Beach Bound!

It was another scorcher this weekend so Jim and the girls and I headed down to Roger Wheeler State Beach. in Narragansett. A gorgeous beach with nice facilities, fluffy soft sand and pretty calm waves. Jim and I grew up going to the beaches in New Hampshire (yes, NH DOES have a coastline! 13miles of it in fact) and Southern Maine. Up there, if you aren’t beach-bound by 8 or 9am (at the latest!) you will encounter awful beach traffic and then will be LUCKY if you find a decent parking spot, let alone a good place for your blanket on the beach! With that in mind, we loaded the jeep, filled the cooler, buckled in the girls and hit the road at 8:15am.
We were awfully hungry, so once on Rt. 4, we took exit 6 to Rt.2 South. after 5 miles or so, we spied Allies Donuts (3661 Quaker Lane N Kingstown, RI 02852 401-295-8036)! Ever since moving to Rhode Island 3 years ago, we have heard how fabulous these donuts are: Best in the State!! They live up to their reputation! I love the plain ones – crunchy and slightly sweet on the outside and light and fluffy inside. Half a dozen packed up and two coffees and off we went to the beach.
We knew we were on to a good thing. As families started to arrive at the beach, I spied one group of 3 couples and their kids, with 6 boxes of ALLIES!
Once at the beach, keep that box covered: Seagulls LOVE Allies Donuts!!!!!!
“Gosh, (I said to Jim) I hope we don’t hit too much traffic once we get to Rt. 1” Up till this point we had encountered no traffic to speak of, on a weekend day!! Well, wouldn’t you know it, we breezed on in the parking lot in no time. “If it is this easy(it took about 45-50min. from Providence), we’ll have to come here more often” Jim said. So we happily purchased a state beach season pass (good for all of the state beaches). A true bargain at $30 (you put the pass/sticker on your vehicle) for state residents.
Despite the fact that it was way too windy to read the Sunday Paper, we really enjoyed ourselves! The water was so refreshing. Up on the coasts of NH and Maine, you can (maybe) put your feet in the water. More than that and you might want to consider donning a wet suit. It is THAT cold! Another pleasant observation: It wasn’t crowded! Granted, we haven’t been to Misquamicut Beach or Scarborough Beach : two of the most popular beaches in the State. I hear these two get VERY crowded. Perhaps we’ll give those a try next time. Since we arrived nice and early, we were ready to leave and get out of the hot sun by about 1pm. We were very hungry and decided to have some clam cakes and chowder at another Rhode Island institution:
Aunt Carrie’s!

Aunt Carrie’s has been family owned and operated for over 85 years. The restaurant is famed for bringing us the clam cake. Crunchy, fluffy studded with clams and perfect for dunking in their famous clam chowder. Located just a few short minutes from Roger Wheeler State Beach in Narragansett, it was an obvious choice for us. We arrived shortly before the weekend rush. We placed our order at the take-out window and ate across the way at the picnic benches, where we could enjoy our lunch in the shade with cool ocean breezes. They serve lunch and dinner six days a week and along with take-out, they have a very nice dining room as well!
In 2007, they were honored with a*James Beard Foundation “America’s Classics” Award . Deemed the “Oscars of the Food World” , the James Beard award was one of many awards they have received over the years.

Since heading to the beach in, THE OCEAN STATE is so darn easy, I will be making my way to one of the many beautiful beaches here at least once a week, till the season is over. Hope to see you there!