If a picture is worth a thousand words, this post is worth over 38,000 of them. I apologize. I deleted about half of the photos I took yesterday, but so many of them were good that I didn’t have the heart to cut any further. You’ll just have to look at them.
I think I’ve been to Block Island, Rhode Island once before. It seems like more than that because I think about the place quite often. It’s one of those little gems that most of the area hasn’t visited. Don’t get me wrong, Block Island is jumping throughout the Summer, but the crowds disappear in the off season. It’s that off season that’s the perfect time to visit.
The plan was to travel out to Block Island to have lunch at the Spring House Hotel. For my birthday last year, Laura got me a gift certificate just for this. I thought it was a great idea and was excited to go out and use it. We would take the 11AM ferry from Point Judith, arrive at Block Island at noon, eat lunch, and leave at 3PM. Well, that was the plan.
When we arrived at Point Judith, we were a little early. I made a big fuss about getting out of the house at 8AM. I totally forgot how long it took to get to Point Judith, so as I said, we were a little early. About an hour early. Good thing there was a high speed ferry that left at 10:30AM and only took a half hour to get to the island. By taking the high speed ferry, we arrived at our destination an hour early (11AM).
When we got off the ferry, we walked straight up to the Spring House Hotel. I wanted to go up there just to let them know we were going to walk around a little bit and then come back for lunch. Hey, guess what? When we got to the hotel, we discovered that they don’t serve lunch after Labor Day. Oh well. We left.
On the way back down the road, I explained to Laura that it was actually a good thing that I didn’t call first to find that out. If I had, we wouldn’t have gone there for the day and would have just sat around doing other things. I was glad we made the trip. We just went and ate somewhere else.
Here’s the really cool part. Since we had a few hours to use up before the next ferry would bring us back to Point Judith, we decided to rent a scooter (or moped) to cruise around the island on. That was worth it because scooters are awesome to drive around on and you get to see the whole area. We drove from the most northern tip of the island to the most southern and made a bunch of stops in between. We looked hot on the scooter and all the other scooter drivers were envious of us because we could drive 28MPH. That’s a full MPH faster than most scooters on the island. Nobody had the guts to go that fast besides us. We were a gang of two.
At around 2:30PM, we gave the scooter back and did our thing to get on the ferry. During the ride back, I actually fell asleep on the bench. This was the slow ferry, so I had the time. Laura was busy talking with some old ladies who smoked and drank too much. I’ll tell ya, those ladies knew how to party.
Here are those 38 pictures I was talking about above. Enjoy.
Brian
Looks like an awesome place to visit! Thanks for sharing the pictures.
Jay Gaulard
It really is a great little trip. A lot of people wonder if it’s expensive to visit Block Island. I don’t think it is, considering what you get for the price. Right now, a round trip ferry ride on the traditional ferry will cost just about $20. That’s for an adult. If an adult wants a round trip ticket on the high speed ferry, it’ll cost $50. It’s almost worth it to take the fast one. Beyond the cost of the ferry, a lunch is reasonably priced, depending on where you decide to eat. And if memory serves, the scooter rental wasn’t very expensive at all. If you’d like to rent a moped for one hour, that’ll cost $45. It’s $50 for two hours. Definitely go for two hours. So all in all, you’ll have to pay for the ferry, lunch, and a moped, but after that, everything is free. You’ll do a lot of sightseeing and walking around. That doesn’t cost anything. The memories are priceless.
Cynthia
I have some questions for you. What’s so great about Block Island? What’s it known for? Why should I take my family there?
Jay Gaulard
Hi Cynthia! Block Island is a perfect little vacation for family. First off, it’s very safe. I’ve never heard of a crime being committed on the island, but I may be wrong. It’s also pretty small, so if someone manages to get lost, they can’t go very far. There are many historic hotels and inns on the island, so the adults in your group can learn about the history of the place. There are dozens of stores, restaurants, specialty shops, inns, and hotels too. There’s pretty much something for everyone. For your kids, they’ll like the scooters, ice cream, and beaches. And if you decide to rent a house or Airbnb, you can really kick back and relax. Personally, I would make some dinner of my own and simply walk the beautiful beaches during the evening. It’s quite romantic. So with all the art galleries, antique shops, souvenirs, and everything else (plus being close to home), it’s a bargain.
What’s Block Island known for? That’s easy. The island is a semi-popular tourist destination. I say “semi” because as great as it is, tons of tourists still have yet to find it. The roads are excellent for bicycling and riding mopeds. You don’t really need a car there. It’s small enough to get around by either walking or riding. There are also opportunities for hiking, sailing, and fishing. And the beaches – yes, the beaches are incredible. Long and sandy. On top of all this, there are two historic lighthouses on opposite sides of the island and clay bluffs (cliffs) to boot!