Sunday, July 19, 1987
Kent’s parents left today, having arrived on Wednesday, July
15, bringing Kyle and Erich back from a week and a half in Ohio.
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| 5-leaf clover (7/15/1987) |
Later today, my parents arrived! They checked in to the Town
‘n;’ Country Motel in Seekonk, MA, and I went to get them to watch slides and
have dinner. Tomorrow they would be on their own as I had to work.
Tuesday, July 21, 1987
Had the day off and wanted to take my parents to Alex’s
Family Restaurant for breakfast, but they were closed. So after a quick
McDonald’s breakfast, we took I-195, crossed the Braga Bridge, and headed south
on RI-24, then RI-81. It was already so hot at 9:00!
Went down to Adamsville and turned left to find the Rhode
Island Red plaque across the street from the Abraham Manchester Restaurant.
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| Abraham Manchester restaurant |
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| Rhode Island Red plaque |
The plaque commemorated the breed established in 1834 and honors the famous edible commodity which gave the poultry industry to the world, according to the RI guide! On another corner was a large house with an interesting gate house of about three stories.
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| Adamsville Salt Shaker House |
We next headed to Goosewing Beach, entering the wooded drive after the stone columns at the gate.
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| Entrance to Goosewing |
We were the first car at the beach at 9:20!
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| Goosewing farm and parking lot |
Walked out towards the water, and Mom & Dad collected stones for a woman back in Cleveland.
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| Goosewing Beach |
We left as many cars started arriving.
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| Goosewing cattle |
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| Goosewing pond |
We worked our way to Little Compton Common with the Congregational Church and cemetery in the triangular section.
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| Congregational Church |
Supposedly the grave of Elisabeth Alden Pabodie is here with other original settlers. She was the daughter of John and Priscilla Alden, and was the first white girl born in New England.
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| Little Compton |
We stopped in the general store for postcards, and headed out to take RI-77 north. Passed through Tiverton Four Corners of shops after passing the Sakonnet Vineyards. Took RI-138 and the bridge over to Aquidneck Island. Followed RI-138 over to the Newport Bridge with a toll of $2. On Jamestown Island we made a quick detour to the windmill, built in 1787. We crossed the Jamestown Bridge to take RI-1A south, passing several detours due to construction. We parked near the Towers in Narragansett, and looked over the wall at the fairly calm Atlantic Ocean next to the Coast Guard House Restaurant.
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| The Towers |
We circled the Towers that arch over the road with the wrought-iron date of 1885. The Towers are what remain of the Narragansett Pier Casino (designed by McKim, Mead & White, landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, constructed 1883-1886, and burned down in 1900). The Towers are of stone and the rest of the casino complex was made of wood. Across the road was a green with a gazebo in the center, and a limestone statue of Historical Narragansett Tribal Chief, Canonchet, sculpted in 1977 by Robert F Carsten.
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| Gordon in the green |
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| Historical Narragansett Tribal Chief, Canonchet |
We walked up the street, stopping in the Federal-style post office with wood and brass fixtures. We wandered through the shops, including a bookstore with only a few books, but lots of cards and gifts. Stopped for lunch at J&B’s Sandwich Shop at noon, getting chicken or tuna salad sandwiches with ginger ales.
We returned to the car and drove along Kingstown Road towards Wakefield. At the corner of Sprague Park was the Narragansett Indian Monument, an Indian head carved from a single Douglas fir by Peter Toth. It is 23 feet high and is one of a series of 41 through the country honoring the American Indian. In Wakefield, we looked for a couple camping stores to buy topographic maps. The addresses were obsolete, but we did find one business. However, they no longer sold maps. We returned to Narragansett Pier and headed south on Ocean Road past old Victorian houses and mansions hidden behind hedges, walls and gatehouses. Drove right down to Point Judith and the Coast Guard station. Walked over to see the lighthouse and look across to Block Island.
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| Point Judith Lighthouse |
The lighthouse was an octagonal brick building erected in 1816 and is still a functioning beacon. Earlier the coast guard and beacon were maintained during the revolutionary War. An original lighthouse was built in 1806, but blown down by a hurricane in 1815. The last German WWII
U-Boot/submarine was sunk two miles off shore from here. There was also a weather corrosion test site next to the station, with samples of paints, hinges, circuit breakers, etc. angled up towards the sun.
Could also see the breakwaters for the Galilee Harbor.
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| View of Galilee Harbor |
Next we drove to Galilee and parked near the Dutch Inn to walk along near the docks. Numerous large fishing boats probably readying for the huge Blessing of the Fleet this Saturday.
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| Galilee docks |
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| Fishing boats |
Watched the Block Island ferry dock and unload.
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| Block Island ferry |
We drove north on RI-108, which took us through Wakefield again, and also Peacedale, full of old stone buildings converted into an industrial park.
We took RI-138 past the stone buildings of the University of Rhode Island, a state land and sea grant university, established in 1892. We took RI-2 that had more construction detours, then RI-4 to I-95 into Providence. We passed the giant blue termite of New England Pest Control. He is mentioned in a book about American roadside attractions, and is 32 feet long with 42-foot long wings, for a total length of 58 feet. We also saw the smaller, but still impressive, metal horse made from auto parts. We took the Exchange Street exit and drive past the Civic Center and bus station. Circled around to the Biltmore Hotel, now an Omni hotel, and parked in their ramp. Walked over the skyway to the hotel and took the glass-enclosed elevator up to L’Apogée restaurant. It was open so we were able to enter to take a look out the windows at the city below.
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| Kennedy Plaza bus station |
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| RI Statehouse and vacant old train station |
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| Kennedy Plaza |
After taking photos, we went down to walk along Weybosset Street to look for another map store. Its location was being vacated by another business. We wandered through the Arcade and up the Westminster pedestrian mall, looking for public telephones with phonebooks. Since we didn’t find any, we returned to the hotel where the concierge had a phonebook. We found the Map Center had moved to Broad Street, and there was still a place in East Providence, although none in Cranston. We paid $3 for parking and drove to the Map Center where Dad was able to purchase three topographic quadrangles. We then hopped on I-195 to go over to Waterman Avenue near Meeting Street School. At this store, the fellow selling maps had retired three months ago! We went to the Town ‘n’ Country Motel to freshen up, and went to Carrie’s, this time to sit down and eat in the restaurant with its simple décor. Dad tried the seafood bisque that was full of seafood and apparently very good. He also had six big stuffed shrimp with roasted red potatoes and sautéed yellow squash. Mom had the broiled Digby scallops with a salad, and I had Carrie’s Special, mussels, littlenecks, crab, squid, shrimp, and scallops in a garlicky Fra Diavolo sauce over linguini. We left $40.
Now we headed to the waterfront area of Providence, parking near the Hot Club to see the Corliss Landing shops and condos.
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| Corliss Landing |
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| Hot Club |
We looked over the water at the hurricane barrier.
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| Providence hurricane barrier |
We drove over to Fox
Point to walk around a bit, before driving to the Seekonk Newport Creamery for
ice cream. Mom had a coffee milkshake, which was coffee in milk that was
shaken. “No ice cream,” the waitress warned! We tried to go to Lechmere to buy
film, but they had closed at 17:00 for inventory. (I was able to run a couple
rolls of film to them the next morning before they headed to NYC.) Returned my
parents to the Town ‘n’ Country Motel, and I got home at 22:30, beating Kent who had a
business dinner with ISPO regional managers.
