I just want to say up front that this post will contain no photos.  However, it will contain a map, just to keep things lively.

I’m in Rhode Island now:  got in Tues. night.  The flight was fine, if by “fine” you mean being packed into a tiny seat trying to pretend that the dozens of people around you don’t actually exist, having all the moisture sucked out of your body by a ruthlessly efficient ventilation system, and subsisting for a total travel time of ten hours on two packets of mini-pretzels when really you don’t even like pretzels in the first place, but it’s all they’ll give you, the cheap bastards; if that’s fine to you then yes, the flight was fine.  It was uneventful.  It achieved its purpose.

So now I’m at my parents’ house, which is in an older neighborhood, on a lake.   And I just want to take this opportunity to mention that, unbeknownst to many, there’s more to Rhode Island than the fact that it’s small.  It’s a fine place, all green, with birds, and blue skies, and all that.  It’s been awhile since I’ve been in RI at this time of year, so it’s kind of nice to be reminded of what a swell place it is in the late spring/early summer. 

My mom and I went wine tasting yesterday.  Yes, Rhode Island even sports a few vineyards.  We visited two.  The first was, well, lame.  The climate and short growing season here really only lends itself to a few varietals, mostly whites, but this vineyard tried to make it all - they had like 30 or 40 wines available for tasting, and four out of the five we tasted were not very good.  Seemed like they were just trying to fleece the tourists rather than make a quality product. 

The second winery, Greenvale Vineyards, was excellent (although their website has annoying harp music when you first enter it, so consider yourself fore-warned!).  The tasting room was tucked away in an old converted stable within sight of the Sakonnet River- very picturesque.  They focus primarily on whites, and had six wines for tasting, all of which were good.  They also have twin elderly springer spaniels, Sarah and Danielle.  Sarah came and slept on our feet while we tasted.  Here’s a map of where it is:  note that it’s on the same island as Newport (Aquidneck Island). 



View Larger Map


My folks are over there by the Arcadia Management Area, so we drove across Narragansett Bay on the Jamestown and Newport Bridges. It used to be that whenever I came back to RI from out west the landscape would look totally foreign to me and it would take some time for me to readjust to eastern topography and vegetation. I’ve been back and forth enough times now so that’s mostly worn off, but crossing the Narragansett Bay yesterday it struck me that it looked all weird and unfamiliar, and I realized that now the predominant “crossing the bay” image in my brain is crossing SF Bay on the Golden Gate Bridge. Narragansett Bay is smaller, and the shores are lined with trees rather than cliffs and/or city.

Anyhoo. Today’s plans include a little hike/walk around a birding area, an early evening showing of Indiana Jones, and dinner at a ribs place.