DAY-TRIPPING IN NEW ENGLAND

Driving to Rhode Island to Watch the Ocean Surge

The mileage on my car continues to climb

My daughter and I spend much time on the road most weekends. We typically take day trips, traveling throughout New England. Often, we’ll drive to locations we’re familiar with. But lately, we’re finding places we’ve never been before.

And that’s how I ended up on the rocks about 30 feet below the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum in Jamestown, Rhode Island.

The winds were blowing, and the ocean waves surged over the rocks. I was in my happy place, sitting on less-than-comfortable jagged rocks while Briana screamed at me for climbing down there.

But that didn’t stop her from taking a few photos of me.

Climbing up and down rocks on New England shorelines makes me happy. The excitement gets my 65-year-old heart pumping while I get a cheap thrill. I’ll do almost anything for a photo — except bungee jumping. I’m not that crazy.

I traded my car in a few months ago. It was a 2017 Chevy Cruze with 180,000 miles on it. In return, I got a Chevy Cruze hatchback one year newer with just 53,000 miles. I wasted little time breaking it in with a trip to Pennsylvania, adding about 2,500 miles to the odometer in the first month.

We began our road trips before the pandemic. Even though many states had shuttered the doors of thousands of local businesses, we continued to hit the road — even if it meant a trip to nowhere. We stopped at gas stations if needed, usually for a pit stop and drive-thrus for food — fast food. It wasn’t great, but we could at least grab a burger to tide us over until we got home.

Since then, Briana and I have traveled throughout the New England area. Often, the trips are short, perhaps less than 200 miles round trip. But it’s not uncommon for us to hit the 300-mile mark.

We hoped to grab a bite to eat in Narragansett, Rhode Island but wound up at a fast food joint after deciding we’d rather not wait 45 minutes to be seated at a restaurant along the beach. I won’t say where we ate, but it’s a damn shame that McDonald’s would have been a better choice.

Surfers were out in force despite the cool temps at the state beach. I’ll give them credit for being a hearty lot. I watched them ride out time after time, trying to catch a decent wave to ride.

Our next trip, still in the planning stages, will take us close to the 400-mile mark — roundtrip. That calls for at least a one-night stay at a hotel.

Later this year, we’ll go our different ways for travel. Briana will be cruising to Canada with her mom, with port calls in Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. I’m headed to Europe at some point this fall.

Briana’s the constant traveler. She’ll decide to fly to Florida or Las Vegas or wherever, and that’s it; she’s off and running. And she has a ton of travel miles.

Thanks for reading.