I love summer! Last week, we had a stretch of beautiful weather and my wife said “Hey, let’s go to Block Island overnight.” What a great idea!

We got a last minute room at our favorite hotel, the 1661 House, named for the year in which the first settlers came to the island. It has a spectacular view out over the salt marshes to the ocean beyond. They also offer the best breakfast on the island featuring home style corned beef hash just like my old Irish grandmother used to make. Ummm..yummm. Scrumptious.

We took our bikes along so we could pedal down to Fred Benson Beach on Crescent Cove, which features enough surf to be interesting and miles of sand for barefoot treks. One industrious dad brought his shovel along and dug an enormous earthwork at the high tide line. It was such fun to see all the children splashing and giggling as the tide filled up the hole behind the sand. Of course, eventually the ocean won out, as it always does, even though the kids did everything they could to hold it back.

We capped off our Block Island mini-vacation by sharing a cold lobster salad followed by an apple tart a la mode drizzled with native honey on the deck of the National Hotel. It was a great get-away for not a lot of money. The quick trip to The Block had become a part of our summer routine. Can’t wait to do it again!

Below are some pictures of out brief island adventure. Enjoy!