SO NEAR & SO WONDERFUL

Rafe Totengco loved a weekend on Block Island, 12 minutes from Manhattan

I live for weekend getaways especially during the summer. Escaping Manhattan’s sweltering heat and baking streets is a preoccupation I share with other New Yorkers. There are so many places within a few hours’ drive from the city that you can escape to, so staying put is almost inexcusable.

On a recent holiday weekend my boyfriend and I decided to go to Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island. Friends who had been there this summer were going again and they suggested we join them.

Block Island was named after Adriaen Block, a Dutch explorer famous for establishing early trade with the native Algonquians and for his expeditions in the North East following Henry Hudson. It’s about eight-and-a-half miles long and three-and-a-half miles wide with a terrain full of sandy beaches and rocky cliffs. There are only two ways to reach the island: either by ferry or by chartering a small airplane, which only takes approximately twelve minutes.

Most hotels are within walking distance from the Old Harbor Ferry dock and on weekends you’ll find a lot of day-trippers coming in just to enjoy the beaches. You can also rent bikes or mopeds during your stay. Take note that a lot of the dirt roads are off limits to mopeds so a bike with a basket is best as long as you don’t mind getting a little physical.