Mom and Dad's vacation in Rhode Island

Mom and Dad spent some time at a friend's house in southern Rhode Island while Grandpa had fun with Mercer last week. It was a relaxing time, though Mercer was always missed. The weather was fantastic for the most part and we enjoyed some much-needed beach relaxation.

Sunday, July 12: Arrived in the evening after buying supplies for the rest of the week. Ate a dinner of broiled cod, crab cakes, salmon, wine, and some Narraganett beers at Starboard Galley. Not a bad way to start the week.

Monday, July 13: At the beach from 8:30am - 12:30pm. Reading material for the week included Twilight, Esquire, Cookie Magazine, and City of Thieves. Went to Providence after turkey sandwiches to see our old stomping grounds. Had a couple of pints at the always dependable Trinity Brewhouse, did some shopping on Thayer Street, and then headed to the West Side to eat dinner at the delicious Julian's. The mini-Cuban appetizers with aioli were unbelievable as were the main courses. The bathroom was worth noting, too: a TV showing classic AC/DC and Black Sabbath concerts, a cabinet full of vintage Star Wars figures, and hand soap in a plastic ketchup squeeze bottle. It's all about the little things.

Tuesday, July 14: At the beach from 8:30am - 1pm. We were sitting around most of the same families from the day before. By the end of the week, we found out that we were sitting next to an extended family from the same county as us in all week. Interesting.

After lunch, we headed over to Narragansett to play some mini-golf. We needed to get our practice in before embarrassing ourselves in front of Mercer. Dad won quite handily, but Mom gave it her best shot. Then it was off to Newport to see the eerie, yet majestic Fort Adams. It was run down, but our guide was interesting and the view of the Pell Bridge from inside the fort was amazing. The fort itself was one of the largest of its kind; Sumter, Ticonderoga, and McHenry could all fit inside of Adams.

On the parade grounds.

View of the harbor.

The Pell Bridge from Fort Adams' east wall.

After strolling around Newport's hidden historic streets, with structures dating back to the revolution, we headed home.

Whoops.
But first, we stopped at Mew's Tavern in Wakefield, one of the more satisfying places to grab some interesting beers and pub grub. We were entertained by a duo singing Celtic songs. At first, Pop was petrified, but after a few drinks, it was pretty good.

Wednesday, July 15: At the beach from 8:30am - 12pm. Headed back to Wakefield after lunch to take a look around the shops. One of the best bookstores in the state, Myopic Books, is in Wakefield. They feature old, rare, and new books. We found some great things for Mercer, including a Maurice Sendak pop-up book, and a treat for Daddy - a retrospective on Barnett Newman. We headed to the market to prepare for the night's feast: steak, shrimp, corn, and salad. Once we got back to the car, however, Daddy noticed that the car had a flat tire. Oh, bother. After unsuccessfully trying to fill the tire up, we raced over to A. Quick Tire Repair in Wakefield. They were closing for the night, but they slapped on our spare and promised to the fix the tire the next morning. Good enough. We went back home and ate our delicious surf and turf dinner. After eating, Mom and Pop played a few rounds of cornhole while drinking some good Chianti. Mom won 2 out of 3 games.

Thursday, July 16: At the beach from 9am - 11am. It was quite cloudy and breezy on Thursday, so Mom didn't stay on the beach that long. Besides, Pop had to go and get the new tire for the car, so the whole day kind of revolved around that. Once the tire was fixed, we headed into Providence again. We kinda love the city. What can we say? We ate lunch at the best lunch spot in the state, East Side Pocket. It was one of our favorites when we lived in the area and it still is. Then we headed down College Hill to the RISD Art Museum. Pop had been meaning to see the museum for a long time, but never had the time while he was a student at one of the other schools in the city. The museum was quite good; aside from housing relics stolen from the ancient Greek, Japanese, Egyptian, and Roman times, the museum displayed more contemporary works by Lichtenstein, Warhol, Pollock, Rothko, and Mondrian. They even had some pieces by Monet, Chagall, and Picasso.

We headed downcity for a little bit of shopping before dining at the wonderful La Laiterie, where the focus is on hand crafted products and carefully grown vegetables and meat. We had been there once before, but when Mom was pregnant; she could not partake in any of the delicious cheese and wine. We opted for a three-course menu that included scallops with a sweet pea pesto, berkshire pork with a spicy rice cake, spinach, and cherries, and finally a mixed-berry dessert with a fantastic crust and real whipped cream. Fantastic!

We headed back to the house but first stopped off at the beach to collect some rocks and seashells for Mercer.




Gross.

Friday, July 17: At the beach 8:30am - 10:00am. Time to go home, but not before enjoying a few final hours at the beach. Friday was perhaps the best day of all to enjoy the sand and surf, but we could not stay too long. We had to beat the Connecticut traffic (which turned out to be quite light) and meet Grandpa and Mercer back in New York. It was great to see Mercer again and he was happy to see us.

Movies watched: High Fidelity (Jack Black's peak as a comedic actor, for better or worse), So I Married an Axe Murderer (absolutely putrid), Kingpin (a classic, of course), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (OK, but the 97 minutes seemed to take forever), Dexter, Season 2 (not a movie, but very entertaining).