“Sail away on the Block Island Ferry, leave all your troubles behind…” So goes the Block Island Ferry jingle. Well, the other day I did just that. My wonderful mother-in-law gave me the gift of an overnight of babysitting for the boys so my husband and I could escape for my belated birthday celebration. If you want to feel like you’re a world away for minimal cost and minimal travel, then Block Island is the place for you. My husband and I try to do an annual pilgrimage to this Rhode Island wonderland and, rain or shine, it never disappoints.
We headed out on a Saturday, full of excitement and nostalgia for this little slice of heaven that we have gotten to know well over the years. Traveling from the Westerly area you can anticipate a 30-35 minute drive to Point Judith where the ferry disembarks every few hours throughout the day. We always opt for the regular ferry, which takes about an hour, but there is a fast ferry option as well for those in a hurry to start their fun. Parking is plentiful, though you’ll pay more or less depending on which lot you choose and its proximity to the ferry dock. We paid $40 to park overnight and headed to the ticket booth to book passage on the 11 am boat. $25.95 per adult gets you the “return on a different day” round trip ticket; we bought our two and we were off to the races!
One bloody Mary and a hotdog ride later we arrived in our paradise and headed to our hotel to see if we could check in early. While most hotels and B&Bs require a two-night minimum you can sometimes get a one-night reservation the day of. We were lucky enough to do just that with a simple and inexpensive room at the New Shoreham Inn right in the downtown strip of shops, restaurants, and hotels. Though the rooms share a hallway bathroom and do not have any air conditioning, they are clean, pleasantly furnished, and many, like ours did, have a lovely view of the ocean.
Room ready, baggage ditched and bathing suits donned, we headed out for a late lunch and some beach time. The Harborside Inn has a lovely covered porch area for outside dining, and a lovely menu comprised of our traditional and not so traditional lunch items. For example, my husband ordered the burger, but I couldn’t resist finding out what a Tuna Ruben tasted like, and I greedily ate every last delicious crumb.
Next stop, another favorite of ours: Ballard’s Beach to work on our tans and wet our whistles with some tasty libations. You can rent chairs or just plop a towel on the sand. There is always music playing and if you’re lucky you might catch a live band. There is also an outside bar but even more conveniently located are two tiki bars right on the beach. As the official drink of Block is the mudslide we started with that…a delicious mix of Kahlua, Baileys Irish Cream, vodka, and banana…YUM!
Why stop at just one mudslide? Well, we didn’t! Showered and ready to rumble, we traveled the short distance to what’s known as “New Harbor “ to the Oar, a casual restaurant known for the signature drink. We also sampled some tasty sushi and oysters here to get a base layer going for the evening ahead. Hunger gods awakened and demanding more, we headed back to the main part of town to a highly recommended restaurant called Eli’s. Every few years a meal strikes me as being the best meal I’ve had in ages, and this is exactly what I declared after eating my Ginger Crusted Tuna: “sushi-grade yellowfin, buckwheat soba noodles, sautéed baby bok choy & leeks, coconut panang curry broth, fried leeks”**. Wow, just wow!
Need to wake yourself up after a heavy meal and burn some calories? Yellow Kittens is a great place to do just that. DJ or band, there is plenty of space in this town staple to get your groove on, and if you need a little air, step out to the cover porch and relax. A few more cocktails and plenty of songs later it was nearly time for bar close and definitely time for us to be in bed, so off we went to collapse into the dreamless sleep of parents on fun overload trying to pretend they’re once again in the carefree 20’s.
Waking to a literal and figurative fog, and not wanting the good times to end just yet, we packed up and set off in search of a little breakfast. We found a perfect place called Finn’s, just around the corner from our hotel. Though there were just pretty basic breakfast offerings here, we found plenty to satisfy and once again, a lovely covered outdoor porch area (the island has many) enhanced the experience. Since the fog wasn’t lifting and it was starting to look like rain, we decided we’d hop on the 11am return ferry and go back to reality. Duffle bag in hand, we boarded once more and waved goodbye for now.
Until next time Block Island…affectionately yours,
-The McGregor’s!
*credit: www.blockislandferry.com
**credit: www.elisblockisland.com/
