Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Easton's Beach - Newport, Rhode Island

Last week we hooked up the tent trailer and drove out to the coast to spend 8 days in the Cape Cod and surrounding area. We were on the road by 4am and crossing the border before sunrise. After a few stops for food, gas, toll booths, and one small outlet mall shopping spree in Wrentham, MA we arrived at our campground at 3:30pm. A total of 800 km and 8 hours of driving time (see map of route).

I had opted for Massasoit State Park in Massachusetts as it was the most central location to all of the sights I had planned on visiting over the next 8 days. It turned out to be a great choice. The park had some nice hiking trails, a cranberry bog, nice beach, friendly staff, and clean showers. There was a bit of a hum off in the distance from the diesel fueled generators. Apparently a few weeks earlier they had a crazy storm that knocked out their electrical system so they opted for the $1000 a day generators to provide power for the last month of the summer before making repairs. Lucky us.



The first couple of days we decided to avoid the infamous Cape Cod weekend traffic by heading to some of the other sights along the coast.



First we hit the beach in New Bedford, Massachusetts. East Beach on Buzzards Bay to be exact. Free parking, small crowds, and one very busy ice cream truck. Definitely worth a return visit. Next we toured over to Fall River and snapped a pic of the Lizzie Borden house. And for the record, we think she did it. Chop chop, an 1892 version of the OJ case.

The next day we hopped straight back in the van and drove to Newport, Rhode Island. We arrived at Easton's Beach in time for a thunderstorm but this only meant that we would have free parking and a front row view of the downpour during our lunch break. After it cleared we hopped out and took a stroll up and down the beach and then a hike down the Cliff Walk trail.



Sunday we hit Plymouth to see the famous rock. Weather was sunny and hot. The place was hopping with tourists but we still managed to snag the perfect parking spot with the Tourist Information Office on one side and the harbour and Mayflower on the other. Sweet.




I would say that Plymouth Rock was a let down but we had been forewarned by others on what to expect. It's a rock. What we didn't expect was the reconstruction blockade leaving us with only a small window to peek through. Oh well, our awesome lunch stop at Sam Diego's Mexican Cookery & Bar more than made up for it.



All in all a great start to the vacation. Next on the hit list... Cape Cod.