Walking with Nana and Pappa: On the Rocks

Suzie Q's

Again we decided to explore our own backyard. Conanicut Island in southern Narragansett bay is home to a single town, Jamestown, as quaint a New England town as can be found. Today this was our destination. But first, off to breakfast. We stopped along Route 1A just south of Wickford at a great little diner called Suzie Q's. Great food, Great service and as always a

Nana and a cuppa joe

good time chatting with Nana. We got the window seat, right up front, and right in front of the air conditioner. Now Nana is cold even on the warmest of days and to perch her in front of the air conditioner is likely not the best seating solution. However I don't think that there was any real complaints and Nana and I had a great breakfast. To my surprise Nana had a breakfast sandwich (she is not known as a sandwich kind of Nana) but said it was quite tasty and enjoyed her breakfast. Me, I had my usual, with the slight deviation of 'Raisin Bread' for toast. Ordered it toasted dark and dry.. got buttered and only slightly toasted..also it must have come off of a raisin baguette because they were the tiniest slices of raisin bread I ever saw. I could have dropped one into my coffee cup, flat side down. . . oh well. I am guessing that you have realized that I am particular about my toast, so if you ever have the occasion to toast up some bread for me, make it almost burnt, smoking just a little and keep the butter away.
We made our way back to the trusty Ford and fifteen minutes later we were parking at a lot in

Overlooking the sea at Ft Wetherill

Fort Wetherill State Park on Conanicut Island. The whole island is referred to as just, Jamestown, for all the locals, but for those of us who have plied the waters of Narragansett Bay for so long we know it as Conanicut Island which happens to have the town of Jamestown located on its eastern shore. Fort Wetherill was the guardian fort of Narragansett Bay, keeping 'Germans and Japs' out of the area during WW2, and other raiding hordes of earlier history. Must have worked as the only raiding hordes we encountered had on sneakers or dive gear. Nana and I have been entertaining the idea of traveling by camper as I retire as as we were getting out of the car in the parking lot, a Class C camper pulled up and soon we were making introductions and touring their camper. It was just about exactly what we have been talking about. Very nice way to travel and maybe someday this blog will evolve into an RV Travel Blog... who knows?

Up on the rocks

We hiked from the parking lot East and explored the point that overlooked Newport harbor and parts of the old fort there that guarded the entrance to the bay. We chatted with a fisherman who wasn't catching anything but was having a good time. I hope he caught many fish after we moved on. The hiking here is quite varied, wide paths, narrow paths, flat trails and some climbing. What sets this place apart is the view. Everywhere you look is prettier than the last place. This has got to be one of the best kept secrets in Rhode Island, amazing beauty and such easy access. We were amazed that it was not mobbed on a beautiful summer's Sunday afternoon. In all Nana and I hiked just about three miles. Again our apps that measure our progress were in conflict. My app (AllTrails) said we had walked 3.1 miles and Nana's app (Cyclemeter - set on hiking mode) says that we only walked 2.5 miles. Maybe next time I will try to run multiple apps on my phone simultaneously and see if there is a conflict between the apps or if it is a discrepancy between the phones. When we popped out of the woods we arrived in the middle of an antique car meet. There were lots of stunningly restored cars and trucks scattered around a wide expanse of lawn. One of our favorites and I know a favorite

I want one!

of our son, was an old VW bus...ooooohhhh... the restoration was absolutely flawless. Maybe Nana and I should get something like this for our camping travels. After our hike here at Fort Wetherill we moved on to Beavertail, the southern tip of Conanicut Island where the lighthouse is. We took our chairs and sat on the rocks, chatting, sketching and watching people, sea and boats. It was a perfect afternoon. We even found an ice cream stand on the ride home. A great day and we only traveled a half an hour from the house. If you get the opportunity, take a drive down to Jamestown and explore the area. You can't go wrong. More pix below.