Hello everyone. I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was every bit of what you’d hoped it would be.

Now that we’re back in Vermont I can give a bit more in the way of detail about exactly what we were up to. I don’t like broadcasting to the 6 billion people on the Internet exactly when I will and won’t be home; I’m sure you understand.

We left the house at about 11:30am on Tuesday afternoon and headed down to Newport, RI to catch up with family. Alas, we were not the only people to have that idea. So a trip that would normally take about 4 hours instead took 7.

Daphne was not thrilled about this delay, but she took it in stride for the most part and was relatively well-behaved throughout the trip. And, as a matter of fact, she was even dry when we arrived in Newport…having held her bladder for the entire ride. (We did try, unsuccessfully, to get her to pee at a lunch stop at a Wendy’s.)

Tired after the long trip, we ordered dinner into the room at the Newport Bay Club

…and called it an early evening.

On Wednesday we got going slowly, Daphne taking her time and lounging around on the fold-out bed as Jen got dressed.

Then we headed for a walk around Newport as the town made its transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Thanksgiving was particularly late this year, so I appreciate their patience in waiting until the end of the month to start. Granted, we didn’t do so, but our early decorations should make a little more sense now. (Given that we were going to be in Rhode Island until the first weekend of December.)

We wandered around and did a bit of shopping…

After a while we walked down to the docks so Daphne could watch the water, smell the ocean, and feel the sea wind on her face.

Yes, daughter. I know. I feel the same way.

Then, on a slightly more somber tone, we drove to North Kingstown to visit Daphne’s great-grandfather’s grave where she helped place a wreath by his tombstone.

I actually never met “The Colonel.” He died the year before I was born. But I have no doubt that he would’ve adored his great-granddaughter, and that she would’ve loved him right back.

From here it was just a few minute drive into Wickford, so we headed over there for lunch at Wickford on the Water.

This actually used to be an ice cream place back when my brother and I would spend summers up here. And while the clam cakes were fantastic, it’s still a little bittersweet that it changed to an upscale bistro.

And that’s not the only change.

Earnshaw’s Drugstore, where I bought countless Spider-Man comics over the years, is now a Dollar Tree.
The newsstand at the corner of Main and Brown is now an olive oil boutique.
Ryan’s Market is a kayak shop.
The Wickford Package Store (that translates “liquor store” to those outside of New England) sells antiques.
Etc.

The pieces of Wickford that made it a place where people lived are pretty much gone, and in its place are all the trappings of tourism.

And I get it; it happens. Wickford is still lovely and everything…

It might just be that I’m (significantly) older now than I was when I lived there, and I’ve changed.

Still, it does feel like it lost something in the transition to being a tourist town. It’s smoother. Colder. Harder to believe in. And significantly less approachable.

It’s a Dabney Coleman Santa.

Still, we wandered off the beaten path and found some familiar sights.

Clearly the Old Narragansett Church has been around for a while…

We drove by the house where my grandparents lived, and where we spent a good percentage of our summertime in R.I.

Then, as the sun got low, we headed back to Newport where I made a valiant effort to get a decent picture of the three of us at sunset on Newport harbor…

Alas, it was not to be.

So I took this one of just Jen and me and we called it a night.

We spent Thanksgiving entirely at the hotel, lounging and snacking throughout the day, which was quite nice. So nice, in fact, that we didn’t get any pictures. We just enjoyed each others’ company.

And then, on Friday, it was time to go back home. Which turned out to be a significantly faster trip than the one to Newport, despite a bit of snow along the way…

And we were back home to the farm before sunset.

And that’s our Thanksgiving trip.

See you tomorrow.

j.s.