RI’s mills have always interested me. I love the architecture of the mill buildings, and whenever I visit a mill town, I always wish I could travel back in time to see what it was like during its heyday. Woonsocket is a northern RI city that was famous for its mills along the Blackstone River. There were numerous French Canadians who emigrated to Woonsocket, and there is still a French Canadian influence on the culture of Woonsocket today. Upon arriving in Woonsocket, we drove to the downtown area and parked near the Visitor’s Center, which transforms into the Polar Express station at Christmastime. We walked along Main Street to the Visitor’s Center to see the statue of Hachiko, the faithful dog in Japan who spent 9 years waiting for his owner to return from work. This statue is an exact replica of one in Japan, and was placed in Woonsocket because the movie “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” was filmed in Woonsocket. After petting the statue, we continued walking through the downtown area, noticing many food venues serving hot wieners, fish and chips, Del’s lemonade and other tasty treats. After returning to our car, we were pretty hot and feeling ready for lunch. Although Woonsocket is well known for its French Canadian food, we opted instead to try the Krakow Deli Bakery & Smokehouse which we have heard rave reviews from several sources. All I can say is WOW!!!!! We ordered the house made kielbasa, pierogies with bacon & onion sauce, golabki, croquettes filled with cabbage, beef & mushrooms, and baklava. The two ladies working in the deli were super friendly and helpful, and while we waited we were very intrigued by all of the imported Polish food on the shelves. Rather than eating inside, we took our food to go and drove over to the World War II Park for a picnic lunch. Everything we ordered was delicious, and the food also came with delicious sourdough bread and sweet & spicy pickles. Not many leftovers today….. We finished our tour with a stop at Wright’s Dairy Farm, just over the city line in North Smithfield. This has been a favorite place of ours for many years, and it is where we purchase all of our cakes for special occasions. When the girls were younger, we used to visit Wright’s to see the baby cows, and to see the adult cows being milked in the afternoon. Wright’s cream filled pastries are the absolute best, and their milk is so much better than grocery store milk. They also have homemade ice cream, which is amazingly delicious as well. Due to COVID-19, Wright’s is operating a little differently. Rather than having customers enter the store, they have implemented an online ordering system. You can place your order for pick up at a certain time, or in our case, place an order online while sitting in the parking lot, and it will be brought out to your car. We placed our order, and the estimated time was 35 minutes later, but Wright’s was extremely efficient and our order was actually brought out in about 10 minutes. We purchased regular milk, coffee milk (the best ever!!), an oreo tart, and a strawberry rhubarb pie. When we arrived home, we were pleasantly surprised to find that also included in our bags were 4 cream filled cornets with a note attached expressing thanks for supporting a local business and thanks for our patience. Super nice and super delicious!!!! We love Wright’s and hope to go back when we “officially” visit North Smithfield. Other places we’ve enjoyed in Woonsocket:
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We visited our first town on Father’s Day. Cumberland was a perfect choice because it is only about 15 minutes from Smithfield, so we could enjoy a relaxing morning and lunch celebrating Brian before heading out to explore. I was already pretty familiar with Cumberland, having geocached there many times, and there are many interesting and beautiful places to visit. We decided that The Monastery was the right choice for us, and as we drove around the grounds and admired the unique library building, I remembered that on the monastery trails there is a historical monument called “Nine Men’s Misery”. This monument was placed in memory of 9 colonists who were skinned and buried alive at the site in 1676 during King Philip’s War. The monument was erected shortly afterwards, and is believed to be the oldest veteran’s memorial in the United States. We made the short hike out to the monument, but didn’t go further since Aoife was being eaten by mosquitos. None of the rest of us were bitten, so Aoife must be the sweetest of the family. Since it was Father’s Day, we then decided to go get ice cream. Cumberland has two exceptionally delicious ice cream shops - The Ice Cream Machine and The Keep. Both places feature homemade ice cream in a multitude of flavors. Being at the monastery meant that we were closer to the Ice Cream Machine, so off we headed down Diamond Hill Road. However, when we arrived, we found long lines and a bigger crowd than we were comfortable with, so instead of stopping, we proceeded to Mendon Road to go to The Keep. The Keep turned out to be the right place for us - it was not crowded at all and the short line inside the building was well thought out for social distancing. I ordered “Game of Cones” and it turned out to be one of the best flavors I’ve ever tried (vanilla base with a caramel swirl and chocolate covered waffle cone pieces). I was also the lucky person who got to finish Tarynn’s maple walnut ice cream and it was amazing - huge chunks of walnuts were plentiful throughout. Aoife’s Chocolate Cream Pie flavor was outstanding, as were the Dire Wolf Tracks & Coffee Oreo flavors that were devoured by Aemilia & Brian. Other places we've enjoyed in Cumberland:
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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! Archives
September 2020
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