I saw Bambi.
And Bambi saw me for sure.
The wild adult size deer spotted/heard us from afar and kept its cute lil' ears perky for a good 10mins until we approached it too near for its comfort. My first deer spotted other than in the zoo. Nope, it is not in NYC where it happened - it is in Block Island.
Away from the city's hustle and bustle, we spent an amazing weekend on Block Island, which can be loosely described as an idyllic island with almost everything transported straight out of England except for the Brit accent. Gentle rolling meadows with low stone walls(with missing sheeps), crisp ocean wind gripping at you as you zip around in a moped, traditional English cottage-like and historic houses and inns rise sporadically among the blossoming trees in spring, innkeepers with a Lady Diana-like smile and demeanour(and fancy hats), floral wallpapered rooms aptly named Bayberry and Buttercup, wine and nibble treat at 5.30pm after check-in, quaint hobbit-sized houses called The Dollhouse, moped rentals that cost almost US$100 for a day(insane!), cosy bistros serving up seafood medley pasta that you are likely to remember for a long...time, and of course, the glacial outwash basin called Rodman's Hollow(where we met Bambi), are just some of the things you are likely to encounter or experience on a weekend trip at Block Island. Whew! That was a mouthful!
Still in the low season, we are lucky to be paying only US$95 for our charming and very comfortable Bayberry room in the Adrianna Inn. The high season rates in the summer reaches the heights of US$275 and above. During summer, some inns require a 2days min and some at 6days min.!!! For that kinda price, one can certainly take a luxurious cruise to the Carribeans already! Despite some awful online reviews by previous guests at The Adrianna, we took a chance and I bet you can hear my sigh of relief all the way to Rhode Island when we threw the doors open and found a clean, enchanting and English-as-can-be room with plush, new towels and fresh sheets lying in wait. Perched atop a gentle hill, we have an ocean view as well and I certainly love the rocking chairs on the porch.
The next morning, we were awoken at sunrise by the chirping melodies of the robins and I can't explain how wonderful the feeling is when you are surrounded by so much beauty and nature. Zipping off to Rodman's Hollow, Manu and I were lucky to catch the early sun, the birds and the deer. We heard more birds and saw more birds than when we were in Costa Rica's Monteverde Nature reserve! The only bird I had seen there was a cousin of the turkey!!! In Rodman's Hollow, a few dashes of red between the trees confirmed that it was a red Cardinal bird playing hide and seek with us. In less than 1 hour, we spotted the red-winged blackbird, American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole, downy woodpecker, common grackle(and many more unidentififiable species), on top of a deer.
Breakfast never tasted this good! Ravaged after the early morning's hike, we wolfed down a hearty breakfast of home-made quiche(yumz!), freshly baked muffins, cakes and cookies, saccharine sweet cantaloupe and grapes and a much-needed cuppa strong coffee to keep our buzz going for the rest of the day. Needless to say, we were almost unwilling to board the ferry back to Point Judith until the thought of buying lobsters at the jetty gave a cheerful shove for us to board.
New England is known for their lobsters and in the past, lobsters are so abundant that they wash ashore to form a 2feet pile on the beach. Needless to say, it was once a poor man's food since it was so easily available. We couldn't resist a 3pound jumbo lobster at the fresh seafood market and shelled out only US$23 for it. Once back at home, both of us learned through the internet how to cook a live lobster for the very first time in our lives. God bless the internet! It tastes just great with some melted butter. Simply messy but GOOD!!! =)
Life is gloriously good these days...no wonder I am piling up the pounds! Think I will rent a bicycle instead of a moped next time...
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