Groton, CT to North Kingston, RI

Today, June 30, marks the official half-way point in my journey. Connecticut was State 26. Recollect that I am counting D.C. as a state, and CA is being split into North and South, all to exactly fill the 52 weeks in a year.

Before leaving CT this morning, I indulged in some spa services at the Mystic Marriott hotel and spa . I would recommend this hotel. It was reasonably priced, especially for a nominal Marriott, and it also has salon and spa services. While it is located in Groton, it is a few minutes from all of the more well-known places on the CT coast, such as Mystic and Stonington. The customer service was also excellent. The minor problems that arose - and they always do - were fixed efficiently and with a smile.

I then drove less than an hour to Rhode Island, the smallest state. I have never visited RI before and I have been warned by several people that RI is like NJ, but smaller. I guess we’ll see what my experience is at the end of the week.

Usually when I arrive in a new place I go for at least a short outing to get a feel for the area. Often this means strolling the riverwalk, or finding some other water feature - a lake, bay or ocean. There is plenty of water around, but the air quality is so terrible from the Canada fires that I am skipping that pleasant ritual this afternoon. The air may not get any better in the near term, so it may be time to break out my N95 mask again.

I’m staying in North Kingston, a town with no name recognition and not a lot going on. It is a short drive from Newport, which is where a lot of the interesting destinations reside. However this also means that hotels command premium prices, especially over July 4th weekend. So this seemed a good compromise. It will be interesting to see the celebration RI style.