<p>oops cross posted, did not see driver’s info.</p>
<p>Chester Hadlyme Ferry … takes about 2 minutes (maybe 4) to cross the Connecticut River. Very cool … but not very long. While you are there, visit Gillette Castle, a state park on the bluff above the ferry landing.</p>
<p>If you want to <em>see</em> what that part of the world looks like, get a copy of Billy Joel’s music video River of Dreams. I have it on a Greatest Hits CD. That was filmed in South Glastonbury, MIddletown, and the environs. The ferry shown in the video is the Glastonbury-Rocky Hill ferry – the oldest continuously operating ferry in the United States. The crossing is approx 4 minutes. (My grandfather used to drive the coal wagon across that ferry in the 1920s and my brother still lives up the street.)</p>
<p>
Fun to share the memories, though. It’s the best part of the Cape, so beautiful, but hard to get to unless you use the ferries. It was very gay, even in the 70s, and must be even more so now…<em>all</em> of my gay friends go there, every summer.</p>
<p>When we went there with our kids they loved it… </p>
<p>D was happy that there was a place where everyone was accepted and they could all let loose. My older son liked the wide selection of anti-Bush teeshirts. My littlest son did not notice anything unusual, even when buff gold-spray-painted Centurions wearing leather hotpants walked by.</p>
<p>Last time I was in P-town they had a wide selection of anti-Nixon teeshirts. I was ticketed for “public nudity”–European-style sunbathing while within the National Seashore area–by a National Park ranger who was the biggest geek I have ever encountered. Who knew they would be leering through the remotest dunes with high-powered binoculars?? He couldn’t even look me in the eye as he handed me my citation. I towel-snapped him when he turned to leave.</p>
<p>driver, once I was on a beach in Tunisia. It was nothing but flat white sand in every direction-- no dunes, no foliage, nothing. Not a sign of life for miles and miles. My girlfriend and I whipped off our suits and within, NO LIE, twenty seconds a tunisian guy appeared: he was leading a donkey, barefoot, wearing only a tiny speedo. </p>
<p>His suave line? He asked us if we had a light. </p>
<p>Of course, he did not have any cigarettes. </p>
<p>I will never understand where he came from; it was like he was produced by spontaneous combustion.</p>
<p>^^SB, I think it’s the same operational principle as divining rods and dousing sticks.</p>
<p>My sister-in-law came back from taking her children to the beach when they were visiting us, very upset because someone had told her that her 6- year old daughter needed to wear a bikini top. She took it as a sign of both American puritanism and prurience.</p>
<p>How long would it take to drive from providence to plymouth if we dont use the ferry? Given it does not seem cars are allowed on i suppose that rules the ferry out.</p>
<p>Thats a shame it sounds like it would have been a nice ride. </p>
<p>thanks for your help everyone :)</p>
<p>Providence to Plymouth …or Provincetown to Plymouth?</p>
<p>From Plymouth out to the very tip of Cape Cod is a long drive … as in 3 hours plus, with good traffic, without any real highways. Mostly stop and go. The Cape is very built up, and especially crowded in the summer. Best bet would be to be staying in Plymouth and take a ferry day trip without the car.</p>
<p>Providence to Plymouth … check out mapquest. My sense is that there are not direct highways.</p>
<p>Yeah, there’s not really a direct route from Providence to Plymouth – my boyfriend’s family lives in Plymouth, and we take a trip to RI every summer for an air show. It involves a lot of driving through a MA state forest and very few Dunkin Donuts (DD being the true sign of civilization in Massachusetts and all). :)</p>
<p>Sorry your instincts were correct, i meant provincetown to plymouth. </p>
<p>If we did end up doing the drive is it a nice drive apart from the traffic or is it just a freeway/industrial type drive.</p>
<p>Is Marthas vinyard worth a vist? it looks like a pain to get to with the ferry and all…</p>
<p>Mollie, haha my dad will be upset as he loves Dunkin Donuts. I think we will go from providence to newport then make our way to provincetown or plymouth.</p>
<p>But all in all its a good sign that there are few Dunkin Donuts right? Or is it a ‘count the cows’ drive? :)</p>
<p>Driving the length of the Cape – I would say the first third is more highway between sand dunes. Not much too see, but you can marvel at the change in geology and flora from the mainland. The second third is more stop and go, local traffic, etc, and the last third is absolutely spectacular with glimpses of ocean and dunes and beach and all of that. </p>
<p>Someone who has been to P-town more recently than I can comment on the accuracy of that statement. </p>
<p>Martha’s Vineyard is also gorgeous. It’s beach and maritime village. No where near as crowded as the Cape. Park the car and take the ferry. Rent bikes if you want to tour around the island.</p>
<p>
A “count the trees” drive, more like it. :)</p>
<p>Hi,
Being a native of RI made me switch from lurking to posting!
First, Dunkin Donuts is ubiquitous in the Providence area, including the airport, branches of large stores like Home Depot, supermarkets like Stop and Shop. You might actually do a search on line and you would be surprised. I am not much of a Donut eater, but the coffee at DD is highly under rated and very inexpensive. However, I do stop often because my daughter likes the donuts and I like supporting such a nice anti-snob establishment.
Meanwhile, much of RI is beautiful, so don’t despair because of the experiences of others who have seen the less beautiful sights. Check out waterfire.org for their schedule, visit the RISD museum and/or RISD works store, note that many graduates of Johnson and Wales culinary program stay in RI and perhaps as a result of that there are many many inexpensive but high quality small restaurants. (near Brown campus is Rue de l’Espoir, on, um Hope st, further North-East on Hope St. almost in Pawtucket, is Oak, just to name two that are less noticed in the guidebooks. On Federal Hill, Atwells Ave. you could try Angelo’s, which is a very inexpensive, old-fashioned Italian place. If you are interested in architecture and local food, you might check out a book of New England Diners–RI has quite a few. SImilarly, there are many art galleries, including some new ones in the former jewelry district in downtown Prov. The old houses near Brown are lovely–check out Benefit St, Brown St., Benevolent st., etc. There’s a lively theater scene based around Trinity Square, which has now spawned several smaller, newer companies.<br>
Next, if you like beaches and beach towns and sea food, you might look into Wickford, Narragansett, Wakefield/Peacedale/South Kingstown, and nearby beaches. DOn’t be put off by the high cost of a day pass to various town beaches–the state beaches sich as Scarborough are very nice and have good clean facilities and cost very little. The ferry to Block Island leaves from a village near Pt Judith called Galilee. They have some great seafood restaurants there as well. Across the inlet is the little fishing village of Jerusalem, which you can reach by aiming for East Matunick (a fine, not too crowded, state beach). Jeru. also has good seafood.
THe East Bay (bristol, Barrington, Warren and on to Newport) has its own completely different but also worthwhile charms, such as LIttle COmpton, with RI’s own Sakonnet winery and Grey’s Ice Cream, which might actually be in nearby Tiverton.
For cold, semi solid refreshments (that’s for you Mollie, the scientist), do try Del’s frozen lemonade and Newport Creamery Ice cream. In the local supermarkets you can buy coffee syrup, which is a local ethnic treat. (the ethnicity being Rhode Islander.) We grew up on coffee milk, which narrowly defeated Del’s as the state drink.<br>
There, and I have not even mentioned the places in all the guide books, such as Slater’s Mill, GIlbert Stuart’s birthplace, the RI state house, the Haffenraffer Museum of anthropology, and the Newport Mansions. Not that you shouldn’t visit, but you don’t need a native to tell you about them. If you are interested in carousels, there are several notable ones in Pawtucket, E Providence, Providence and Watch Hill/Westerly.
If you need help with the regional accents and eccentricities, you could pick up a book of cartoons by Don Bosquet.
so have fun and those of us from there who live elsewhere wish we could show you around personally.
rsb</p>
<p>haha well i hope they are pretty trees!</p>
<p>thanks for going into so much detail RSB 
I will make sure i write down all those ice cream shops you mention.</p>
<p>Welcome, Australian friend and ally,…</p>
<p>and many thanks for inspiring Driver and SBmom, each a Tiki Bar legend, to offer up such revealing tales,… i could almost smell the sunlotion,…</p>
<p>“the coffee at DD is highly under rated”</p>
<p>That would explain why my husband, the coffee snob, found it so bad he spat it out. Although I do agree that their donuts are excellent.</p>
<p>No sunlotion required this weekend or the next few days. It’s raining cats and dogs.</p>