I was cruised by car in the guise of “Mustang Sally” from Cape Cod to South County, Rhode Island, a two-hour drive that crossed Narragansett Bay just north of fabulous Newport. Bypassing this upscale resort, I was in the mood instead for Hawaiian shirts and shorts over pressed white linen. That meant landing in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, and the rural pleasures of low density and bayside cottages with rocky shore access for skiffs and kayaks.
This fabric of turf farms, shingled New England salt box style residences, reclaimed textile mills in granite and brick, blueberry farms, and salt estuaries is connected by a web of mostly two-lane roads that help prevent massive land development but sweat with congestion in the humid August swell of tourists fleeing Providence and other cities. Local scuttlebutt has it that commuter trains that will further facilitate year-round living are only about three years away.
Summer in South County (which is really 5 counties), traveling along scenic Route 1A from Wickford to Narragansett, is about as kicked back as you can be.
Important facts for a clear perspective on the region:
- The state of Rhode Island is smaller than Los Angeles County.
- US 1, which arrives from Connecticut and continues to Maine, is known through these parts as the Old Post Road, which our patriotic fathers followed in their carriages and by horseback from Boston and points north down to the Constitutional Conventions in New York and Philadelphia more than two centuries ago. Virtually every town on either side of Narragansett Bay has a featured “Patriot Park.”
- The iconic “quonset hut” was created at Quonset Point, RI, in World War II.
This time of year we can pick blueberries at South’s Berry Farm on Shermantown Road, among others in this area and southern Massachusetts (watch for the next post on this journey). We wander along the back roads until we come upon the University of Rhode Island (known for many things, including its Turf Research Center (important to turning Southern California from a desert to grassy lawns and the rest of the world’s available open space into golf courses.
We can also take the ferry or pilot our boats from Point Judith at the southern tip to exclusive Block Island about 12 miles away.
Coffee at Java Madness, 1314 Salt Pont Road, Wakefield, 401.788.0088, with seating also on a waterfront deck, is highly recommended. Beware of their pastries (completely irresistible)! While there, pick up these brochures — “Dining Guide” to 8 towns in the area, “Antiques & Collectibles” shopping guide in the Ocean State (aka Rhode Island), and other guides published by the South County Independent.
Dinner at Trattoria Simpatico in Jamestown, RI, is strongly advised. Ideally the paella will be available on your visit (chicken thigh, mussels, shrimp, littlenecks, crayfish, chorizo, English peas, and saffron rice). The jazz is yummy, too.
