I must admit I don’t remember a lot of details from my
geography of America which was probably taught to me in grade school. I am not
saying you are like me but I thought I would share a few facts about the next
state we landed in for SITs adventure.
Rhode Island, nicknamed “The Ocean State”, is actually
located on the mainland. Its official name is State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which is derived
from the merger of two settlements. Rhode
Island colony was founded near present-day Newport and Providence Plantations was the name of the colony founded by Roger
Williams in the area now known as the city of Providence. No silly not that
Roger Williams.
The last tidbit I will share concerning the history of the
state is that it was the first of the original Thirteen Colonies to declare
independence from British rule, declaring itself independent on May 4, 1776,
two months before any other colony. I guess since they were first they can have
the longest official name for a state!
General Rochambeau
We didn’t go to Providence but we did hang out near Newport.
The RV Park we settled at for a few days is in the neighboring town of
Middletown. It was a good spot for Izzy as we could do our walks in a nearby
park that had a wind driven grist mill. Now Izzy wasn’t impressed with that but
we were, although she was impressed with all of the bunnies she could sniff out
and try to catch. I am glad she can’t catch them as I don’t think Steve would
let her keep one for a pet.
The 8-vane “smock” wind grist mill was built in 1810 in
Portsmouth, Rhode Island. It was disassembled and moved to Paradise Park.
Restored at the park it became fully functional in 1999. These grist mills
operated in this area during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Millstone in the park has a plaque on it that states it was used to grind
corn from 1840 to 1884 until it broke. I think they found a good spot for it to
hang out now.
We explored Newport for a couple of days and enjoyed the
harbor. The town reminds you of the history in the area with sidewalks and
streets made from ballast stones. There are also many mansions around that can
be toured. We decided to just drive around and gawk at them from the truck.
Plenty of Boats
Newport Harbor
Where's the Food?
Tide Pool Hunting
Resting
What Are You Looking At?
A Small Mansion
They have done a great job with allowing access to the
waterfront and Fort Adams. Steve was trying to determine if fishing would be
warranted here so he found a couple of guys fishing at the wall at Fort Adams.
We enjoyed walking around the area and watching a few boats but didn’t break
out the poles.
Steve Checking Out the Fishing
Fort Adams was established on July 4, 1799 as a “First
System” coastal fortification. The first commander was Captain John Henry who
was later instrumental in starting the War of 1812. It was decided that Fort
Adams needed to be replaced with a newer and larger fort. The downside to this
is that construction took from 1824 to 1857. It served as an active Army post
until 1950 but never fired a shot in anger.
The state now oversees the property and it serves as a busy
seaport and a place for holding events.
Sailing by Fort Adams
After Newport we stayed a few days in Narrangansett at
Fishermen’s Memorial State Park. The view from a couple of locations in the
park provided you with an overlook of the town and the bay.
Izzy enjoyed our walks here since she found bunnies again.
The downside for her was I couldn’t let her chase them off the leash. Lucky for
them huh!
We found a nice par 3 golf course close by so spent a couple
of hours enjoying the view and the weather. Par 3’s always challenge your short
game which is good since we needed practice!
Our next spot during our journey is in Connecticut so will
let you know how that goes.
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