Honest reviews, info and images of the places we go.
Block Island, RI
Quiet, if you want it that way.
When you take a ferry to an island, the trip becomes part of the depressurizing that says "I am on vacation." That might be the very essence of going to Block Island, a simple, small and lovely spot 13 miles off the New England coast in Rhode Island. Sure, you can fly there, but even the brief one hour cruise sets your mind in the right frame of reference, lulls you with salt air and breezes and gives you time to just "be" nowhere in particular.
You arrive in New Shoreham, a small 4 street village that time seems to have forgotten about. In the last decade, many of the classic old Victorian houses have been restored and brought back to life, including the grand National Hotel and the quaint Surf Hotel (left). The shops are small, locally owned - no McDonald's here, although you can get Ben and Jerry's ice cream if you are foolish enough to miss The Ice Cream Place just behind the main street of town! If you need to replenish your calories first, you have some great choices. Finn's for fried clams is one of our regulars, and their fish market is superb, if you are cooking for yourself. Water Street Cafe is a great sandwich choice. And for coffee, pastries, wraps and just plain local flavor, we have made Juice and Java on Dodge Street part of our regular daily routine. There is always local art on the walls, there, too!
We usually head right for one of our favorite spots, the northern spit of the island known as the north point, Sandy Point or simply the North Light House Beach. Like so much of Block Island, it is usually quiet, even right where you park. In summer there's a great gourmet hot dog stand waiting for bikers, walkers and drivers who need a fix before walking up the long, beautiful beach that leads past the light house and out to the point where the ocean collides. If you go all the way up, you get a feeling of solitude and space you rarely get on the eastern US shore.
You really can't begin to understand BI unless you stay a while. Click here to get to know the wilder, less traveled and relaxing Block Island we have gotten to know over the years.
When you take a ferry to an island, the trip becomes part of the depressurizing that says "I am on vacation." That might be the very essence of going to Block Island, a simple, small and lovely spot 13 miles off the New England coast in Rhode Island. Sure, you can fly there, but even the brief one hour cruise sets your mind in the right frame of reference, lulls you with salt air and breezes and gives you time to just "be" nowhere in particular.
You arrive in New Shoreham, a small 4 street village that time seems to have forgotten about. In the last decade, many of the classic old Victorian houses have been restored and brought back to life, including the grand National Hotel and the quaint Surf Hotel (left). The shops are small, locally owned - no McDonald's here, although you can get Ben and Jerry's ice cream if you are foolish enough to miss The Ice Cream Place just behind the main street of town! If you need to replenish your calories first, you have some great choices. Finn's for fried clams is one of our regulars, and their fish market is superb, if you are cooking for yourself. Water Street Cafe is a great sandwich choice. And for coffee, pastries, wraps and just plain local flavor, we have made Juice and Java on Dodge Street part of our regular daily routine. There is always local art on the walls, there, too!
We usually head right for one of our favorite spots, the northern spit of the island known as the north point, Sandy Point or simply the North Light House Beach. Like so much of Block Island, it is usually quiet, even right where you park. In summer there's a great gourmet hot dog stand waiting for bikers, walkers and drivers who need a fix before walking up the long, beautiful beach that leads past the light house and out to the point where the ocean collides. If you go all the way up, you get a feeling of solitude and space you rarely get on the eastern US shore.
You really can't begin to understand BI unless you stay a while.