That realization hit while Judy and I were looking back over
the states we’ve already visited—and the ones where we still need to do more
than simply pass through. To us, a place only really counts when we’ve spent a
little time with it: exploring a town center, following a bike path, taking a
food tour, or doing something that helps us get a feel for what makes it its
own. We’ve always set a higher bar than simply driving through, which makes it
funny that, for the past three years, the first leg of our RV trips out of town
have launched us more than 300 miles away into New York or Pennsylvania while
we sailed right past the rest of New England. Apparently, stopping 90 or 150
miles from home felt almost too easy, as if Neil the Northpoint might object to
such a short day on the road. This summer, though, we finally corrected course.
We camped in Rhode Island and New Hampshire—states we know well, but had
somehow never officially parked Neil in—and added two more New England states
to our list. And yes, even Massachusetts deserves a mention. It may be our home
state, but after two summers in a row at Scusset Beach State Park, twelve days
of lobster, home cooking, and familiar coastal comfort have more than earned
their place in the story. So come along with us as we keep summer close to
home, starting with our first trip outside Massachusetts: a July 4th weekend in
Rhode Island, where a little troll hunting was waiting just down the road.
Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the nation by land
mass, but over the Fourth of July weekend in Newport, it certainly did not feel
short on people, energy, or things to discover. At roughly 43 miles by 37 miles—with
bays, bridges, beaches, and coastal islands tucked into every corner—it is the
kind of place where a single day can feel like a whole little adventure book.
And if that adventure happens to involve hunting trolls, all the better. In
most states, a troll hunt might require a long haul, a packed cooler, and a
serious commitment to the odometer. In Rhode Island, you can crisscross the
state, stop for lunch by the water, wander a few trails, and still make it back
before the trolls have finished their evening meal.
The reason for our troll hunt was Rhode Island’s wonderfully
unexpected Troll Trail: five giant wooden sculptures tucked into public parks,
wooded paths, and coastal green spaces. They were created by Thomas Dambo, the
Danish artist known for turning reclaimed wood and discarded materials into storybook-sized
outdoor art. Built with help from local volunteers, the trolls even carry Rhode
Island touches like quahog and conch shells. Together, they make for a free,
self-guided scavenger hunt that led us into corners of the state we might
otherwise have missed.
Greta Granite & Erik Rock (last stop)
Young Boulder
Iver Mudslider
Mrs. Skipper (first stop)
In the end, the Troll Trail turned out to be a fun, easy way to see more of Rhode Island than we might have otherwise. We bounced from one troll to the next, walking a little, exploring new corners, and discovering these giant wooden characters for the first time. Each troll had its own setting and personality, but the real charm was in the hunt itself—a simple day of wandering that felt playful, surprising, and worth chasing.
With the July 4th holiday week bringing serious heat, the
beach was an easy decision. Rhode Island has plenty of beautiful shoreline, and
one favorite we already knew well was Sachuest Beach in Middletown, better
known locally as Second Beach. This south-facing, mile-long stretch is family-friendly,
with soft sand, steady surf, and plenty of room to settle in for the day. It
remains one of our favorite beaches, even though parking can be painfully
expensive for out-of-town visitors. Fortunately, the campground was only about
a 15-minute drive away, which made the splurge a little easier to justify.
We had endured a string of truly really hot days, but after
a night of thunderstorms, the weather finally broke, leaving us with a rainy
afternoon and the perfect excuse to explore indoors. As luck would have it, our
campsite in Portsmouth, RI, sat just minutes from the Newport Car Museum,
housed in a converted Raytheon missile manufacturing facility. What could have
been a dreary day quickly turned into one of those unexpected travel gifts.
Inside, it was easy to lose ourselves among the museum’s more than 100 cars, arranged across five
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing
distinct galleries that felt less like rooms and more like
chapters in the grand romance of the automobile. The international
collection—especially the Jaguars, BMWs, and the beautiful Porsche gallery—was
a pleasure to wander through, while the Corvette gallery offered its own kind
of heartbeat: row after row of American style, power, and memory, including a
black 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Split-Window Coupe and a 1967 Corvette
Stingray Coupe with the legendary 427 cubic-inch Big-Block engine. The Ford and
Shelby displays added another rush altogether, especially with videos that
brought that bold racing lineage to ,%20Newport%20Car%20Museum,%20Portsmouth,%20Blog.JPG)
1957 BMW Isetta (the Urkel Car)
life. We have visited plenty of car museums
on our travels, but this one stood out. There was something thrilling about
being so close to these magnificent machines—their curves, chrome, colors, and
history all polished to a shine—that made the afternoon feel less like passing
time and more like stepping into the dream each car was built to promise.
Morgan, Dani, and Judy at Breakers Mansion
Of course, no Newport
visit feels quite complete without seeing at least one of the famous mansions,
so we toured The Breakers, the best known of them all. It was certainly
majestic and interesting, but if we are being honest, it landed more in the
“glad we saw it” category than the “highlight of the trip” category. Maybe
Marble House or one of the other mansions would have felt a little more
dramatic, and the heat and crowds probably did not help, but The Breakers still
gave us a taste of Newport’s grand old elegance.
Before we left, I picked up one last Rhode Island fun fact: Aquidneck Island—home to Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth—was historically known as Rhode Island, the name that eventually stretched to cover the whole state. With that bit of trivia tucked away, we packed up and made the easy 65-mile ride home.
And now comes the really exciting news: next month, for the
first time in more than 80 posts of mostly RV travel, Neil the Northpoint gets
to sit this one out while we point ourselves toward Europe. Instead of campground
reservations and highway miles, we will be boarding a Viking river boat for a
23-day journey along the Rhine and Danube, beginning in Amsterdam and ending in
Bucharest, with a little extra time on both ends to catch our breath. The trip
will carry us through the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary,
Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania, with stops that include the windmills
of Kinderdijk, Nuremberg’s medieval streets, Budapest, the Historic Regensburg
Jewish neighborhood, and the Iron Gates gorge on the Danube. Because this trip
is packed with a new place to discover almost every day, writing a full blog
post along the way would probably require skipping either sleep or dessert, and
I am not willing to give up either one. So, the plan is to keep a daily
journal: sit down each evening for an hour or so, capture the day’s tours and visits
while they are still fresh, download a few favorite pictures, and then move on
to the next adventure. When we return, I’ll condense those journal entries into
a couple of blog posts that should give you a better feel for the whole
experience. Consider it the next chapter in our retirement promise to travel
often, stay curious, and try as many ways of moving through the world as
possible—even if this time the “campground” floats, someone else does the
driving, and Neil gets to enjoy a very well-earned vacation. Since we’re never
completely at rest, check back every so often to see where we have traveled to
lately, as we tell… the Rest
of the Story.
