We received a wedding invitation for a Thursday night in June in Newport, RI. So, of course, we thought, what a great excuse for a van trip!
We spent the first two days in Tiverton, RI, parking in the driveway of my husband’s boyhood friend. Len grew up two doors down from Mark in Wilmington, MA. They ran track together at Wilmington High School in the mid-seventies. He now lives on a steep hill of a street in Tiverton with a great view of Mount Hope Bay.
Len lives about halfway down the steep street. On our first day there, we walked down the hill and through the brush to the water.
Later that afternoon we checked out Tiverton Four Corners, a quaint area with shops, historical buildings, and an outdoor sculpture garden.
On the morning of our second day, we drove to Colt State Park in Bristol, RI. Mark and Len went off in one direction for a run.
I set out to walk along a path near the woods. But I kept stopping, distracted by the birds and the flowers. I got a few photos, but the woodpecker and the hummingbird escaped before I could catch them.
I changed course and chose a straighter path along the water instead.
Mark and Len finished their run (see the re-enactment photo below :)) And we headed back to Tiverton, where Len convinced Mark to try out his electric bike on the crazy hill in front of his house. Yikes!
We finished the day with a tour of Len’s basement workshop where he repairs glass lamps. He also showed us some of his stained glass pieces from his long career as a stained glass artist. He was full of stories about some of the church work he did. And he named all the different styles, colors, and textures of the glass he used.
Then we scooted over the state line to Fall River, MA, to eat supper at The Tipsy Toboggan. All in all, a nice visit. On to Newport tomorrow.
Chapter 3 