RHODE ISLAND - CRANSTON AND PROVIDENCE

We had an amazing time visiting family in Rhode Island.  From Stonington, it was only 50 miles or so to the Rhode Island Yacht Club in Cranston, Rhode Island, almost ¾ of the way up Naraganset Bay.  On the way up, we took the western arm of the bay.  It is really pretty cruising up here, folks.  There are so many places to drop the hook and so much flat, beautiful, blue water, that you could cruise a lifetime here and around.  Naraganset Bay is off the Atlantic Ocean, but only a short hike from Block Island Sound, Fishers Island Sound, and Long Island Sound.  If I lived here, I think I would want to have a sail boat since the water is wide and deep and there is plenty of breeze that is quite consistent in both velocity and direction.  This is a race committee’s dream place.  We are anchored in the Great Salt Pond at Block Island.  This island sits about 12 miles due south of Point Judith and is part of Rhode Island. 

My aunt Naomi lives in Cranston as does my cousin Jason, his wife Carrie, and their daughter Sophie.  My mom flew out to join us.  It was a great time.  If my brother had come out, then our side of the family would have all been there.  Naomi, Jason and Carrie could not have been more accommodating.  Jason has a buddy who is affiliated with RIYC and that helped keep the cost of 7 nights at the dock with power to a minimum.  Also, they shuttled me around so I could do those things I needed to do to keep the old girl floating.  We had some wonderful meals together and spent quite a bit of quality time just sitting together talking.  They have a beautiful home that is totally perfect for relaxing with friends and family.  Their home is over 100 years old and nicely restored. 

We visited a number of the surrounding communities including Wexford and Newport, and drove through many others.  We also had a couple nice meals in Providence.  We got the tour of Providence.  This is a beautiful city and has a most fabulous state house building.  The city is on a hill and the views from the top of Benefit Street are outstanding.  And the restaurants! 

It is probably little known that Providence is continually rated amongst the top cities in the country in terms of culinary talent.  One of the top culinary schools in the country is here.  I am now convinced that there is no other way to eat calamari than how it is prepared here in Rhode Island (with light lemon or otherwise citrus sauce on the plate and cut up peppers (cherry, banana peppers), and a delightful garlic aioli on the side.

WICKFORD

WICKFORD

My summer is now complete.  Jason and I went to a pro baseball game.  We saw the Pawtucket Red Sox (the Boston Red Sox minor league team) take on the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (the Philadelphia Phillies minor league team) on a warm evening in a beautiful stadium in Pawtucket.  That was fun. 

Jason is an expert player and knows the game inside and out.  I’m sure he was hoarse the next day after answering so many questions.  I played baseball, but I never had the kind of grip on the rules and nuances of the game as Jason.  So I learned a lot.  We ate all kinds of junk food, too.  But, the chili fries were the best and the worse.  I’m still tasting the bagged chili they squeezed over the grease receptors they call fries.  Oh and the cheese whiz!  Good grief!  But, the beers were cold and we could buy those 4 at a time.  A great time.

My aunt Naomi celebrated her birthday while we were there.  For so many years, she always helped me celebrate mine.  It was a real pleasure to get to help celebrate hers.  I’m terrible with remembering things like this so it was somewhat of a surprise to me, too, but in a good way.  I got to prepare dinner.  So, growing out of the experiences we have gained over the last many months, I prepared what I have come to know as a “Low Country Boil.”  It’s a specialty in the south and is, in many ways, similar to a New England Boil, but without the expensive sea food.  Folks in the south are less affluent and so eat less affluent food.  A Low Country Boil is very simple to make.  You just have to have a really deep pot.  You start by lining the bottom several inches of the pot with smallish red potatoes.  Burry them in water.  Then, season with Old Bay.  Let them boil until they are almost fork soft.  Then, on top of them, put in the sausage (whatever kind you like as long as it is thick and hearty).  Then put in the cut pieces of corn on the cob.  Then, with only a few minutes remaining, put in the whole live shrimp (preferably) and crab legs and other parts.  Season some more with Old Bay (actually, season a lot with Old Bay), and then cover it and let it continue to cook all together until the fish is properly cooked.  Then, drain off the water and dump the whole pot into a large serving platter.  In the south, folks would dump the whole lot onto the center of the table covered with newspaper.  Here, in New England, however, folks are a tad bit more gentile. 

So, Carries folks came for dinner that night.  They are really nice and friendly folks.  We met them when we attended Jason’s wedding 7 years ago.  Nobody remembers anybody they met at a wedding that long ago, so it was like meeting them for the first time.  Carrie’s mom is a hoot. 

While my mom was in town, she and I hopped on a bus and went to Boston for a day.  I sure wish we could have spent several days there.  It is a great city.  We did a walking tour called the Freedom Trail. 

Along with a guide, the tour takes you through several parts of the city where several pivotal moments in American history took place, such as the Boston Massacre, and the meeting place where the Boston Tea Party was initiated.  We learned about Paul Revere, a lawyer named Otis, John Hancock, Sam Adams, John Adams, and several others who were instrumental in America’s throwing off the British Empire. 

It was made clear that the American Revolution was of the common people and not the aristocracy at the time.  Think about it.  If you were rich with English land grants, and money coming from the crown for various and sundry reasons, you would not want to simply give it all up.  It’s kind of like toppling the entity that pays your lifetime pension, assuming it is your sole source of income.  This guide also enjoyed referring to the merchants in Boston at the time as basically criminals.  For that matter, as he described it, everything that took place in the colonies was basically illegal and against the law of the crown.  He described it in terms of the fact that, life in the colonies was going on; things were happening; folks were elected; there was currency and trade; all aspects of life went on in spite of English Law.  This went on unabated for many, many years right under the King’s nose, but, insofar as local officials were happy, nobody back in England needed to know anything about it. 

The reports were all good.  However, as it was explained, England damn near broke itself fighting the French-Indian War.  So, a stupid and greedy king and counsel decided they would recoup some of the costs by taxing the colonies.  This was an ill thought out plan.  Had the king had any real intelligence concerning life in the colonies and how things had been going for almost 150 years, he might have done things differently.  I suspect the king believed the subservience of the colonies was going to be automatic. 

What he didn’t realize was that the colonies did not need the crown or any support from England in any way shape and form.  So, had the king understood who he was dealing with, it was not that big of a stretch to realize he was not going to get away with this.  The folks, especially in Boston, boycotted English goods.  They refused to buy from English merchants.  They refused to pay the taxes.  Finally, when the king taxed tea that was it!  In Williamsburg, we learned that the tax on tea was the last straw because the colonists couldn’t grow tea in America, and thus the tax became a huge hardship.  In Boston, however, the perspective is a little different.  My mom, who is a historian, pointed out to the guide and all following, that the essence of why folks were so pissed off over the tax on tea was because the water in Boston at the time was basically foul and undrinkable save and except for the boiling thereof and the addition of the tea leaves to kill the bad flavor.  So, the tax on the tea was like gripping the throat.  All very interesting.  The Freedom Trail tour was exceptional and I highly recommend it for anyone travelling to Boston.

Boston, that day, was experiencing record breaking heat.  The mercury had to be over 105, so at the conclusion of the walking tour, we fled for shelter and lunch.  We went to Cheers.  Yes, the place on which the lengthy television series was based on.  The bar portrayed in the tv series is actually downstairs below street level and it looks just like the one on tv where Norm sat nursing a beer every day after work.  You could imagine Cliffy coming in the door and Sam standing behind the bar.  Very cool.  Mom had a “Normburger”. 

Then we made our way down to the wharf to have a look at Boston Harbor.  After walking around in the sweltering heat, we spotted an IMAX theatre and ducked in for a movie.  Nice way to cool off for a while.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Boston Aquarium.  By the time we got done with that, an edge had come off the heat so we made our way back into town and found some coffee.  No trip to Boston would be complete, however, without a taste of the New England lobster.  Neither of us was particularly hungry, but that was beside the point.  We found a place offering essentially two one pound bugs for $30 and went for it.  I must say that, while the New England species of lobster is quite good and the claws are cool, nothing beats the California Spiny Lobster.

After a great lobster treat, we hopped in a cab and headed back to the bus station and then back to Pawtucket where Naomi picked us up and took us home.  Thanks mom.  I had a great time.

A definite highlight of our run up the Naraganset was getting to meet my cousin Sophie.  Sophie is 5.  She is a beautiful little girl.  She is smart and inquisitive, and has an understanding about things that far exceeds her age and experience.  And is she cute.  I enjoyed getting to know Sophie and expect that she and I will always be friends.

One afternoon while there, I took everyone out for a cruise.  Of course, Sophie drove the boat.  No really.  Sophie drove the boat.  You might think it’s ridiculous, but it’s true.  Once she got a handle on the meaning of the red and green markers, and understood that she had to stay between them, she was able to drive.  Sometimes, I would catch her in her exuberance when I would ask her if she could see the marks out in front, and she would say she could, and I would ask her to point them out, and she would point to a place where there clearly was no mark, but it was fine.  As soon as she saw the marks, she was right back on track. 

it didn’t help that she is barely tall enough to see over the top of the wheel.  So, we’re motoring along and I’m talking about something, and Sophie is driving.  Then, of course my mom joins the conversation and then Naomi jumps in.  Sophie, at this point, puts the boat in auto pilot and says, “This really requires all of my focus, and I can’t focus with all this talking going on.”  As we stood there, stumped, amazed, and quieted, Sophie, took the wheel back and turned off the auto pilot and continued to drive.  Yeah, it’s real.  That actually happened.  I just threw my captains bars out the window as I had been supplanted by a 5 year old.  No really, this was fun. 

Ultimately, Jason let me use his car to go to the airport and pick up Brenda.  She was tired and took a long nap, before we got up and joined Naomi up at her place.  She took us out to dinner in Providence which was, in my opinion, one of the best meals we have had.  Great food goes well with great conversation.  The three of us had a great last night in Cranston.

The following day, Brenda and I loosed the lines and headed down the bay to Newport, Rhode Island.  I went there with Jason, Naomi, mom and Sophie, and really enjoyed it.  So I wanted to take Brenda down there.  We only spent a night, but we walked all over town and had a nice time before leaving for Block Island where we are now.

NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND:

Yes, that's a postal worker taking a break out of the sun.

In conclusion, I want to thank Naomi, Jason, Carrie, and Sophie for their outstanding hospitality.  I know we are family, but you all went out of your way for us.  Granted, it’s not every day your nephew/cousin shows up on a boat from California, but we sure appreciate everything you did for us.  Brenda comes from a big family and they are all close.  I have very little family and, for me, it is extra special to spend time together as we did.  And I’m glad I met my cousin Sophie, who, by the way, is getting a little sister in about a month’s time.  Yes, Carrie and Jason are having a second baby.  God bless them all and mazel tov.  Thanks again.  We’ll see you again soon.

Mom, you probably think I forgot to mention just how much I enjoyed playing with you for the last week.  I know you came a long way at a significant cost to visit when we would all be together as we were.  I really appreciate it, and I love the shoes.  If we can’t do Boston again, perhaps we can do Chicago, or Memphis, or Montgomery?  Hopefully it won’t be so damn hot out and you will be able to physically enjoy some time on the boat.  Thanks for everything and all your support.

Ok.  That’s it for now.  Actually, that’s probably more than enough.  We’ll be heading west now expecting that we can make it out of the great lakes before snow and ice shut us down.  I won’t be complaining.  You may recall a long time ago that I said I was so cold that I would never complain about the heat?  Well, now I am so hot that I will welcome the cold.  We’ll see, right?  So here we go.