small and mighty

rhode island is pretty much the best state ever. i'd definitely move there. even though it's tiny, it has 400 miles of coastline and beaches. we are smitten, which is why even though we live in western PA, this was the third time we've made the trip.

we spent one night on block island with my sister, bethany. block island is twelve miles off the coast and accessible only by ferry. we brought our bikes (and dylan's trailer!) and pedaled out to our favorite beach, mohegan bluffs. this is a picture of the wooden stairs that lead down to the beach:

when the stairs run out, there is a moderate scramble over rocks to get to the sand. it is so beautiful there--just the ocean, the sand, and the cliffs.

most people didn't hike all the way to the beach, so even though we passed some folks on the stairs, not many joined us on the sand.

after block island, we met my parents at a house they rented in wickford, a cute bayside town. we spent a day in newport on the beautiful cliff walk that meanders the coast behind the famous mansions, and we visited a winery for tastings and a tour.

we spent another afternoon at the beach in narragansett. it was a breezy late-september day, and only jim swam. i wish it had been warmer, especially so that dylan could have worn her swimsuit and played in the surf, but it was great just to be there. dylan loved the sea gulls and dogs, and jim was able to put his boogie board to good use.

in addition to our time in rhode island, we had two nights at my parents' in eastern PA and two nights in brooklyn, so from there we were also able to spend time with my grandma, my sister tiffany, my brother josh, and dylan's godparents, dann and nancy. we got to see josh's and bethany's apartments for the first time and better picture their lives in philly and brooklyn. being in the city definitely made jim and me nostalgic for our pre-camp life.

on our way home, we stopped in connecticut and had dinner with our friends beth and charlie and their twin boys. these adorable little peanuts are not even four weeks old, and it was so great to see our friends as parents. plus, the babies made dylan laugh, which was pretty cute. she gets really excited about animals, babies, and little kids. dann and nancy's two cats had her squealing and giggling with much delight.

we loved having opportunities to spend time with people we love and don't see nearly enough, and it was definitely great being back at the beach and in rhode island. and the rice pudding was unimaginably delicious--thank you, bethany!