $9 for seniors so we skipped going there.  Instead, we walked toward a beautiful inn we saw on our way into town.

On the way we walked by some beautiful homes.  The high rent district increased in value as we got closer to the shore.  Look at the view through this carport.

I love this neat old house.  How many people visit this "cottage" in the summer?

This unique fence surrounds the gardens of a house named Seaswept which apparently was built about 1865.  In the distance you can make out the Watch Hill Lighthouse.

This is another spectacular house with a beautiful view.  I wonder what witch the weather vane  honors.

There was an almost hidden path--pedestrians and bicycles only--leading to the Watch Hill lighthouse.

 

Then we found a cutoff to the East Beach and finally got close to the waves coming in. As always, the lighthouse and beach have brisk winds but we were glad we finally got to the Atlantic Ocean.
  According to the evening news, Saturday was the day the Rhode Island beaches opened.  I didn't know you could close beaches.  But since it is the first day there are life guards available at some of the beaches, perhaps that is what they are talking about.  The weather hasn't been conducive to swimming and enjoying the beach.  Tonight we saw average temps for Memorial Day over the past 3 years--all in the 80s.  Today the high was 56--brrr.  The waves were good for surfers, however.

Eventually we came to Ocean House, the large inn we saw driving into town.  They have a private beach with individual changing tents and lots of beach chairs, as well as a large croquet field.  I would love to stay there for a couple of days--when the weather is a little warmer.

Hurricane Sandy came through this area in 2012 but we couldn't see any damage were we traveled.

This neat old touring car was parked outside the hotel.

It was a fun day to top off our visit to the last state on our bucket list.  Since beginning our RV travels in 1988, we have now spent the night in all of the lower 48 and Alaska.  Yipee!  Now, we need a new goal to put in our bucket.

Holiday Weekends

The first of three big summer holidays is upon us. RVers know it is necessary to get reservations far in advance for these weekends. Knowing we wanted to be in a Colorado State Park over Labor Day, in January I made our reservations at Ridgway State Park. Planning ahead, I was so proud of myself. So why didn't I make reservations then for Memorial Day and July 4? I knew we would be staying in commercial RV parks over those weekends. We will be in Colorado Springs for the 4th and planned to stay in the KOA there. It is huge. Was I ever surprised to find last week that the only had 1 or 2 nights with 50 amp hookups available during the last week of June and first week of July. And they won't allow 50 amp units with 2 air conditioners to stay in a 30 amp site.  I was a little panicked as I made call after call before I found a spot to stay. Whew!  That was close.

But Memorial Day was even closer. Where would we go? We finished our visit to Doug in New Hampshire and moved on to a park outside Boston for a few days. But where would we stay this weekend? I had made a one-day reservation in Rhode Island to check this state off our bucket list. So I tried several locations in Pennsylvania and all were full for the weekend.  What do you suppose people do in Stroudsburg, PA, over Memorial Day?  A number of calls later, I called the park in Ashaway, RI, and was able to extend our reservations till Memorial Day. That was really too close to call. Walmart parking lots don't appeal to us at all. Glad we are here.

So, where is here? Ashaway is certainly a town we had never heard of. We know nothing about Rhode Island, in fact. But as we set up and looked around we found the setting somewhat familiar. We spend our winters in Gold Canyon, AZ, and know what seasonal parks are like. People come to see their friends, returning year after year. This park has lots of seasonal residents. But here the majority of the RVs are travel trailers, not 5th wheels or motorhomes. Obviously, this is the first big weekend of the season and people are just setting up all their outside equipment, which will probably stay in place all summer. The families will come on weekends and whenever else they can get away from work. The park is full of younger families with children. It truly is a resort, not just an RV park. Everywhere yesterday we saw people giving hugs to friends they probably haven't seen since the fall. There were a number of communal meals around us.

We saw parks like this when we traveled in New Brunswick several years ago, as well as in the Midwest. They are the mobile version of a summer cabin community. We stayed in one New Brunswick park where one family had created a large fire ring and benches all around it. Every evening people gathered for a campfire and laughed and joked together--right across the road from our RV.

Up until this weekend, we have seen RV parks with very few campers. We even stayed in a Yogi Bear Jellystone campground and resorts in Hagerstown, NJ, Massey's Landing, DE,  and Littleton, MA, with numerous activities and facilities for both children and adults. We enjoyed those places especially because the children were still in school and the parks weren't crowded. This weekend brings that circumstance to an end, I imagine.


These photos will give you an idea of what this resort I like.  It is has raining here a lot, so their are puddles around but this track for radio controlled cars will probably get lots of use when it dries out.

I wonder if the people in this RV intend to have a campfire 24 hours a day all summer or if they will share it with their neighbors?  (Barbara--we aren't parked close to this RV, thankfully).

This is the train that takes young children around the park.  The driver looks like he is having a good time.  The speedbumps here are those yellow metal strips that really make RVs slow down.  But the train takes them at full speed.  The kids really enjoy that part of the ride.

This is a view from a hill that overlooks about half of the park with a very wet bocce ball court in the foreground.  They also have a tennis court, basketball court, volley ball, horseshoes, a soccer field and shuffleboard. We also saw a game room with arcade machines and a large pool.  Lots of fun.