Sunday Funday in the rain
Excursions to the beach, pond, wildlife refuge, and breweries
05.12.2019 - 05.12.2019
42 °F
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Burlingame State Park
on baecation2016's travel map.
Breakfast
We woke up Sunday morning to the sound of faint bird calls accompanied by the pattering of rain on the roof of our tent. Thankfully this new tent has a tarp built into the flooring, which kept us pretty dry overnight. We were equally as thankful too have packed away the inflatable kayak and the remainder of camp gear last night.
I recalled that the arcade had a covered shelter and picnic table so we drove over there to make breakfast. We had our French pressed brewed coffee and kale and Havarti cheese omelette sandwiches on Portuguese muffins (think English muffins but BIGGER).
However, the park rangers on patrol weren’t too happy with our use of the propane grill outside the confines of our campsite so we retreated back there to enjoy our meal away from the company of some narcs (just kidding, park rangers serve a vital role in protecting these sacred spaces for all to enjoy).
Beaches and Breachways
We headed first to the sandy trails and beaches of Weekapaug, where we looked for birds along the breachway and Quonochontaug salt pond. However, there weren't too many birds so we moved on to the next stop.
Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge
At the Kettle Pond Visitor Center (apparently the referenced kettle pond IS Watchaug Pond), we perused exhibits and a short film on the origins of wildlife refuges.
There was a pretty sweet mosaic at the entry and a thematic map demonstrating the regional terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Due to the rain, we opted for the shorter Ocean View Trail, which had a handicap accessible observation deck and a rainy view of the Atlantic.
During our walk we saw the following bird species: Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, and a couple more life list firsts, Yellow Warbler and Northern Parula!
Breweries and Brunch
Our next stop was Grey Sail Brewing of Rhode Island, which was quite the treat! The taproom was so cool; it was in a house from the 1930s owned by family that ran a macaroni company next door (now the brewery). We had a couple of flights and wished our mom's Happy Mother's Day.
We attempted a boozy brunch at 84 Aleworks Brewing & Tavern. However, the totchos were so plentiful, they had us satiated and that was a wrap!
Bye bye Burlingame!
We drove back to the campsite to furiously breakdown our tent and rack our bikes onto the car.
The wind and rain made the temperature seem more like in the low 30s, so we were a bit relieve to head home and forgo the last night of our reservation.
After an hour drive back home, we rewarded ourselves from the mad dash of unloading the car in the rain with a tasty treat that had been waiting for us all weekend. . . a fruit tart from Pastiche and home brewed espresso!
Happy birthday Heidi, I love you so much!
Claudia & Heidi
Posted by baecation2016 13:01 Archived in USA Comments (0)