Block Island, RI

We arrived on Block Island on Thursday morning around 11:00 AM.  This island is approximately 14 miles from mainland Rhode Island and is about 9.7 square miles.  As of the 2010 census there were 1,051 people living on the island, but that number can triple during the summer.  Block Island is a summer tourist destination for relaxing, biking, hiking, and visiting the beaches.

Dock at New Harbor Marina, Block Island
Southern Style is there on the right.

Our water taxi driver from Newport mentioned that there was a place called Dead Eye Dick's on Block Island.  She said they have some of the best lobster rolls in New England.  We hunted the place down once we had the boat docked.  Guess who we saw coming out of the restaurant as we went in?  Our water taxi driver and her husband from Newport.

And yes the lobster rolls were to die for

After lunch we got on our bikes and rode to one of the many hiking trails around the island.  For several years now there is a local artist that blows glass orbs that are dated, numbered, and stamped with an embossed picture of the island.  They are hidden throughout the island along the public hiking trails and on the beaches.  We decided we had to go searching for them.  We spent a good bit of our first afternoon and the next day hiking around on some of the trails, but did not find any.  These orbs are apparently more difficult to find than Scotch Bonnets.  Dave Hawley we need your help!

Some of the sights we saw while searching for orbs

We looked by ponds

We looked in the woods

We looked in bushes

Even Pengi got into the search

We looked up into all manner of trees (crab apple)

Oak trees

Trees with fungus growing on them

We even decided we needed to cover more ground, so on the second day on the island we rented a moped.   Pengi again was very excited to go searching.  Here he is on the moped (he was not allowed to drive as his feet did not touch the ground when he was in the seat.

We looked on the beach, but found no orbs.  This was the most creative shot I got from the beach.

We did get to see the two light houses on the island.  One is at the south end and is appropriately called South East Lighthouse.  They were working on it but I managed to get a picture or two.

South East Lighthouse

The other is at the north end of the island and called (you guessed it ) North Lighthouse

This is the view out into the ocean from North Lighthouse

Block Island was a very enjoyable stop.  The moped was a great idea.  It allowed us to ride around the island and really see everything on the main roads.  We could not have done it on the bikes as there were many hills and the island is a bit too big to explore just by bike.

We now head to Montauk, NY and Gurney's Star Island Resort for the Labor Day weekend.