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Last day of summer 2020.....

9/21/2020

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Today is the last day of summer, and looking back on our RI towns adventures, I have to say that the summer of 2020 really was great!  So many beautiful, fun, and interesting places in our little state! We'll be keeping this blog going and will hopefully be able to travel a little further soon.  Thanks for following our journeys - we've enjoyed sharing them with you!
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Our RI map is now complete.
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Rhode Island Town #39: Smithfield - 9/5/2020 & 9/6/2020

9/6/2020

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By Tarynn
Welcome back, everyone! Time for our last town! SMITHFIELD!!!! This is our hometown and we love it here. There were so many places that we wanted to visit in Smithfield that we decided to spend a whole weekend exploring our town. We went to many different and exciting places in Smithfield. My favorite places were probably the A&W and the Kountry Kitchen Clam Shack because, well, you will know why when I tell you all about the places we went to. 
First, before we started exploring Smithfield with the whole family, my mom visited a store that you should all know about.  It's called Wood Items & More and it is a store that sells every type of craft item that you can imagine.  They also sell picture frames, which is why my mom went there today.  As you can see in the photos, the aisles are packed with so many interesting things, and the prices are lower than other craft stores.  You can even take sewing or painting lessons there.  The owner of Wood Items & More is Maureen, and she is very supportive of soldiers and veterans.  Every year she coordinates "Operation Rhody" to make holiday gift bags for veteran soldiers and she helps people paint ornaments and write letters to the veterans.  I went and helped out along with my Girl Scout troop.  We wrote letters, decorated bags, and painted ornaments.  
Wood Items & More
So many craft supplies!
Fabric and more craft supplies
We got the frame for Aemilia's painting at Wood Items & More.
We started our family tour of Smithfield with a walk at Georgiaville Pond in the evening before it got dark. Georgiaville Pond beach is a really nice place to swim in the summertime, and it is also very pretty there along the trail that you can walk on to see the dam and gorge.  I noticed that there were a lot of wole acorns and acorns with no caps on the ground. I started playing catch with my dad using the acorns. On our way back to the car I picked some flowers that were on the side of the trail, and we saw a little poem on a rock. Poems have been placed on rocks all around Smithfield by the Woodland Whispers group. 
Georgiaville Pond beach
Sister love
Ducks at sunset
Fairy princess and the goth girl
Golden hour sister selfies
Georgiaville Pond
Dam!!!!
Golden hour pond portrait
Wildflowers at Georgiaville Pond
Resting for a moment
Stone house in Georgiaville
Georgiaville Mill
We got back in our car and went to look at some mills.  We stopped at what used to be the Georgiaville Mill and then we drove along Farnum Pike to see what used to be the Esmond Mill and later was the warehouse for Benny's.  After that we headed to Esmond Park. When we got to Esmond Park we got out and started our walk. It was a really nice walk and when we got to the end of the trail there was a bench facing a river. We had to go over a bridge to get to it. We saw some more little poems on the rocks. 
Stone mill house in Georgiaville
Esmond Mill
Woodland Whispers poetry at Esmond Park
Esmond Park bridge
More Woodland Whispers poetry
Esmond Park Honor Roll
​Then we walked back to the car and went to the A&W Drive-Up Restaurant. At A&W we got root beer floats and they were delicious! I really love A&W root beer floats.
Smithfield A&W
Rootbeer floats - YUM!!!!
Smithfield A&W
 On Sunday we went to Revive the Roots and met my 5th grade teacher there. My teacher is really nice and it was great to see her. Revive the Roots has a community garden, and it was really fun and interesting to see how people are using all of the garden spaces there.  We picked some tomatoes and kale from my teacher's garden, saw the sheep and the chickens, and saw my teacher's bee hives. We left one of our painted Rocks at Revive the Roots. 
Revive the Roots
Revive the Roots Farm Stand
Visiting Tarynn's teacher
Picking veggies
Tarynn the Beekeeper
Garden beds at Revive the Roots
Revive the Scarecrow!
Little Free Library at Revive the Roots
Chickens!
Sunflowers
We left this rock at Revive the Roots
Off to the trails
and then we went for a little hike at Mowry Commons and Mowry Conservation Area.  At Mowry we saw another poem on a rock.  This poem was by Ms. Babs, a beloved children's librarian at the Greenville Library.
Great seats at Mowry Commons!
We left this rock at the wooden chairs
Woodland Whispers poetry
Bridge at Mowry Commons
Taking a break at Mowry Commons
The northern tip of Stump Pond
Mowry Conservation Area
Bridge at Mowry Conservation Area
Rocks at Mowry Conservation Area
Next we went to the Stump Pond dam. We walked around and looked in the water for fish.  There is a really nice view at the Stump Pond dam, and there were lots of people fishing. 
Stump Pond Dam
We had made a reservation at Jaswell's Farm for apple picking, so that was our next stop.  Jaswell's grows the best corn, and they also make really good pies, apple cider donuts, and lots of other things. We picked Gala apples and it was fun. There were so many apples on the trees!  We also ordered some baked treats from the farm store.  Once we were done picking apples, the treats were ready to pick up and we went on our way. 
Jaswell's farm, Smithfield
Apple picking
Beautiful!
Tarynn's best smile?
Next we went to the Smith-Appleby House, which was built by one of the founders of Smithfield in 1696.  We had been here before in the wintertime to meet Santa, but we had never explored the yard at the Smith-Appleby House.  There was a cute little train station there, and there were also gardens and a path that led down to the end of Georgiaville Pond.  We also visited a historic cemetery that we could walk to from the Smith-Appleby house, and before we left we put one of our painted rocks on a post in the yard.
Smith-Appleby House, Smithfield
Smith-Appleby House, Smithfield
Stone Foundation Barn
Cardinal Flower
Little Train Station at the Smith-Appleby House
We left this rock at the little train station
Woodland Whispers poetry at the Smith-Appleby House
Historic Cemetery
We left this painted rock on a stump overlooking the lawn
We went home and ate our treats from Jaswell's on our deck, and then my sisters relaxed at home for a little while, and I went to do my favorite thing: visit the neighbor's chickens.  
Freshly baked treats from Jaswell's Farm
The little red hen from next door
While we were relaxing and visiting chickens, my parents went for a walk to Deerfield Park.  Deerfield Park is really nice and I like to ride my bike there.  There are playgrounds, tennis & basketball courts, baseball & soccer fields, and even some hiking trails. Deerfield also is home to the Smithfield Senior Center, and there are also some beautiful memorials at Deerfield Park. ​
Deerfield Park, Smithfield
There are two playgrounds - one for toddlers and one for older kids.
One of the wooded trails at Deerfield
Such a pretty trail
Smithfield Youth Memorial - honoring young people whose lives were cut short
Smithfield Veterans Memorial
Once dinnertime came, we went to try out the new clam shack at Kountry Kitchen. We had Fish and Chips, clam cakes, a stuffie, and chicken tenders. It was all delicious! (Note from Heidi - Kountry Kitchen also serves delicious cocktails and beer - this is a great addition to Smithfield!) On some nights, they have music at Kountry Clam Shack, but there wasn't any music while we were there.  On the way home, we stopped at one of our favorite places, the Greenville Library. Even though we knew it would be closed, we wanted to leave a painted rock under the tall redwood tree.
Kountry Clam Shack - Smithfield
Take out orders
Everything was delicious!
Greenville Public Library - Smithfield
We left this rock at the Greenville Library
Redwood Tree at the Greenville Library
We finished our tour of Smithfield with ice cream.  There are several places that we like for ice cream in Smithfield, including Scoops, Blackbird Farm, Smithfield Soft Serve/Del's, and Newport Creamery.  Tonight, however, we went to one of our favorites: Powder Mill Creamery. I got maple walnut ice cream with caramel sauce.  We sat at a picnic table by the water to eat our ice cream.  
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Powder Mill Creamery
Thank you for exploring Smithfield with us.  I hope you enjoyed it!
Other places we've enjoyed in Smithfield: 
  • Stillwater Scenic Trail - Flat and easy trail (great for kids!) along the water. There are some old foundations along the way, and a waterfall at the Cpron Road end.  At the Farnum Pike end of the trail, there is some graffiti, which I always find interesting. 
  • Wolf Hill Forest Preserve - A Smithfield Land Trust property, there are miles of beautiful hiking trails (and several geocaches) at Wolf Hill. 
  • Mercer Lookout - Short hike to a beautiful view of the Providence skyline.  
  • Ken Weber Conservation Area - There are lovely wooded trails in this area, including a trail that takes you by the Cascade Brook waterfall.  The waterfall may be dry in the summer and fall, but in the spring it is very pretty. 
  • Connor's Farm Conservation Area - Lots of interesting rock formations can be seen along these trails.  During COVID, this hiking area has been very busy, especially during the weekends, but if you go on an off-time, you will be able to enjoy a more peaceful setting. 
  • Powder Mill Ledges Wildlife Refuge - This RI Audubon property includes over 2 miles of well marked, easy hiking trails.  This was one of our favorite places to hike when the girls were toddlers. 
  • Laura's Pleasant View Diner / Laura's Bar & Grill - Two awesome locally owned restaurants in Smithfield!  The diner is our go-to place for breakfast, and the Bar and Grill has amazing food, drinks, daily specials, and an overall great atmosphere. We especially like the outdoor patio in the summer. You won't be disappointed at either place. 
  • Rally Point Racquet Club - Our girls have taken tennis lessons at Rally Point and the instructors here are great!
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    Welcome!

    We are a family who loves to travel and explore.  Covid-19 has changed our plans for  summer 2020, but we are making the best out of the situation by exploring our beautiful home state of Rhode Island.  During the summer of 2020, we are hoping to visit every town in Rhode Island. Thank you for joining us on our journey! ​  

    NBC 10 WJAR featured us on the news!  Watch the segment here. 

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