The RI towns of Little Compton and Tiverton, and the Massachusetts towns of Westport and Dartmouth comprise a beautiful region of farms, beaches, nature preserves and galleries that's only an hour-and-a-half from Boston. Much more restful than Newport (most restaurants stop serving at 9pm).
Highlights of my weekend trip:
- Open Studios for South Coast Artists (July 16-17 and again August 20-21).
- Saturday farmers' market in Tiverton Four Corners
- fresh produce stands all along Route 77
- sunset over the Sakonnet River, visible from Route 77
- dinner al fresco at Stone Bridge Restaurant, with a view of Grinnell Beach and boats in the harbor
- South Coast Beach, where you can walk along the sandy crescent of beach for a mile or so, reaching Goosewing Beach and watching children on their boogie boards ride the current from inland out to sea (unless their parents catch them first :-) )
- Fogland, a slipper shell and pebble-strewn beach with a beautiful, kid-friendly cove, windsurfers and kitesurfers
- a hike in Tiverton's Weetamoo Woods, a 450-acre nature preserve with Atlantic white cedar trees and thus a rare "cedar swamp"
- begonias and lillies at Young's Family Farm (next to the Edith Pearl B&B in Little Compton)
- Dell's Lemonade!
I'll go back, if even for a day trip. Things to see and do when I go back:
- Other Little Compton beaches, specifically Sakonnet Point, Warrens Point and Briggs Beach
- Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary along Route 77
- The Boat House Restaurant in North Tiverton
- The Back Eddy Restaurant (recommended by the B&B innkeeper)
- ice cream at Gray's Ice Cream stand in Tiverton Four Corners
- The towns of Dartmouth and Westport (including its three villages -- Westport Point, Central Village and Head of Westport).
- Maybe a trip to Newport!
