RI Info NDR

[Luke Berkey]

I'm looking for non-hunting related info for RI. I'm heading up there next week with the wife. We are staying in the Point Judith area but we will be heading up to check out Newport and probably going out Block Island one day. I'm looking for any info on places to eat or drink or things to do or see. Any maritime or waterfowl type museums?
Thanks. Luke

 

[Paul Meisenheimer]

When in Newport or Jamestown, check out the Rose Island Lighthouse. It is now a museum.

http://www.roseislandlighthouse.org/

It is a short trip on the ferry to get there and it is interesting to see the lighthouse as it would have been kept in 1912. It is also one of the less expensive things you can do in the Newport area. My wife and I, along with another couple, had the pleasure of spending the night there last year.

My wife enjoyed touring some of the homes they have open to the public in Newport. She actually went back a second year and visited homes she missed the first time around.

Another of my favorite places is Watch Hill, RI. A walk on the beach or exploring the dunes is a pleasant way to spend an hour or two.

If you travel just a little bit west of Watch Hill you will find yourself in Mystic Ct. The Seaport Museum is fantastic.

 

[Jeff Frechette]

Plenty to do in Mystic CT http://www.mystic.org/
Newport has great restaurants, take a walk by the marinas on America's Cup Ave & Thames street and pick one that looks good to you.

 

[Carl]

Frances Fleet boats out of Point Judith is catching the heck out of the stripers, porgies, sea bass & fluke right now.
http://www.francesfleet.com/

I torture myself by reading their reports weekly.

 

[Patrick Enright]

Google 'peacedale sporting clays' if you want to do a little shooting when you are there - It's 15 minutes from Point Judith.

Federal Hill in Providence - 45 minutes north - is nice to hang out at with many great Italian restaurants and bakeries.

Roger Williams zoo also in Providence is very nice.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[rob_g]

newport is having the boat show this weekend. I've been to it before. Pretty cool climbing all over the mega yachts.

 

[Capt. Brian Rhodes]

Newport has tons of great bars, restaraunts, and places to see. Couple maritime museums there, nothing real waterfowl related. Tennis hall of fame is in Newport as well.

Block Island is nice this time of year, most of the 'tourists' have gone home for the summer.

There are alot of old military 'forts' both on Newport and Jamestown that can be very cool to walk around and check out.

The point (Judith) has a few good places as well to eat and hang. There are tons of charter boats if you want to go out fishing that run out of there every day.

Feel free to pm me with any questions!

have a good trip!

 

[Luke Berkey]

Thanks for all the info. I was up there last year doing some free diving and spearfishing with my brothers. We camped near Jamestown and didn't do much but dive. I really liked the area and wanted to go back and check it out a little more. My wife will be happy that I finally got some info from this site that she will benefit from. Thanks again. Luke

 

[Steve O]

If you and your wife like to walk, Block Island has I think about 25 miles of hiking trails, and it's a free activity. Ask around, and you can get a free map on the island. I think the chamber of commerce building right in Old Harbor (near the ferry dock) has them.

My wife and I have walked there quite a bit (literally hundreds of miles over the years). I think the highest point on the island is only a bit over 200 feet, so you don't have to deal much with climbing.

Do be very cautious about disease carrying ticks (I wear a deet containing spray, light clothing, white socks, long sleeves,and tuck my pants cuffs into the socks). The island's deer population is enormous, and they (like all of Rhode Island) have quite a problem with lyme disease (and some other tick-borne illness, the name of which I forget). When we go on the trails we stay off any that are overgrown, and we don't wander into the brush. If your wife or you are anxious about the ticks, the roads can be nice for walking or biking this time of year. Some have more traffic than others.

The views are fantastic, and if you get tired of walking, the long sandy beaches on the eastern side of the island (Children's Beach, Fred Benson Beach, Scotch Beach, and Mansion Beach) are good places to take a swim. Obviously, don't go in if there is high surf and/or rip currents (which I think are a real possibility this weekend with the hurricanes out at sea).

Speaking of waves, a few years ago my kids and I took a ferry ride out on what my kids now refer to as the "vomit comet". I believe a hurricane was not too far out to sea. As a result, we now make it a habit before deciding to head out to check the forecast for the wave height and likely direction for the day going and the day coming home. This link http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/...ge.php?station=44097 will give you real-time data for the predominant wave height and direction of a buoy not too far from Block Island (it also gives some historical data)

During these walks we like to pop in for luch at the diner (I think it's called Bethany's) at the airport that's located in the middle of the island. It's one of the few places on island that isn't aimed at tourists. Their turkey burger's good, I like to wash it down with an ice cold bear.

Feel free to send me a message if you head there, I've got lots more info that might help you.

 

[JimG]

If you want a down and dirty lobster dinner in Point Judith, I usually go to Champlins. You order at the counter and get it on a plastic tray and have to leave a deposit for the nutcrackers.....It's right on the channel heading in to the docks, so you can sit and watch the boats go in and out.