Rhode Island – Spending Time with Friends and Family

After a long day driving from Boothbay, Maine, we made it to Rhode Island. This small state is where my family is from, and where many friends and family still live. My aunt Jackie offered to let us “mooch dock” in her driveway for almost 2 weeks and we were glad to be able to take her up on her offer.

“The term moochdocking is derived from the words boondocking and moocher. Moochdocking (can also be referred to as driveway surfing) is generally known as camping on a friends or family members driveway.” – Drivinvibin.com

It was a great break from the constant moving we had been doing up until now. We had time to get up and walk most mornings, which is always fun and interesting in a neighborhood that isn’t your own. Here are some of the things we saw each morning.

On one of our walks we crossed a busy road to walk through another neighborhood. We unexpectedly came across an historical cemetery in the middle of the road. This appears to be a small family cemetery for the Sweet family. The headstones said they were born and died during the 1800s.

The town of Smithfield appears from have created a center roundabout in the street to preserve the family cemetery. We have seen many small cemeteries like this throughout New England, usually between neighborhoods, though this is the first one we’ve seen in the middle of a road. I’m not sure how I would feel living right next-door to one.

One day during our walk a neighbor came along and warned us that there was a coyote across the street from Aunt Jackie’s house. We didn’t think coyotes were anywhere near this part of the country but we thanked her and told her we would be careful. As we got closer we realized it wasn’t a coyote, it was a baby fox. And while we kept our distance, we are pretty sure it was more afraid of us than we were of it. Oh, and it was a cute little guy! (the picture doesn’t do it justice)

On the drive in to Rhode Island I reconnected with my old friend Anika. We hadn’t seen each other in a few years and she told me she just moved back to the east coast. It is always a wonderful treat to reconnect with old friends when you least expect it.

I was also able to reconnect with my long, lost cousin CJ on facebook during this trip. He invited us over for a BBQ. We don’t remember when we last saw each other, maybe 30 years or so, but it felt like no time had passed at all! And while we were there we met his wife, Julie, and their kids. We will definitely not let so much time pass without seeing each other again.

We went out to dinner with Auntie Jackie one night and stumbled on a car show. You just never know what you will find.

Joel recently found out that his cousin Marcy lives nearby in Massachusetts. She invited us over for a BBQ and to meet her husband Andy and their family. Marcy lives in an historic home built in 1797 in Hadley, Mass, which holds the distinction of trying to hang a witch eleven years before the Salem witch trials.

“In 1683, eleven years before the Salem witch trials, Mary Webster, wife to William Webster son of the former governor of Connecticut and a founder of the very town of Hadley (John Webster), was accused and acquitted of witchcraft. She was unsuccessfully hanged by rowdy town folk.” – Wikipedia

We were fascinated during our tour of the place.

The fireplace (below) is next to what is today a kitchen. It appears to have been used for cooking. If you look next to the main fireplace you can see the small square area on the right – it is a brick oven. This made me very happy to be born in this century with our modern appliances.

We also managed to meet up with my Uncle Curtis and Aunt Marie, who were up here to visit family and attend a school reunion. It was kind of funny to see them while here since they live in Florida just a few minutes from my parent’s home and we will be seeing them there in October. But we had a great time catching up.

Aunt Jackie took us down to Watch Hill one day to just stroll around by the water. Here is the only picture I took that day.

It occurs to me as I write this blog that we didn’t really take many pictures even though we were busy every day seeing people and going places. It was nice to put down the camera and just enjoy the moment. The past couple of years have been challenging between a global pandemic, politics, and everything else going on in the world. This was a good reminder that sometimes you need to just stop and connect with the people you care about.