Things That Make You Go Hmmm

Jill's Journal: We leave Rhode Island today for Massachusetts. Some final thoughts as we leave the union’s tiniest state:

*It’s fascinating how accents are drastically different all over the country. Rhode Islanders have a very distinctive one. They drop the “r” in most words that actually end in “r.” Water becomes “wata” and lobster becomes “lobsta.” And then they add the “r” into words that end in vowels (I guess to make up for the ones they lost?). Erika is “Eriker” here and a word like pasta is “pashter.”

*Roads in New England (thus far) are so descriptive! Horsebarn Hill Road has a bunch of horse barns. Duck Hole Road has a pond that attracts ducks. Plain Meeting House Road has the oldest church building (or meeting house) in Western Rhode Island. And the list goes on. But it also makes us laugh…a major road here is Nooseneck Road. Does that refer to a noose around the neck…is that where they once hung people?

*Coming from the deserts of California and Arizona, I never quite understood how Labor Day signified the end of summer (other than school starting). And fall officially beginning on September 21? Crazy talk. Even in Kentucky, the seasons are pretty mild in comparison to up North and fall doesn’t feel like it starts until at least October and the beginning of Keeneland. But here in New England, oh my goodness, it’s Labor Day and I think fall is here already!! We went in the pool a few days ago and only lasted a few minutes before our teeth were chattering. It’s sunny and beautiful, but the air is wonderfully crisp. Shorts, flip-flops, and sunscreen will be a thing of the past very, very soon. The girls wore footed pajamas last night (for the second time) because it’s getting downright cold when the sun goes down. At this rate, I may need to find footed pajamas myself!!

*We’ve certainly enjoyed the things we’ve seen in RI, but the area of the small state that we stayed in leaves a lot to be desired. I’m sure some of that has to do with our campground, which is absolutely the least favorite of all the ones we’ve stayed in so far. The last week of summer was a busy one for campgrounds in the state and this was, I believe, the eighth one I called while looking for a spot in RI. Note to self: when everything else is booked but one (and only one) campground has spaces, there’s probably a reason (it’s a rotten, rude campground)!