I have been home for 5 days...and I am ready to head back up north. As usual it was a great trip filled with catching up with friends and family...seeing the ocean, meeting new people and spending some quality time in my mind. After 2 uneventful flights I was in Rhode Island checking into my hotel across the street from Scarborough Beach. I have stayed in the same hotel for the past several years and it serves its purpose well. It is relatively inexpensive for being so close to the ocean. I was as unpacked as I planned on for my two night stay...freshened up and headed out. I was very excited that I would be able to watch the Red Sox every night I was in town. So Charlie O's was my watering hole of choice. About a 3 minute drive from my hotel with decent crab cakes and calamari...I rooted for my team and enjoyed the food. It was a chilly but clear night and the Milky Way was out in full force...I have to go to the beach to hear the waves up close and see all the stars that are not hidden by city lights....it was breezy but worth it. That night I slept with my window opened and the heat on....I needed to listen to my favorite sounds as I fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up to beautiful sunshine and a wind that wouldn't quit. I b
raved the elements and made my way to Double D (aka Dunkin Donuts) for a large cup of hot coffee with cream and sugar. I took my morning motivation and sat on the Sea Wall in Narragansett...although the wind was whipping the sites were beautiful! When I was a freshmen in high school, part of that year we lived within walking distance from the Sea Wall (until that house burned down). I would put on my walkman and head to the wall, I would sit and watch the waves crash onto the rocks. As I sat on the wall I realized that there was absolutely no graffiti. I would like to think that even the punk kids respect the beauty enough not to ruin it.It was time to head out of the beach area and take my very sweet 80 year old cousin out to lunch. When I arrived to pick her up she took one look at me and exclaimed..."You look just like your mother!" I know this fact about myself. Since I let my hair go white I do indeed look just like her...and that's ok with me. She was a beautiful, smart, funny, loving person. I digress... Back to the trip...after lunch I drove to my best friends house. Katie and I have been best friends since we were 4 years old...that's almost 35 years...that is a VERY long time to maintain a friendship. It is always wonderful to see her and her family. She has 4 kids 7th grade, 5th grade, 2nd grade and a 2 year old...what a woman!!! She juggles the kids activities, a job and a role in the PTA. I did not see her husband much this trip because he too was juggling hockey practice and work etc. But I will see him next year..it may be in passing again...but then there will be the next year...etc.
I did not stay away from the beach too long...the waves were calling me and I needed to heed
their call. Galilee is a quaint little harbor town that is home to George's...a good seafood restaurant and the Block Island ferry. There is a jetty which is a great place to sit and watch the boats go in and out of the harbor and where fishermen set up shop.My stomach made me aware that it had been quite awhile since I had anything to eat and I wanted to go have some awesome Chinese at Chen's in Wakefield. This is a restaurant that has been around for a very long time. We would eat there frequently when we lived in Narragansett, after we moved away and would visit my sister at URI...and whenever we are in RI. The amount of food on my plate was obnoxious..and it didn't even look like I had eaten anything by the time I was full. But there was no time to waste....the sun was about to set and I did not want to miss it...back to Galilee I went and just in time. Sunset and the ocean are two of my favorite things....but a sunset by the ocean...it's hard for me to describe.
The sun was down and the air was getting cool...it was time to head back
to Charlie O's to cheer on the Red Sox. There were a couple ladies sitting at the bar...one was a local and one used to be..she now resides in Florida, but comes to visit her friends that still live in RI. Sounds familiar and I smiled with the thought that I too would still be taking my annual journeys to the Kingdom (as one of my friend refers to RI). My first full day was coming to an end...it was time to head back to the hotel..open my window so I could hear the waves. What a great day it was!
