We started the day nice and early, arising from the Clariton Inn in Seekonk, MA at 6am for a quick and delicious continental breakfast. We feasted on waffles, eggs, potatoes, oatmeal and yogurt and then saddled up by 7am for a 35 mile ride to the Newport-Block Island Ferry. Shortly after our decent, we ran into another biker on the road who was from the area, his name was Ricky. He was so excited to meet us and told us all about his solo bike journey across the northern tier of the US and his new plan to bike the Southern Tier. We took a picture together and he sent us on our way with much advice for the road. The ride to Newport was very beautiful, as we road along the East Bay Bike Path which was a shady, windy, scenic path along the Bristol Harbor. We stopped at Colt State Park for a peek at the Bay and we chatted about previous fishing adventures while staring on a fishing dock. As we rode on, we made the miles enjoyable by talking about wildlife sighting experiences along the way. Then suddenly, right in front of us, we saw a poor bunny get swooped up off the ground by a hawk. It was ironic and a bit traumatizing, but nature is wild sometimes. As we got close to the ferry, we stopped at a grocery store for some sandwich ingredients for the ferry and our dinner and breakfast ingredients for later. At noon, we boarded the Hi-Speed Ferry to Block Island, ate our delicious turkey sandwiches and then stood on the top deck while the wind blasted in our face and stared out into the ocean looking for whales. As we arrived on the Island, the first thing we did, of course is jump in the ocean. We found a popular beachside spot with live music and lots of boats. We jumped off a dock, swam in the waves, kicked back to some live tunes, walked on the rocks and then Max caught a shrimp by hand. It was time for ice cream so we biked into town for some delicious cones, then biked on to another dock where we swam some more. On the way we met a donkey who we fed carrots to, and who tried to eat Katie’s converse shoes off her bike. As the sun started to fade, we biked over to a town beach and made some curry stir fry over noodles that hit the spot more than you could imagine. We battled each other in intense card games by the ocean, then pedaled home to our campsite. We pitched tents, stared at the stars, talked about science and NASA and all sorts of out of this world conversations before our eyes got too heavy and we settled into our tents and faded into the night. Tomorrow has many adventures on the itinerary, can’t wait to explore!