Block Island 2014

I have always wanted to spend some time visiting my two female cousins on my mom's side of the family (my Uncle Teddy's two daughters). They both live in Massachusetts so they mentioned they were doing a ladies weekend in Block Island (which is actually in Rhode Island...never knew that!). I decided it would be fun to join and explore someplace new.

Thursday I drove up to my cousin Fran's house. After buying a GPS that morning at Best Buy (I am so geographically challenged), it only took me about 4 hours. The worst part was the traffic getting out of New York (oddly enough, the worst part coming home was the traffic in Connecticut and NOT New York for once!). I stayed at Fran's house and we drank wine, I helped her pack and we went to bed early(ish) for me to be on the 10:30 ferry Friday morning.

Fran and I made it on the 10:30 ferry. My cousin Chantal (Fran's sister) and her two friends plus Fran's two friends all missed it by 5 minutes. Chantal and her friends ended up taking a high speed ferry over so they arrived shortly after us. We stored our things in a luggage room (apparently that is what you're suppose to do) and then went to lunch at this restaurant Ballards. After lunch, we hit the beach! It was GORGEOUS weather and probably the best we had all weekend.

Me, Chantal and Fran at Lunch!

View from the ferry when we pulled in. To me, there is just something so calm and peaceful about being near water. (Although I did not have that feeling come Sunday afternoon when I wanted to get off the rocky ferry because I thought I was going to be sick).

Friday night we spent a good portion finding a place to eat. I don't do seafood but most places obviously have other options. We ended up splitting off after we ate dinner. Chantal & her two friends went and partied at this bar Captain Nick's and I went with Fran and her two friends for flaming coffee! It's this whole presentation thing but it was REALLY different and for someone who LOVES her coffee (even my students know), I enjoyed this experience.

Saturday morning, we were going to take mopeds around the island. Block Island is suppose to be about 10 miles around but it definitely felt bigger in a way! Wendy & Allison (Fran's two friends) had rented the mopeds but Wendy backed out at the last minute. They make you "test drive" them before they let you go off. Fran was going to drive and I was going to go on the back of her bike & Chantal on the back of Allison's bike. Well, joke is on Fran because she and Allison BOTH failed. They were both shocked. We ended up renting bikes for $16 for about 4 hours to bike around the island. Y'all, I did NOT sign up for athletics on this vacation. I didn't even pack sneakers. 

I think they need to inspect their bikes because my brakes sucked and it was difficult! We biked up to a lighthouse and took a break.

Then we biked to the Mohegan Bluffs. We all kind of got lost getting there because there is NO direct sign that indicated where they were. It was a 130+ steps down to a rocky beach (which we did not walk on) but it was a beautiful view.

Me, Chantal and Fran

Allison, Me, Chantal, Fran

Sidenote: We all have matching neon shirts. Fran saw them in the window of a store and we all bought them to wear. I think the most we got in a picture of a group was 5.

Later, Chantal and I were going to the beach when these guys were like "Come have a shot on our boat!" I was hesitant but Chantal has such a bubbly personality she was like "SURE!" So we sat on this boat for awhile talking with these guys. And opted for a group photo:

Me, Allison, Fran and Chantal

On Saturday night, we went out to dinner. Chantal, Leana and Missy all opted for pizza/tacos so the rest of us had a sit-down dinner. It wasn't the best restaurant but I now have seen how picky some people are from both sides (serving and sitting). I am pretty easy when it comes to eating out...as long as my food comes out right I am happy! Allison's bass had to be cooked again because it wasn't cooked all the way through (I wouldnt have been happy either). But before dinner, we had a photoshoot on the beach!

Me, Leaiana, Missy, Chantal

 Like how we alternated colors of our shirts?!

When we went out on Saturday, we went to Captain Nick's. I wish I had more energy in me because the band was awesome! They played a mix of stuff on the radio today, oldies, 80's, country. I ended up leaving early with Missy to go sleep but it was fun!

Overall, it was a fun weekend and so great to see my cousins!!! I enjoyed getting to explore a new part of the East Coast and look forward to seeing my cousins again soon.

Can't wait to share the exciting news I have!