Rhode Island Town 1: Cumberland, RI 6/13/2020

Photo Credit - Chris Vaccaro https://www.rimonthly.com/whats-story-behind-cumberland-monastery/

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. 

The Blais family at the Nine Men's Misery Monument (Alternative caption by Aemilia: Crazy woman forces her children to smile on site where 9 soldiers were skinned and buried alive...then they got ice cream which was good!)

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:

• The Blackstone River Theatre - Great venue for hearing live folk and celtic music in a historic and intimate setting.  The Blackstone River also holds classes in music, dance, and traditional folk arts.  
• Diamond Hill Park - We've hiked and geocached on many of the trails at Diamond Hill Park.  After a hike, go to the Ice Cream Machine directly across from the Diamond Hill parking area.  Diamond Hill Park is also the location of the Summer Solstice Folk Festival, which our whole family has greatly enjoyed in past years.
• The Blackstone River Explorer - We've been on some fun tours of the Blackstone River aboard the Samuel Slater canal boat.  Unfortunately, this boat is not running during the 2020 season, but Explorer River Tours also operates a few other boats with tours leaving from various places in the Blackstone Valley.