Fishermen's Memorial State Park, Narragansett, Rhode Island

Our drive took us through four states yesterday. We left Kennebunkport, Maine, and drove south on I-95. When we arrived in Kennebunkport, things were still pretty green, but the leaves are beginning to change there now too. Just a few days makes a big difference.

 We passed just briefly through New Hampshire. I had the map mixed up in my head, and so I'd forgotten that we were going through New Hampshire. I totally missed the sign when we crossed over the state border, so I'm recycling this picture from when we crossed over in Woodsville. You wouldn't have known if I hadn't told you, right?

Along the way, we saw this barn. There might have been others, but I was more interested in the screen of my iPhone for this drive.

It wasn't too much farther before we crossed into Massachusetts and drove around the outskirts of Boston. Crazy driving there, but a good road. The driving was no crazier than what we encountered in Southern California, but the road in Massachusetts was a huge improvement.

And then...not too much farther on, we crossed into Rhode Island. I had my eyes peeled for the sign, but we were at least a couple of miles into the state before the sign appeared. I was just getting ready to put the camera away when I saw it. Sorry for the light post, but check out the birds on those power lines.

We drove just about 200 miles yesterday and paid $15 in tolls. Yikes.

From there, it was a short drive into Fishermen's Memorial State Park.

And what a lovely place! There's some noise from the highway, but that ceased last night, and we slept well. We have a nice site with some privacy from our neighbors.

And this is an interesting place! We're at Pt. Judith Neck, which is the farthest extension of the Rhode Island mainland into the Atlantic ocean. There is a lighthouse here in Narragansett Bay, and we'll probably get off our lazy duffs to go see it.

Pt. Judith's most important historical role occurred during WWII. Narragansett Bay was considered among the best safe havens and rallying points for war ships of any place from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras. Where the park now stands, one of a series of coastal artillery emplacements was located, including a concrete bunker for storing ammunition and radio rooms. These bunkers were covered by earth and appeared from the outside and from above as low coastal hills.

I haven't taken any pictures of the park entrance yet, but there is a silo and the current park headquarters which were originally designed to look like a farm complex. It is just one of the small number of surviving structures marking Rhode Island's contribution to the American effort during World War II.

So we climbed to the top of this former bunker.

The former entrance is sealed off, and there is a platform at the top where one can get good views of the surrounding area. That's our fifth wheel in the image below.

Looking in the opposite direction, one can see the bay.

There was a little opening where we could get out to the water's edge, but it was a big step down and kind of muddy. We only went as far as you see in the next image.

Walking around the back side of the hill, the trees against the sky were rather dramatic.

We took a good walk around the park. The weather was lovely at 82 degrees...some of the warmest weather we've seen so far on our trip. Along the way, we saw this:

and these cute little pine cones.

We seem to be on a monarch butterfly migration path. The monarchs have flown through our campsite in a continuous stream. We see one every minute or so. This one landed on some weeds during our walk. I poised over it waiting for it to open its wings. It didn't until it flew on. I'll keep trying.

Smitty desperately wanted to get out for a walk, but he didn't want to wear his harness. I'll offer the harness to him and attempt to put it on. If he hides under a chair or under the table, I put it away, taking that as a "no." Eventually, he gives in. If wearing the harness is the price he has to pay, then he'll do it. It makes him feel like such a pussy.

But not Miss Sadie. Her harness days are over. Sorry, Baby.

After dinner, we walked back up the hill to watch the sunset.

Day is done.

Maybe you've noticed I'm behind on the state of the states. I put Maine up when we were back in Bar Harbor, but never took a picture. Now I need to add Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I'll get that done today, so you can be looking for that picture. It's vitally important to your well-being, so you're welcome.

We have been traveling for so long, nearly 6,000 miles at this point, and we've done so much sight-seeing, we're relishing a morning of relaxation. It's after 10:00 and we're still in our pajamas. We have some things in mind...the lighthouse, for example...and my friend Debbie sent us a link to a coastal walk that looks fabulous. The sun was shining when we woke up this morning, but it's clouded over now. We're hoping it will burn off.

Our plans for New York City are fairly well nailed down, and we'll be heading there on Friday. I'll say more about that then. After New York City, we'll head to Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Yes, Intercourse. Please get your minds out of the gutter...and just to be clear, I didn't name the town. We'll spend a few days there, and then move on to Harrisburg. Why Harrisburg, you ask? Well, because we've been plagued by a leaky toilet this whole trip so far. Poor Mike, he did everything he could this summer, working hard the whole summer to make sure we didn't face this kind of problem during our trip. He didn't anticipate a leaky toilet.

So to make a long story even longer, he's tried everything he can think of to stop the leak, but it continues despite his best efforts. We've made a few stabs at finding a replacement at Camping Worlds along the way, but the Camping Worlds themselves have been few and far between. We finally found one in Harrisburg...just about an hour from Intercourse...and we've paid for them to hold it for us. We'll go pick that up, and Mike says it will be an easy job to slide the old one out and put a new one in its place. Sounds like famous last words to me, but what do I know? We'll spend the night at a Walmart just down the road and from there, who knows where our travels will take us?

That's our trip laid out over the next week to ten days. For now...we're going to lie like vegetables unless we get a big infusion of energy. That hike has a good chance, and a lighthouse usually gets us going.