Yesterday (October 14) was a beautiful day. The sky cleared, the sun came out, the wind dropped and it was warm.
We took the opportunity to hike the trails of Block Island. We covered over ten miles in a loop through the southeast of the island. The trails reminded me of walking the public footpaths of England, public easements through or between private land. Most of the trails are in forested areas, some through fields bordered by stone walls. It felt good to stretch my legs, work up a sweat and enjoy the warm sunshine.
Block Island is all but closed up for the winter. The floating docks have been hauled out of the marinas. All but a few stores and restaurants are closed. There is very little traffic on the roads, mostly vehicles loaded with stuff heading to the ferry. Even the soda vending machines are empty and unplugged.
It's like a ghost town, or a town cleared out as a hostile army approaches. On a cloudy, blustery day, it felt a bit sad, the fun of summer gone, like a circus dropping its tents and leaving town. On a warmish, sunny day, it was nice to have the place mostly to ourselves.
 |
| Farm on Block Island along a hiking trail |
