Block Isle

I was born in a blizzard in Newport, Rhode Island in the Winter of 1962.  So my birthdays have not, nor ever will, involve memories of fun in the Sun, water, big waves and boats.  Perhaps that is why I like the Summer and the opportunity it provides to spend time on Block Island, RI (smile).

Block Island is in my opinion the perfect getaway for a day, a week, and if you’re lucky enough, even a month.  I first started taking day-trips to the island with my family when I was 16 years old.  We  grew up in Groton, CT, just across the bridge from New London, CT so we could easily catch the Block Island Ferry from New London during the Summer.  Back then there was no high-speed ferry.   The standard ferry from New London lumbered along, and it literally took us 2 1/2 hours to get there.   We didn’t know any better so we had no cause to complain (smile).  We just used the time to talk to each other, eat breakfast from the onboard food and beverage stand, play cards or board games, watch tv, read newspapers, magazines or books, or simply stare out at the open water as we chugged along.

Once we got there, Old Harbor, our destination, never looked so good (smile).

Today the Block Island Express or ‘high speed ferry’ is relatively new, sleek and transports you to Old Harbor, Block Island from New London in a little over an hour.   The price has increased considerably – about 4x as much as back in the day – today it costs $45 for adults and $22.50 for children same day, round trip.

The high-speed ferry is exciting and once inside I often feel like I’m sitting in movie theater seats or in a restaurant booth, and flat screen TVs greet you from every angle.  Because of the state-of-the-art art motion controlled system, you never really feel like you’re on a vessel, smooth sailing indeed…

Once we arrived in Old Harbor we would stop at The Visitor Center to load up on island pamphlets and usually rent one or two lockers to store some of our miscellaneous items.  The Visitor Center used to be nothing to look at but here is the spruced up version of it today:

One of my favorite places  to eat breakfast back then, and still today, is the restaurant at the Harborside Inn.   The restaurant has a wonderful open-air deck on the second floor that provides a great view of the waterfront and port.  You can’t miss it as it’s not too far from where they drop you off from the ferry.

We had brunch there as we arrived after 10am and were starving.  The portions were hearty but not too pricey.  It was delish!

As far as island activities go, over the years I have rented mountain bikes and/or mopeds to explore the island, partied on various marinas, went horseback riding, kayaking, swimming, shopping, dining at any number of seafood restaurants, I even once took a historical taxi cab tour of the island…

The day we chose to go (Tuesday, August 23rd) was 80 degrees and sunny with a light breeze.  Perfect island weather.

Our plan was simple:  look for good food, good drinks and good beach time so after our leisurely brunch and a short walk around the block to the Beachcomber (an old fave) we headed  to Ballards.

Ballards, back in the day, was the Hollis family’s go-to for dining and for beach time.  The restaurant was not remodeled at all back then and we always chose to eat outside on the patio deck because we knew our friendly silver-haired waiter (Walter) would be working.  The food was fantastic (loved those clam strips, clam bellies and hush puppies!) and the beach view was awesome.

Incidentally, here is a picture of what Ballard’s looks like today:

Fancy (comparatively speaking) and very well put together.  There’s a ton of staff now, and there’s nice beach chairs, umbrellas and gazebos to rent for the day.

Plus there are adorable little tiki bars right on the beach, full waitress service (our waitress was young, cute and from South Africa) and plenty of beach volleyball games to enjoy.

We had an awesome time – we caught the 5pm ferry back to New London, CT (instead of the last ferry at 830pm which would have got us back home around 11pm  – late for a weeknight(!) and vowed to return again next Summer.   Good times!