Rhode Island... Holding Its Own

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When we arrived in Rhode Island on Tuesday night it was very dark. We had had a great flying day. When we were traveling to the Salt Lake Airport the weather was a little dicey with snow coming down lightly and the visibility was poor. But we jumped on and off we went after deicing. Not much turbulence and 140 miles an hour tailwinds out of Phoenix got us here nearly an hour early. That was a nice thing. It is always fun for us to see Robert and Laura's new house wherever they are stationed. They always have such nice and comfortable homes allowing us premier vacations in exotic places. How's that for seeing the silver lining in having them always so far away? When we returned to Rhode Island, I was a little leery as once you have been to such a favorite place you almost fear being disappointed the next time because of your wonderful memories.

But Rhode Island seems almost better this time except for Robert not being here. One thing is the kids moved into a bigger, really wonderful home so they have adequate space this time and to spare. I'll put some photos of the interior on my next post.
When we woke up and looked out windows, the first morning we saw this. Rhode Island is beautiful no matter what the season. As you can see the kids live very close to the water. It is actually a finger of the ocean although it is quite gray in this photo we are hoping for some sunny days starting tomorrow which will make it look very blue.

One of the things I love about this part of the country is the open space. There is just a lot of land that sits unoccupied by houses and cars and people's junk. No fences are my favorite thing and that the homes are placed randomly on the lots, not in rows with equidistant spaces between them like we are use to seeing in the west. It creates a feeling of neighborliness and oddly, relaxation that we just don't see much at home. This random placement of houses is actually a design principle for a more casual look inside a home and it works exactly the same way outside. For a more formal look you want a geometric or linear look and symmetry. Neat how that works, isn't it?

The part of the island they live on is rather hilly and this just makes it so interesting topographically. Driving into the little town you meander up and down and in and around these big, beautiful homes along the road. It is very picturesque and quaint.

The front of their house

Back of the house

View from their deck and also their study
on a sunny day looking east to the water.

Backyard

Neighborhood houses
Random houses along the way to school for the boys.

Love this one...
Their neighbors on the north side

So much breathing room!

So we are having a wonder-filled time and lots of school and church activities have kept us busy. But next week we can just do whatever we want and haven't even had time to plan that all yet. So until next time, hope you are all having a great pre-Christmas time and that you have all the hard stuff done ahead of time so you can just enjoy the spirit of it all.

Love to all, Bonnie & Jim