Spring Lake
Sebastian had been begging to go to the beach for the last several days. Teri and I were both tired, but he was really upset.
Now, I don't know where the good beaches are in Rhode Island. I've heard of one or two on the ocean, but I don't know how to reach them - and they're not that close. I'd guess they're at least a 30-45 minute drive away. I was surprised to find that Teri was assuming that if we went to a beach, it would be Breezy Acres in Douglas MA. It's a nice lakeside beach with water slides, but it's pretty expensive; $8.50 per person per day, and $17.75 per person if you want to go on the water slides. Plus it was getting late; it was around 3pm when we discussed this, and Breezy Acres closed at 6:30.
So I resorted to Google Maps. I have the app on my new phone, and I have to say that it's amazing. In this case, I put in our home address, and then searched for "beach". All of the closest matches were businesses with "beach" in the name, of course. But I ranged further out, and found Spring Lake Beach not far away. It has a lakeside beach, an arcade, and only cost $3 per person!
We hit the road. Took one wrong turn (or rather, missed a right one), but within half an hour we were there. The area was somewhat off the beaten path, but the place was just as advertised.
The water was warm, and Sebastian and I swam out to a tethered dock about sixty feet out into the lake. For the last 20-30 feet the water was deeper than my head. Nonetheless Sebastian swam quite well, and we made it out to the dock. There was a lifeguard on it, incidentally. We both jumped into the lake from the dock, and then swam back to shore.
They didn't have the giant water slides that Breezy Acres has, of course, but they had several decent-sized slides anchored in the lake where the water was at a depth of about two feet. Kids loved them, and so did Sebastian. We saw a good-sized fish that came only two feet away from us, and several families of ducks. We also spotted some paddle boats for rent ($8 per half hour), but I didn't have enough money to rent one. Sebastian really wanted to try them, so I told him we'd do it next time,
After we swam, he and I played in the sand for a while at the shore. He built a fortress-tower with a moat around it, and I dug a lake-hole in front of it. After we were done playing, we went to the arcade.
And what an arcade it was! It's not a huge building, but it was filled with wonderful machines - stuff far older than I've ever seen, stuff that probably belongs in a museum. One side of the building had relatively modern games, including ones that give out tickets that kids can redeem for prizes. But on the other side, there were mechanical games that cost a dime, a nickel, or even a penny! There was one machine that I couldn't resist, a giant metal tube that let you try to shoot down enemy airplanes - propeller-driven ones, from the silhouettes. There were machines that told your fortune. Pinball games of many ages. Just wonderful, wonderful stuff.
I only had three dollars on me (we hadn't planned to make the trip), but that was enough for all three of us to play for a surprisingly long time. Sebastian played some modern games too, and won 100 tickets; he picked up three prizes, and then we headed for the car (if I'd had the cash we would have eaten at the snack bar there, but I was down to my last dime). On the way we passed a lovely little goldfish pond/fountain, with an extremely old and tiny cemetery on the opposite side of the road. Once we got to the car, there was a bit of a panic; Sebastian had lost one of his three prizes, a strip of stickers. He got very upset, so I walked with him back to the entrance, looking all the way. I tried to tell him that he'd probably dropped them and some other kid had probably picked them up, but he asked me to check to see if anyone had turned them in.
No one had, of course, so we headed back toward the car. I tried to cheer him up, telling him that I'd take him there again soon and bring more money, but he was disconsolate - in fact, he was crying. But as we trudged up the road, Teri was waving at us; she'd found the stickers! So it was a happy ending to the day after all.
Now, I don't know where the good beaches are in Rhode Island. I've heard of one or two on the ocean, but I don't know how to reach them - and they're not that close. I'd guess they're at least a 30-45 minute drive away. I was surprised to find that Teri was assuming that if we went to a beach, it would be Breezy Acres in Douglas MA. It's a nice lakeside beach with water slides, but it's pretty expensive; $8.50 per person per day, and $17.75 per person if you want to go on the water slides. Plus it was getting late; it was around 3pm when we discussed this, and Breezy Acres closed at 6:30.
So I resorted to Google Maps. I have the app on my new phone, and I have to say that it's amazing. In this case, I put in our home address, and then searched for "beach". All of the closest matches were businesses with "beach" in the name, of course. But I ranged further out, and found Spring Lake Beach not far away. It has a lakeside beach, an arcade, and only cost $3 per person!
We hit the road. Took one wrong turn (or rather, missed a right one), but within half an hour we were there. The area was somewhat off the beaten path, but the place was just as advertised.
The water was warm, and Sebastian and I swam out to a tethered dock about sixty feet out into the lake. For the last 20-30 feet the water was deeper than my head. Nonetheless Sebastian swam quite well, and we made it out to the dock. There was a lifeguard on it, incidentally. We both jumped into the lake from the dock, and then swam back to shore.
They didn't have the giant water slides that Breezy Acres has, of course, but they had several decent-sized slides anchored in the lake where the water was at a depth of about two feet. Kids loved them, and so did Sebastian. We saw a good-sized fish that came only two feet away from us, and several families of ducks. We also spotted some paddle boats for rent ($8 per half hour), but I didn't have enough money to rent one. Sebastian really wanted to try them, so I told him we'd do it next time,
After we swam, he and I played in the sand for a while at the shore. He built a fortress-tower with a moat around it, and I dug a lake-hole in front of it. After we were done playing, we went to the arcade.
And what an arcade it was! It's not a huge building, but it was filled with wonderful machines - stuff far older than I've ever seen, stuff that probably belongs in a museum. One side of the building had relatively modern games, including ones that give out tickets that kids can redeem for prizes. But on the other side, there were mechanical games that cost a dime, a nickel, or even a penny! There was one machine that I couldn't resist, a giant metal tube that let you try to shoot down enemy airplanes - propeller-driven ones, from the silhouettes. There were machines that told your fortune. Pinball games of many ages. Just wonderful, wonderful stuff.
I only had three dollars on me (we hadn't planned to make the trip), but that was enough for all three of us to play for a surprisingly long time. Sebastian played some modern games too, and won 100 tickets; he picked up three prizes, and then we headed for the car (if I'd had the cash we would have eaten at the snack bar there, but I was down to my last dime). On the way we passed a lovely little goldfish pond/fountain, with an extremely old and tiny cemetery on the opposite side of the road. Once we got to the car, there was a bit of a panic; Sebastian had lost one of his three prizes, a strip of stickers. He got very upset, so I walked with him back to the entrance, looking all the way. I tried to tell him that he'd probably dropped them and some other kid had probably picked them up, but he asked me to check to see if anyone had turned them in.
No one had, of course, so we headed back toward the car. I tried to cheer him up, telling him that I'd take him there again soon and bring more money, but he was disconsolate - in fact, he was crying. But as we trudged up the road, Teri was waving at us; she'd found the stickers! So it was a happy ending to the day after all.