Destination: Block Island, RI
– Labor Day Weekend in Block Island –
“I will never be one of those assholes who gets scammed on Craigslist” I can recall myself saying at least a time or two before in my life… yet to my dismay, I became one of them Labor Day weekend 2013. In my defense I wasn’t the one who found, or booked the deal on Craigslist, but, I was still part of the group that thought a cheaper than normal vacation rental on Craigslist would be legit.
Come Labor Day on the East Coast summertime is over, the temperatures begin to drastically drop, and the once lively beach towns shut down for winter. So Devin and I planned one last weekend with our good friend Sonia and her boyfriend. She had heard of this place off the coast of Rhode Island called Block Island, and when she found an available rental for $150 a night, way cheaper than the going rate, we were in.
The night before when she mentioned she hadn’t been able to get ahold of the guy, we chalked it up to she had just called him too late in the evening, and, he would meet us there in the morning. I was still optimistic that things would be okay when we were driving to the ferry in New London, it was early in the morning, too early to call, so we would get a hold of him right after we got off the hour long ferry ride, no big deal. But when we landed on Block Island and the guy still didn’t answer, I started to become very skeptical. Any ounce of hope that it was a legit rental disappeared as we pulled up to the place to find a car in the driveway… We were S.C.A.M.M.E.D.!!
Eventually after a few phone calls we found a replacement place to stay, and our credit cards were refunded. Finally ready to party but still licking our wounds, we ate lunch on the patio of The Beachead, and after a pitcher of Sangria I had forgotten all about the earlier troubles and was ready to enjoy our vacation. We decided to rent bicycles so that we could ride around and explore the island, what we didn’t anticipate was all of the hills, and how out of shape we were to ride up them.
And then we upgraded…to Vespas. I would highly recommend renting a Vespa, skip the bike rental and spend the extra cash, your calves will thank me later.
A few points of interest we came across while on the island were: Ballards on the Beach – drinking on a private beach out of a pineapple- need I say more. The Sacred Labyrinth– a first experience for me but, very peaceful and left me feeling enlightened. Everyone gets different messages and meanings from their walk along the trail to the middle, but mine was no matter what twists and turns you make along the way, you will always end up exactly where you are intended to be. Devin and I also signed the journal that is left there for visitors before heading to the lighthouse. The walk from where we were able to park our Vespas to the North Lighthouse was quite a long one in the sand, but always pushing ourselves to the furthest place in order to receive a red dot on our iPhone photomap led us to the furthest point on the island. It was there that we encountered a deer in the bush and the beautiful brick lighthouse. The Oar had great outdoor chairs, benches and lawn games, but the mudslides everyone raved about weren’t anything I would rave about. However, the martinis from the adirondack chairs of the Spring House, amazing! The view, the sunset – incredible, the kids rolling down the steep hill a bit annoying, but maybe I envied them and just wanted to join them.
All and all Block Island was a really fun vacation, we enjoyed ourselves and would totally go back – this time avoiding a craigslist rental at all costs.
That’s my story,
xoxo, andrea