Narragansett, Rhode Island | Adventures of a New England Dog

A summer visit to Narragansett, Rhode Island, featuring Rudy, the adventurous New England dog. Join him as he takes in the sights, sounds, and tastes of this coastal Ocean State town. It was a hot one.

But dreamy just the same…

Rhode Island had long been on Rudy’s bucket list. “Small state, small dog—it’s a no-brainer,” he declared. And insisted he would be low maintenance if he could just hitch a ride along with us to Narragansett.

Predictably, for late August, it was a scorcher, bright light striking the waves and glittering off the sand. Perfect for surfers heading to the Narragansett Town Beach in the center of town, not far from The Towers, an iconic remnant of the town’s turn-of-the-century glory days.

Perfect dog days.

“Now I understand the meaning of ‘on the rocks,’” Rudy mused, as we wound our way to the water.

“And the concept of what might be called A Wall of One’s Own.”

The insights were coming fast and furious, along with some painful clichés. But by the time we’d parked, sweated our way down to the water, made some new friends,

watched the impressive comings…

and goings on the boardwalk…

and gazed longingly (albeit nobly) out to sea from atop The Wall (no dogs allowed till September),

…we were famished. We had loved a kooky little joint called Crazy Burger the last time we visited,

and it would have been fun to show Rudy just how crazy it really is—molto creativo with burgers and smoothies—but he wasn’t allowed on the funky Key West patio. So we kept with the Key West vibe and went around the corner to The Bike Stop Café.

Cool garden.

And if you order takeout, everyone can sit together in the garden, under an umbrella and dream…

Sufficiently stuffed—by now Rudy had sampled excellent ahi tuna tacos, salmon tacos, and a few piping fresh tortilla chips—we set off for Point Judith Lighthouse, further south, but clearly the genie was out of the bottle and we had a somewhat uncontrollable situation on our hands. “I’ve never had Del’s Lemonade,” he said, as we breezed down Ocean Road, past Aunt Carrie’s Ice Cream.

Moments later, thanks to a sudden burst of thirst, he was eyeing the large frosty cup that had appeared in the car. “It’s supposed to be quite good,” he mumbled, but no one was paying attention, so he nimbly diverted. “Nor have I experienced the tail-end of a root-beer float,” he observed, and with barely a word of encouragement wasted no time jamming his head deep into the cup.

All in all, it was a pretty good day. The bucket list was getting shorter by the minute. We admired the beach at Camp Cronin Fishing Area,

climbed the rocks where the fishermen gather like minnows at the far end, and admired the pretty view of Point Judith Lighthouse.

Then headed back up the coast to Narragansett. And then.

Rudy’s eyes grew wide. “Did you see that?” It was hard to miss. And we haven’t heard the end of it since. Once or twice we’ve had to remind him, rather sharply, of the sign prominently displayed in his new favorite restaurant:

  Have you ever visited Narragansett, Rhode Island?

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