EXPLORING
RHODE ISLAND
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WATERFIRE
-- REASON ENOUGH TO GO
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Providence,
the capital city of Rhode Island, is home to two of the nation's
finest educational institutions -- Rhode Island School of Design
(RISD) and Brown University. There are also a dozen or so nationally
recognized educational colleges. For
a very small state, Rhode Island has ample educational opportunities
for everyone and it shows in the community. The frequent summer celebrations
of Waterfire in the night time downtown city are just one demonstration
of the impact the state's investment in education has had. |
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When
I lived in Rhode Island many years ago I remember the women's "Take
Back the Night" marches. Waterfire seems to me to
be a more recent close cousin. As you can see in the photographs
below, this event takes place after dark beginning at sunset,
ending around 10 or 11:00 pm. Would you want to be walking
the streets with your children in the central downtown
area
of your capital city during those hours?
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Waterfire
is about artists and about community. It is a celebration of the
best of humanity. There are jazz musicians and violinists, there
are business parties and
educational
awards
events, there are fine arts exhibits and good quality crafts to
buy. Foods of all kinds are available with wines and beers and
soft drinks. Lovers will find it romantic, the imaginative will
find it exciting, Mom, Dad and the kids will enjoy its freedom
and diversity, and you will love it
in your way too.
We always schedule our visit to Rhode
Island
when
there
will
be a Waterfire celebration. We wouldn't miss it for all the world.
For much more information and the current schedule of events please
click here Waterfire.
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Waterfire
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Waterfire

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Lighting
up the River at Waterfire
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Lighting
up the River at Waterfire

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Food
at Waterfire
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Beverages
at Waterfire

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Musicians
at Waterfire

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Lights
at Waterfire

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Performers
at Waterfire
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Performers
at Waterfire

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Rhode
Island is the smallest of the fifty US states, but its bountiful
and broad cultural expressions belie its size. Prestigious universities
and art schools, nationally recognized and award winning restaurants
and chefs, high end athletics as in The National Hall of Fame of
Tennis and The Americas Cup Yacht Races which were held in Newport
for decades, dozens of public clean water ocean beaches, the historic
City of Newport with its restored mansions, a nationally recognized
fine art museum, musical venues like the Newport Folk and Jazz festivals
and Symphony Hall in Providence, unending colonial architecture and
charm, cultural influences beginning with British Roger Williams
who rejected the rigidity of the Pilgrims flowing forward to African
Americans, Southern Italians, Portuguese, Irish, and now Asians and
Hispanics who have all made wonderfully vibrant neighborhoods. Rhode
Island is someplace very special. |
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It
might be helpful to imagine this wonderful little place from the
sky. Rhode Island is like an upended "U" facing south
with a huge bay separating the two sides so we speak of East Bay
and
West
Bay,
but in truth that doesn't really cover it, though it does give
you a place to start. The East Bay carries Rt. 95 and all that
implies as from Rhode Island the next big attraction is New York
City. A lot of it seems more densely populated than the West Bay
especially with the outlying areas of Providence and the completely
developed towns of Warwick and Cranston. Heading south from there
you begin to encounter the colonial charm you have in mind passing
through chic towns like East Greenwich and Wickford.
Further south you'll find the beaches and beach towns. Narragansett is
home to some of the old wealth of New England. The houses are large
and beautiful, but credible compared to those in Newport which
were extravaganzas of new money. In contrast, wealthy people really
lived in Narragansett as these were their summer homes.
Further
south you'll encounter Roger W. Wheeler State Beach more
commonly known as Sand Hill Cove, the beach
neighborhoods of very tiny summer cottages and Pt. Judith with
its thriving fishing industry and wealth of seafood restaurants.
Right there as well is the ferry to Block Island a summer haven
for folks from New York City, but only occasionally visited by
Rhode Islanders. It's beautiful, small and pristine. I once worked
with a young woman who grew up on Block Island. Her invitation
to visit gave me my first incredible experience of the island.
If
you continue south on Rt. 95 from Providence heading toward New
York City, before leaving Rhode Island you would have encountered
many more very isolated beach communities, but one has special
glitz -- Watch Hill. It is a conservative small
town where tall privacy hedges seem to be perfectly trimmed at
all times. Few people from Rhode Island live here. The women
are very thin and a little wizened, the men are rich. I don't
envy the competition here for "top dog."
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The
West Bay on the whole is more subdued than the East. Right outside
of the capital city of Providence is the well managed corporate
residential town of Barrington. Beyond that you'll drive through
Warren, an engaging mish mash of colonial and kitsch, then arriving
in Bristol, with its thoroughly manicured main street colonial
town. On the backside of Bristol lie such features
as an aging Converse factory.This is the commercial side of Bristol
dahling' and we only go there to the supermarket, pharmacy and
liquor store.
Continuing
from Bristol you'll cross an artfully designed bridge into Portsmouth.
From there you can travel south toward Newport or
West toward New Bedford, MA, cutting the trip short to head south
again while still in RI toward Sakonnet. This
is a beautiful ride through some artfully and skillfully developed
very small towns and communities. Wouldn't it be wonderful if
we all had a bit more cash and a lot more good taste. If you
drive to the end of the road you might find my very favorite
in the whole world lobster shop. I have to say the summer vegetable
stands along this road sell fruits and vegetables that look as
beautiful as anything in California's Marin farmer's market.
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Of
course there are other less touristy areas of the state, most of
them you'll encounter when driving from Providence north to Boston
and beyond. But there are other delightful non seaside beautiful
towns and areas like the combination of Foster/Gloucester and Scituate (home
of the state's huge reservoir) and Greenville. These
are areas of the state largely forgotten until apple season when
weekends require a pick your own trip to an apple farm where freshly
made cider and sticky popcorn fill little bellies. Pumpkins abound
here along with a wealth of foods and decorations for approaching
Halloween celebrations. |
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RHODE
ISLAND PLACES
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PROVIDENCE
-- FEDERAL HILL
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When
we lived for a year or so in RI many years ago Federal Hill
was a favorite haunt -- great breads, pastries, imported meats
and cheeses and lest I forget, fabulous pizza. The original
Federal Hill was a very genuine enclave of immigrants mainly
from southern Italy, primarily Naples and Sicily. The State's
most authentic pizza restaurant is called Caserta's which is
also the name of a town just north of Naples. In those days
many small shops were run by older folks who spoke no English,
but sold all of the traditional Italian fare from huge bunches
of basil to broccoli rabe and fennel. Those little shops have
been replaced now by second and third generation Italian Americans
who have opened very chic restaurants and bars, many still
featuring Italian foods, but with a more international flair. |
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Antonelli's has
been around for decades and continues much the same as it always
was with a few attempts at chic as befits the changing neighborhood.
Here you can identify your live chicken and bring it home for
dinner all plucked. Live ducks also live in the back of the
shop awaiting selection. One of the newer additions to the
options is rabbits. All of this of course makes me want to
go completely vegetarian, but I have to say twenty years ago
or so he really did have the best chicken in the state and
you didn't have to choose unless you wanted to. Fresh chicken
was all ready to go. I don't know who is keeping the tradition
alive, but the shop looks much as it always did. |
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You
cannot possibly visit Federal Hill and miss shopping at the Scialo
Bros. Bakery. Their breads are astonishingly good with thick crusts
and the pies and pastries are very special treats. Everything is
baked in a huge brick oven rebuilt by an artisan who came from Italy
to build it after the original was destroyed in a fire. The bakery
has been in business since 1919 and with a little luck it will be
around at least until 2119. Stop by and try the double crusted Sicilian
bread and take home cannolis for dessert. |
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PROVIDENCE
-- THE EAST SIDE
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The
East Side is often simply called "the hill" as
it sits on a rise over looking the now carefully redesigned
downtown commercial city as you can see in the photograph
on the right. The East Side is home to universities, private
colleges and prep schools and it has all of the book stores,
pizza shops, delis and art supply stores to go with them.
Much of the East Side is colonial construction that has been
carefully preserved. |
Angell
Street

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Benefit
Street Church on the Corner of Chuch Street
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Benefit
Street Fountain

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Rhode
Island School of Design Museum
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Angell Street

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Rhode
Island School of Design
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Rhode
Island School of Design

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Rhode
Island School of Design
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Benefit
Steet View of the Centuries

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PROVIDENCE
-- FOX POINT
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Fox
Point lies to the back and side of the East Side and is different
in character. Here you'll find the health food stores, international
restaurants,
and specialty shops that keep a thriving student and faculty population
happy. It was at one time a Portuguese neighborhood where I remember
buying freshly made sweet bread and other treats. Now it seems it's
easier to find papadums. The city has spent millions over the last
few decades on urban renewal projects which have been done with a
flair, making the city a very appealing place to live. One of the
projects was the creation of this park that runs along side of the
Providence river. |
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Fox
Point
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Fox
Point

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The
Providence River

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PROVIDENCE
-- THE ELMWOOD AREA
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Beautiful
Elmwood went through a downward economic and social spiral for years
and many of the turn of the century homes were irreparably damaged.
But, renewal
is
coming to the neighborhood and perhaps investments made in the
huge city park are helping to bring in new investors able to rehabilitate
the large old homes. Below are two photographs of structures in what
is called Roger Williams Park. The park is also home to a completely
redesigned zoo and riding stables. It is an impressive place for
the capital city of such a small state. |
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Roger
Williams Park Boathouse
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Roger
Williams Park Temple of Music

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One
of the most impressive projects in the park was the creation of the
Roger Williams Botanical Center with huge greenhouse displays of
exotics and exterior plantings of cold hardy plants, shrubs and trees.
As part of this project there is also an impressive old rose garden. |
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Roger
Williams Park Botanical Center
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Roger
Williams Park Botanical Center

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Roger
Williams Park Botanical Center

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RHODE
ISLAND PLACES -- THE WEST BAY -- WARREN
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Warren
is very representative of a Providence, work commuting, Rhode Island
town. It has a clam chowder factory, there are Portuguese restaurants
and bars, American colonial guest houses, stylish pub restaurants
and you can buy locally made beer at a very chic place on Main St.
The house I dream of owning is in this little town too. |
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Warren
Harbor

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Warren
Harbor

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Warren
Restaurant
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Warren
Restaurant

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RHODE
ISLAND PLACES -- THE WEST BAY -- BRISTOL
As
a young woman I lived on the water in Bristol growing a huge
garden and truthfully shivering all winter in one of those dreamed
about colonial houses filled with glorious antiques. Facing the
water in winter in Rhode Island requires a stiff upper lip at
first and later in life creates very stiff bones. At the time
there was a Converse sneaker factory there where I worked for
one day. It was a dangerous and exhausting place where Portuguese
immigrants spent long days with lots of hours of overtime. I
had not a clue what to expect when I took the job, but quickly
learned. I don't know if it is still operating, but I have never
since bought a pair of Converse shoes. In recent years Bristol
has been well and truly gentrified. It always was a very pretty
town; now it is a postcard. For such a small town, there are
many reasons to visit. These three truly wonderful places in
the town are my favorites on the long list -- The Herreshoff
Museum, Blithewold and of course Pat's corn farm.
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Blithewold is
a beautiful home with all the warmth and character of a family's
summer residence. There is even an enclosed pagoda where you can
sit and enjoy a half hour video of the family's lifestyle. I especially
loved seeing their small plane land on the front lawn. Over time
Blithewold was inherited by later generations and one of them had
a love of gardens. Thanks to her, the property became what is today,
a glorious home surrounded by the exquisite garden she created. To
see much more of this extraordinary garden visit my website,
http://www.greengardeningcookingcuring.com/Botanical%20Gardens.html#blithewold |
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Blithewold
Residence

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Blithewold
Garden
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Blithewold
Residence

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Bristol's
harbor is filled with sail boats of all makes, sizes and models,
but one name stands out -- Herreshoff. What once
was a world renowned name in ship building is now a museum where
some of the most beautiful boats you will ever see are on display.
On some of them you can even step aboard, if you first remove your
shoes. |
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Herreshoff
Museum
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The "Coqunia" at
the Herreshoff Museum

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"Sadie" at
the Herreshoff Museum
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A
Workshop at the Herreshoff Museum

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The "Coqunia" at
the Herreshoff Museum

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A
Workshop at the Herreshoff Museum
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An
America's Cup Contender

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Innovation
was a byword at Herreshoff and one that gained infamy were
the fin keel boats. They were like lightning on the water. "Wee
Win" in 1892 won 21 of the 22 races in her first year. "Jilt" in
1898 was called "Billy Gray's unbeaten Jilly" so
you get the idea. I've sailed a "lightning" and
thrilled to the speed a 20 ft. drop keel wood boat can attain.
I can only imagine sailing one of these treasures. |
A
Fin Keel Boat in a Workshop at the Herreshoff Museum

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A
Workshop at the Herreshoff Museum

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Pat
Usher's farm is one of those very special unpretentious
places that sell the best sweet corn you'll ever eat along
with tomatoes and a few other vegetables of equal caliber.
Pat can be found by the road in front of a corn field on
Metacom Av/Rt. 36, the back road through Bristol. Behind
a cornfield is his aging beautiful farm home. Most times
these days Pat will be accompanied by a son or daughter
when handing over the brown bags of corn. We've had many
conversations with Pat who is a very interesting individual
along with being a corn connoisseur. |
New
England Sweet Corn

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Pat
Usher's Farm Sweet Corn and Butternut Squash

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Pat
Usher's Farm with Chrysanthemums

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Pat
Usher's Farm and Residence

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RHODE
ISLAND PLACES -- THE WEST BAY -- NEWPORT
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The
Breakers
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Into
the 1960's Newport was a navy town. It had all the colonial
architecture one could dream of, the harbor, America's Cup
races, the folk and jazz festivals and turn of the century
palatial homes closed up and in great need of restoration.
The US government did Rhode Island a great favor in closing
the navy base -- it freed people with great creativity to
recreate their town. The tough bars and sleazy tattoo parlors
are gone for the most part and the societal problems associated
with a military town are gone as well. Newport is now the
treasure it always should have been.
On
the left stands "The Breakers," just one of the
many historical homes you may visit while in Newport. Below
are photographs of "The Elms," one more of the
carefully restored residences. This one has a very peculiar
fountain which speaks to the taste of the owners.
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The
Elms Dining Patio
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The
Elms Dining Patio

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One
of The Elms' Fountains

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RHODE
ISLAND PLACES -- THE WEST BAY -- SAKONNET
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I
don't honestly believe that the majority of Rhode Islander's
even know that Sakonnet is part of the state. Certainly,
many don't make it here to see how wonderful it is. This
is Rhode Island's wine country and I believe the home of
the best lobster shop in the state or in any other state
for that matter. I've bought lobsters there for many years
and aged along with the owner who is still a wonderful guy
selling the world's best cold water lobsters. As a visitor
to the state, put this on your list of things to do whether
or not you buy lobsters. There
is also a little Sakonnet town where you'll find a church,
a restaurant and best of all a wonderful little resale
shop where high quality bargains abound. |
Sakonnet
Light House

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World's
Best New England Lobster is Found in Sakonnet

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Sakonnet
Lobster has been a favorite of mine for decades. The owners are low
key nice people and
they have the liveliest lobsters I've ever seen. Coming out of the
pot the lobsters are as delicious as they were lively. The business
also seems to best demonstrate the character of Rhode Island. They
sell
the freshest lobsters and crabs seven days a week, the sell
plants and they create and sell unique lobster pot furniture. What
else could you want? |
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Sakonnet
Lobster Chair
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Sakonnet
Lobster Plants and Furnishings

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RHODE
ISLAND PLACES -- THE EAST BAY -- WARWICK
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Morris
Farm Stand
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I
hale from this part of the US and always enjoy the best of
what it has to offer in the summer -- locally grown sweet
corn. We often make the trip to buy it at the same
farm and from the same folks as my parents did every Sunday
all summer long when I was a little girl. Maybe this farm
was also part of the inspiration for my gardening passion.
Who knows? See my website Green
Gardening Cooking Curing.
The
old scale isn't used anymore, but it still hangs proudly
after its many many years of service. The old farm stand
building is still there too, but there have been a few
changes. I remember my parents parking on the road by the
farm with dozens of other cars. We'd pile out of the car
and line up for our brown bag dozen and melons and vegetables.
It was always a wait, but in a friendly community event
sort of way -- kids played, parents gossiped. Some of Rhode
Island still feels that way. It's a good feeling.
Morris
Farm is a fine example of the commitment to doing it right
that runs through all of Rhode Island's cultural melange.
Naturally some of that is changing, but authenticity might
well be a catch word for the state. |
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Farm
Equipment at Morris Farm
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Sweet
Corn Field at Morris Farm

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Owner,
John Morris with Paul Sullivan, Manager
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Corn
Field with Sunflowers at Morris Farm

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Zinnias
at Morris Farm
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Green
Peppers at Morris Farm

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The
farm equipment shed seems to be a place of retirement for once
hard working and still highly valued tools.
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Morris
Farm Stand
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Farm
Equipment at Morris Farm

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Morris
Farm still seems like the real thing. Please click here to
visit their website Morris
Farm.
Morris Farm 2779 Wawick Ave, Warwick, RI 02889, (401) 738-1036
Open Easter til Christmas for all your seasonal needs
John & Cindy Morris, Owners, Paul Sullivan, Manager
Email: [email protected] |
John
Morris, Farm Owner

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RHODE
ISLAND PLACES -- THE EAST BAY -- POINT JUDITH
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Pt.
Judith is the "end of the road" in this area. It is the
deep sea fishing base for the state and the port for the Block
Island Ferry. Nearby is the Sand Hill Cove public beach where all
summer long families put down their blankets, put up their umbrellas
and partake of the day. Nearby are seafood restaurants specializing
in Rhode Island's finest fresh lobster, clams, quahogs and crabs
all accompanied by Rhode Island or Long Island clam chowder, Rhode
Island clam cakes (not to be found anywhere else), fresh ears of
buttered corn and all the other "sides" you can dream
of. This is get down and dirty dining that will knock your socks
off.
I
love fish of all kinds and one of my favorites in this part of
the world is bluefish. It is an oily full flavored fish and fried
or baked it is wonderful. Shellfish are another passion with
scallops topping the list. The very close second is steamers
whether long neck or hard shell. I love it all and you may too.
Growing up on the sea I learned early on what is good seafood. Good
seafood is fresh. If you are looking at a whole fish
the eyes should be bright and clear and the skin should be moist
and shiny. If the place where you are shopping for fish has an
unpleasant smell, leave. Old seafood can make you very very ill.
When you take home your steamers, remember if the shell doesn't
open discard it. If you are cooking lobster or crabs, make sure
they are alive before putting them in the pot. If they aren't,
toss them out right away.
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Coming
Home Safely, Catch in the Hold

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Bluefish,
One of my Favorites
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Aptly
Named for Rhode Island Waters

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Imagine
Being at Sea Managing these Boats

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New
England Lobsters

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New
England Crabs

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The
Block Island Ferry

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