So the early week was a blur of fiscal year end at work and prepping for RI at home, which included getting Gansey ready to drop back at Becky’s so she could be spayed while I was gone. I did that before work on Wednesday, when I also worked late so it was a long day. I went home to throw clothes in a suitcase and was on the road to the airport at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday. But when the plane touched down in Rhode Island, it made the long days all worth it.
I had done almost no planning for what to do while there but I did arrange to have dinner with Auntie Margaret on Thursday night. With the afternoon free, Carolyn and I decided to bake cookies so we whipped out a double batch that afternoon and headed to the Crow’s Nest for an early dinner of fried belly clams with my family. Aunt Margaret forgot her hearing aids and I couldn’t exactly yell in a crowded restaurant so I’m not sure what she got out of the meal. Like Carolyn said, she’s 94 so I have to cut her some slack. It was good to see her, as always.
Friday was the only day with a plan and it was jam packed. Carolyn and I drove down to pick John up then headed to Ikea in Stoughton. The annual Ikea trek is always fun and I bought tons of stocking stuffers and gifts, as usual. Since Stoughton is a restaurant dessert, we headed back to Providence for a yummy lunch at The Salted Slate in Wayland Square. From there we headed back to East Greenwich to pick up Marianne and drive to The Newport Yacht Club for drinks on the deck. It was a gorgeous day with gorgeous views and the Menard clan was fully represented – John’s aunts, uncle and mom. It was fun and after we dropped Marianne back home (she’s pushing 80 and didn’t have the energy for dinner), John followed us to Carolyn’s where we had a nice dinner of spinach pies from Don’s Pizza. Yum!
The only other plan for my entire trip was Saturday night at Bob’s, when I would be buying take out so no one had to stress about cooking. So with the day free, we had a leisurely morning at home, complete with scrambled eggs (Carolyn makes the best eggs, bar none) and then we headed out for some shopping. We had to pick up a few things at the market to go with the pizza we’d be ordering and then we hit the new Job Lot in East Greenwich. After offloading everything, we had a bit more time at home before heading to Bob’s. Michele, Rob and the kids were there as well as John, Bob (duh! It’s his house) and Daisy (his daughter.) After starting with vodka laced Del’s lemonade, we had a lovely, low key dinner of pizza, chicken wings and had assorted ice cream novelties, Carolyn’s idea, for dessert. It rained briefly but Bob’s table is completely covered so we didn’t feel a drop. We talked for hours and hours. Nice.
Since Sharyn is stuck in Attleboro and still not driving, Carolyn and I went up there on Sunday and had a fun morning of shopping at the Christmas Tree Shop and Five Below then had lunch at Panera. From there we drove the full length of Rhode Island (all 39 miles) to East Beach, picking John up on the way.
Now East Beach is by far the best beach in RI but it’s a hidden gem that few people know about. The problem with it is the tiny parking lot so you have to get there either early or late to get a spot or they turn you away. We planned accordingly and got there at 3:30 but still had to wait 15 minutes. As a car left, they let one in. It was worth the wait because it’s gorgeous and never crowded. I had bought a clip on umbrella that morning so happily sat in the shade with a towel over my legs knitting in the sun. John and I went swimming right before we left, which was also fun. If John hadn’t had to be back at his mom’s by 6:00, I could have stayed on the beach until sunset. We had the best time and it made me want to rent a beach house there next summer.
After the best shower ever (there’s no better shower than after a day being at the beach), we ended the day with fresh swordfish and sweet corn. This was the only meal we cooked the entire time and since I was leaving the next day, it would stay that way. But YUM! It was a lovely end to a lovely day and I was sad to be heading home. But a short RI trip in the summer is better than none at all and I have no right to complain about the quick trip since I’d been to Scotland for 2 weeks this summer. Oh to have unlimited vacation time! I guess that’s called retirement. Just ten more years. : )
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