Our Day On Block Island

July 18, 2016

The boys and I took a day trip to Block Island last week. We were looking for something new and fun to do and a family member suggested taking the ferry over and spending the day on Block Island.

We decided why not?!

We got up early, packed a few essentials like sunscreen, sunglasses, and my camera and headed out.

We had a great time and we had the best weather for it!

We took a ferry to Block Island out of Point Judith. We were one of the first few people on board the ferry so we had a long time to sit and wait and watch all the fishing boats preparing for their day.

There are so many houses and marinas along the cove that we had plenty to look out as we pulled out of port.

I found myself wishing all day that I had splurged and brought my big camera but without a case for it yet I had to make do with my tiny point and shoot... But I had fun playing around with composition anyway.

It was quite windy out on the water and sitting up on deck made it more so. But we enjoyed watching the gulls and boats around us. We were able to see Block island off in the distance.

We crowded the rails as we moved further into the island and craned our necks to see all around; my boys had never been to Block Island and I had not been since I was in middle school... I didn't remember ANYTHING! But it all looked so inviting and relaxing.

The main strip right in front of the ferry dock is filled with beautiful hotels, restaurants, and fun shops. There were lots of boats docked in the marina as well.

There is something so distinctive about New England seaside towns and islands.... the greenery, cliffs, rocks and faded shingles.

We walked up and down the road a few times; peering into shop windows, reading menus for lunch, watching the people, cards, mopeds and bikes. We finally picked a seaside outdoor cafe for lunch and had a nice break from the sun sitting under the umbrellas.

All over the island there are bike rental places; they looked so charming but with all the traffic and no idea of where to go or what to do we decided to just stick to walking.

We spent a bit of time on the beach. We played in the surf and I showed the boys how to make "drippy sandcastles." Using the wet, muddy sand we scooped up large handfuls and let them drip down on one another making lumpy castles and buildings.

Ian and Alec built alongside one another

Alec got creative and added seaweed to his castle

We just loved this building with it's long porch and all the rocking chairs with the hanging baskets of flowers. The flowers were amazing all over the island. We stopped at a realtor's office and looked at the prices, sizes and designs of the houses for sale. We stopped at the local library for a break from the sun and played a few games of chess. We admired all the gardens everywhere and stated noting the various species of hydrangeas that were growing everywhere.

We did a bit of shopping too. The boys all tried some flavored gourmet popcorn at Pop on the Block and Ian bought some chocolate peanut butter to bring home. We tried homemade fudge at the local candy store and Ian got some fresh, homemade ice cream. We enjoyed looking at the photographs of Block Island from a long time ago and seeing how much had changed over the years. We talked about the expense of living on an island and watched the ferries bringing in tractor trailer trucks and milk trucks full of supplies.

Mostly we just enjoyed a fun vacation day wandering around a beach side tourist destination.