South County beaches, celebrity golf tournaments,
national tennis tournaments, music and art festivals, WaterFire and antique shops,
theaters by the sea and in the villages — that’s Rhode Island in summer.
We’re at about the mid-point now of a summer that’s seen an economic slowdown and high gasoline prices that have translated into a sluggish travel season nationally. Even in Newport, there are more hotel vacancies, but a steady stream of day- trippers.
More Rhode Islanders are staying close to home, at least that’s if you believe what travel experts are saying locally and nationally. More Rhode Islanders — New Englanders — are discovering Rhode Island and the surrounding area. And what they’re finding is a state that lives up to all its billing – at least in summer – as having a pretty exceptional quality of life.
Maybe it’s payback for some of that harsh winter weather.
Much of that quality of life was left here by nature. A bay that sparkles, and the beaches that surround. Some pristine woodland and fields, lakes and streams just a few miles from our urban centers.
And much of it has been developed around those natural resources – boating and fishing, golf and the festivals. There seems to be a festival of one sort or another on every street corner, in every village and on every Main Street in Rhode Island.
We’ve got more music festivals than there are musical instruments – blues, folk, classical, jazz – just name it. And every troubadour seems to pass our way, whether it’s on Block Island – another gem of nature – or Newport, East Greenwich or Woonsocket. And we’re happy to have them.
And we make things here – a lot of things, from communion wafers to gaming machines to boats to writing instruments of every sort.
Each Rhode Islander should be required to take at least a few days to rediscover what sets this small state apart. It has little to do with politicians or economic conditions. It has much more to do with the land and the sea, and the ingenuity of the people who live here.
We’re quite fortunate here, to not only possess some of the best that nature can deliver, but this is also a state that is rich in culture and history, in creativity and imagination. There are small cottages scattered about this state that served as home to the likes of Gilbert Stuart, famous for his portraits of Washington, and the mills that not only Slater built in Pawtucket but also those that became the foundations of the villages along the Blackstone or Pawtuxet or Pawcatuck Rivers.
And in the mansions of Newport the stories of the rich and famous weave from room to room, leaving tales of intrigue, tragedy, and joy.
It always amazes me when people in the “far reaches” of Rhode Island’s Northwest talk of never traveling to Providence, or those in Newport or South County never making the journey to our “great Northwest.” Every corner of this state has something unique and interesting to offer and to discover.
We are often so critical of our state, it makes a great deal of sense that we spend some time finding out why, in spite of all the warts, Rhode Island is a great place in which to live and play.
