Twitterer @LadyMissie shared a link with me today: Health.com's 50 fattiest foods in the states. One representative food from each state. Rhode Island's culprit?


While I find it hard to believe that New York System weiners are the fattiest food in Rhode Island (clam cakes, anyone?), they're one of the foods Little Rhody is known for. And they don't skimp on the fat:

Fat content: 13 grams of fat for the hot dog and 15 grams of fat in a serving of ground beef. Plus, the ground-beef sauce is usually made with ultra-fatty shortening. ~from Health.com 

Bear and I really need to try some New York System dogs. Maybe for July 4 weekend.

John Carter House
21 Meeting St.
Providence, Rhode Island

An historic (former) home on College Hill, the John Carter House was originally the home and business of John Carter.


Carter moved from Philadelphia, where he had apprenticed with Ben Franklin, to Providence in 1767. He published the Providence Gazette; and Country Journal from then until his death in 1814 - the first year in partnership with Mrs. Sarah Goddard. He built the house in 1772 and called it "Shakespeare's Head" after the bust of Shakespeare he had mounted on a pole in front of the house.

Carter housed his printing press, bookshop and post office in the building along with his family. His brother in law, John Updike, owned the house next door and rented it to a rival printer, sparking repartee and competition that reportedly amused the neighbors (per rootsweb). Carter was the first postmaster of Providence, a position given to him by his former apprenticeship master, Ben Franklin.

He and his wife Amey (nee Crawford) had seven sons and five daughters. They lost two children in infancy and another at age three due to burns from a candle.

Today, Shakespeare's Head houses the offices of the Providence Preservation Society, whose volunteers have planted an authentic Colonial Garden in the back. It's a sight to see, and worth a post in its own right.


To my surprise, Amazon has a book about Carter titled, John Carter of Providence, Rhode Island: July 21, 1745-August 19, 1814.

isquamicut State Beach
Westerly, Rhode Island

We took our first trip to Misquamicut State Beach on a hot Saturday afternoon. We left fairly early (about 9:30 am), thinking the beach wouldn't get really crowded until closer to noon.

Traffic was unremarkable on the highways, and stayed mainly smooth until about three miles from the beach, where it screeched to a standstill. We clocked along at between three and ten miles per hour until we got to the beach parking lot, not unusual during beach season, but frustrating nonetheless.

There was plenty of parking available once we got into the lot, which made me wonder about the signs along the route offering parking for $20.


The beach was crowded, as you'd expect on a hot summer day. We staked our SPF tent on the sand near the dunes and checked out the water.


The first thing I noticed was a ship in the distance. Probably some sort of commercial tanker, heading off to Quonset, we later learned.


Bear hardly noticed the ship. Once the tent was up, she was full-speed ahead for the water. And that water was cold! I went in a few times, but Bear toughed it out and stayed in the water most of the afternoon.

While she and her sister enjoyed the water, I took a walk to see the amenities.

I found a small boardwalk with a bath house and snack bar. Beside it was a playground. It looked like the kids were enjoying it.

        

We stayed to watch the tide come in, and agreed that the surf is a little tame for us. It's a very family-friendly beach, especially for younger children, and we enjoyed seeing lots of toddlers have their ocean experience. But we like bigger waves and will check out some other beaches to find the right ones for us.

These shots of Rhode Island were submitted to the I {heart} Rhody group on Flickr.


Everyone is welcome! You can join our Flickr group here.

Gaspee Days
Pawtuxet Village, Rhode Island

From Gaspee.com: "In June of 1772 brave colonists from Rhode Island burned the British revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee, in what has become recognized as the first overt action leading to the American Revolutionary War."

Each year, Pawtuxet Village and the Gaspee Days Committee host a series of activities to commemorate the event. There was a colonial encampment, art show, tours of the historic district and a lot more. It was a hectic weekend for us, but Bear and I were determined to see the final event: the ceremonial and symbolic burning of the Gaspee.

We arrived just in time. As we walked down toward the water we heard the last few lines of the remarks, then the explosion of cannon fire.

You wouldn't think that such a small cannon would make so much noise, but it did, and gave us both a good startle. The crowd cheered.

We hustled the rest of the way down to the water's edge to see the mock Gaspee aflame.


It was allowed to burn for a few minutes before the fire department put it out, which was just as interesting to see.


Afterward, we took a quick walk through the encampment and stopped to listen to a fife and drum corp.



We were very taken by the Tory Dogs that accompanied the British fifers.


Next year we'll spend some more time at the events and really dig in for more detail, but it was fun just to see the ceremony.

 Hearthside House
757 Great Rd.
Lincoln, Rhode Island

Hearthside House is a beautiful old home in Lincoln with an interesting and sad story.


From Hearthside's website: "...in the early 1800’s, Stephen Hopkins Smith, a fellow in his 20’s, began to court a young lady from a “prominent Providence family”...She was a little cautious about their future together though and told him that while he was an attractive man, she was looking for a gentleman suitor “of substantial wealth who could provide a lifestyle she was used to”. The Smith family was far from wealthy. But one day, in answer to his prayers, Smith won a lottery, netting him a jackpot of $40,000----an equivalent of $8.6 million by today’s standards.

"Smith kept his winnings a secret, and schemed to build a breathtaking home to sweep “Miss Prominent” off her feet. Construction on Hearthside got underway in 1810 and was completed in 1814. Meanwhile the courtship continued. When the house was done, Smith took a horse and buggy and went to Providence and asked the girl to come with him for a ride. As they approached the bend of Great Road, the girl clapped her hands and said, “What a beautiful house, but who would ever want to live way out in the wilderness.” Smith was heartbroken. He drove her back to Providence and never called on her again. In fact, he never married."

Smith never lived in the house, but his brother did. It passed through twelve families and was occupied until 1996, when it was sold to the Town of Lincoln. The Mowbray family, who gave the house to the Town, still visit on occasion, and many decorative items in the house come from the family.

    
music room


office


upstairs bedroom

kitchen


other bedroom

The house is beautiful, and very big for its time. It's been added to and modernized over the years. One of the things I found most interesting was the accidental discovery of a baking oven in the dining room - which was originally the kitchen - that had been walled over at some point.


here it is in context


and here in detail

Bear adored the house and signed up to volunteer there this summer. We're looking forward to one of the candlelight tours at Christmas, when every room is decorated with a tree.

Providence Children's Museum
100 South St.
Providence, Rhode Island


Bear and I were invited to the opening of two new outdoor play spaces at the Providence Children's Museum earlier this month. Up to now, we hadn't checked out the museum because we both figured Bear (at 14) is too old for the exhibits. We were mistaken.

This dragon met us as we arrived at the building. Not scary, but not friendly, he seemed as curious about us as museum visitors would be about him.

Our first stop was at the two new play spaces, since that was the main focus of our visit. First up was the Climber, designed by father and son architects and builders Tom and Spencer Luckey, who have built similar climbers around the country, but this is their first major outdoor structure.


PCM's climber is 24 feet tall, with lots of levels to scramble over and climb on. Bear was delighted and dove right in.


The other new attraction is the Underland exhibit. Bear did feel that this one was a little too young for her, but it's still a fun and interesting adventure into the underground world.


We got the chance to meet Megan, the Marketing and PR Director, and Janice, the Director of the museum. We learned a lot about the history of the museum (it started in a Victorian mansion in Pawtucket in the mid 1970s and moved to its present location, an old jewelry factory in 1997). It was a nice ego boost to hear that they follow our blog!

As we went inside, it was cool to see how the exterior of the original building had been incorporated into the design.


Bear just loved the Coming to Rhode Island exhibit, and checked out every stop along the way.


Another favorite spot was Strings Attached. Bear does love her puppets.

So, with all said and done, Providence Children's Museum was a great experience. They've got activities for the smallest (including an area for infants), and activities that even teens and adults can get into and enjoy. Thanks very much for Megan for the invitation, or we might have waited much longer to check it out.

This weekend's pride event sees the State House dome lit with a pastel rainbow.

These shots of Rhode Island were submitted to the I {heart} Rhody group on Flickr.


Everyone is welcome! You can join our Flickr group here

Salisbury Farm
11 Peck Hill Rd.
Johnston, Rhode Island
401.942.9741



In search of some outdoor activity, I took Bear to Salisbury Farm in Johnston. Salisbury Farm has been in the Salisbury family for five generations, when it started out as a hay farm. After some years as a dairy farm and a return to hay farming, they now have Pick Your Own strawberries, peas, pumpkins and raspberries, and they grow hay, corn, mums and other fruits and veggies, too.

There were plenty of ripe strawberries and peas in the fields, and we quickly filled up a three quart containers of berries and a good-sized bag of peas. The price was reasonable, and there was no charge to enter the farm.


The farm also has a llama and a donkey for the kids to see.

We had a lot of fun, and I can recommend berry and pea picking as an entertaining way to spend an hour on a sunny summer day. We're also looking forward to apple picking this autumn.

CitID is a collaborative site where designers world-wide represent their cities in typeface. In many cases, there are whole logos built for them. Providence (by AJ Paglia) is the only RI city represented so far, but they're still accepting ideas. How about some of Rhode Island's amazing design community tackle Newport? Block Island? Pawtucket? We'll feature their work here.

I like Paglia's design. It has an industrial vibe to it and somehow makes me think of the roller derby (even though I've never been).

Outside of Rhode Island, Some of my favorites so far: Jerusalem, Bordeau, Temiptay, Sao Paolo, Curitiba, Cadiz,

Felt Like It
Providence, Rhode Island


I first met Amber of Felt Like It at Craftopia, and saw her again at the Providence Art Fest. She makes the most adorable pillows and accessories! I just love her food-based products:


And did you see the little cloud pillow in her display? These are perfect for children's rooms and anywhere you want a little whimsy. The little felted mushrooms are free-standing and would look so cute on a kitchen windowsill. Amber also takes custom orders and is very friendly and easy to work with.