 | This past week, Norm took a vacation from his tropical paradise in the Caribbean |
 | This is one of the places that has internet access, where Norm can write how much he misses me and home. |
So for a change of pace, Norm came north to spend some time hiking in the cold and wet Northeast, and hunkering down in front of the fireplace during the evenings.
We took two days off, and drove to Rhode Island, in wind and rain. We tried to visit the Herreshoff Museum, but it was closed!! One room in the complex was open, which had many photos and bios of sailors, mostly America's Cup. There were models of famous America's Cup racers, and photos of vessels and crews. No heat, and the roof was leaking, but we enjoyed ourselves for about an hour.
Undeterred by the weather, we visited the Claire McIntosh Wildlife Refuge and Colt State Park, in Bristol. At Colt State Park, we witnessed a flock of hundreds of Brant descend on the water in the adjacent salt marsh, in the vicinity of Coggeshall Farm. Very vocal, very social birds. In groups they flew to the meadow in front of us, until we were only 50 feet away from this busy, noisy flock. Norm, being still just a boy, decided to walk up to them. Their anxiety increased as he got closer, the vocalizing getting louder, as birds moved closer together. In a great whoosh, the closest group peeled off, and flew upwards, then back to the salt marsh. Norm just turned around and grinned. Not exactly good bird watching behavior!!
The next day, it was drier, just some light rain early in the day. The wind was formidable though, and brought back memories of last year, when we delivered Averisera during the tax week storm. We went to the Norman Bird Sanctuary and had a wonderful hike down the Hanging Rock Ridge Trail and back.
| The trails are lovely at this sanctuary. The Norman Bird Sanctuary is located a short drive from downtown Newport. It's truly a treasure of conservation efforts, providing a refuge for wildlife and humans alike. |  |
| There are so many trails to hike, we had trouble deciding which way to go! |  |
 | The ridge trail was exciting and dangerous. Don't look back! A fall could drop you down several hundred feet. |
| The geology includes a rock formation called puddingstone, a conglomerate of boulders, cobbles, pebbles and sand formed from the eroding mountains. |  |
 | The trail loops back past the quarry, and into Shady Glen, a small forest of yew trees, that have been manicured into a maze. I think it helps if you are short, maybe kid-size. |
Our final stop was at Sachuest Point, which has a walking path around the coast between Second and Third beaches. By now it was late afternoon, the wind was approx 30kts. We saw Common Loons, and Red-breasted Mergansers, while some Greater Black-backed Gulls played with the wind and soared in place. A few surfers were enjoying the effects of the weather at Second Beach.
