Sunday, October 26, 2008

Arcadia Management Area - Richmond, RI

Melissa and I wanted to head out for a day hike. After a little research we came up with Arcadia Management Area in Southern RI. It covers Richmond, Exeter, Hopkinton and West Greenwich with a total acreage of more than 14,000 mainly wooded acres. It was an absolutely beautiful day with a bright high sunshine just warm enough. And so many trails it’ll take us a solid month to hike them all.

We decided to keep the hike to about 4 miles. So we chose to head to the Browning Mill Pond Recreation Area, which has a convenient parking area as well as beautiful views of several ponds, whose names I can’t remember. We hit the Arcadia Trail across from the parking area. There was this great walkway that I can only assume was built by the parks department. It extended across a small river and overlooked a crystal clear pond.





If there’s one thing in this world that bothers me it’s spiders. Well, only really big spiders or even medium sized ones that have fur or crawl on me. And of course all we saw was spider webs, spiders and spiders in their webs. Good times for me.



Just a few hundred feet into the forest and it felt like we stepped into the deep woods of Maine. It was incredibly peaceful, except for my cell phone; business knows no day off. I keep it on vibe so I don’t bother the animals - besides it’s smart to have in an emergency. Arcadia Trail has a nice flow to it, over ponds and lakes and of course winding through the woods up and down novice type hills. It was full of wildlife as well. We (Melissa) saw a dozen or so small frogs. She’s got a great eye for those little guys. There are also the typical birds, chipmunks and squirrels. Oh yeah and a fair amount mosquitoes and flies.

I don’t know what it is about hiking for us but it seems we’ve started to really pay attention to what the forest has to offer. We’re noticing different trees and bushes as well as the most incredible mushrooms I’ve ever seen. As we follow the trail now we both are looking a little deeper and with wider eyes so as not to miss the details. It’s really refreshing to connect with nature this way. I think I’m going to start bringing field guides with me so I can identify certain things. It’ll be nice to know what the heck it is we’re looking at. I can only get by so far with my Discovery Channel education.


The one and only disappointment for the day was the fact that Arcadia Trail didn’t loop around like we originally had thought. According to the map that is supplied by the Parks Department, it should have connected to a smaller foot trail to the west just before Ten Rod Road. What we found was the trail had overgrown and a few trees had fallen to cover the footpath so all was lost going in that direction. Unfortunately, we had to double back, which I really don’t like to do. It’s the same feeling you get when you have to double back in a car. You’ll drive ten miles out of your way just so you don’t have to turn around. Well in this case there was no other option but to turn around.

One of the coolest things about following the same path back is the different perspective you gain for the land that you just walked past. Things really look different from the other side. Hmmm…

When we got back to the car we decided that we wanted to see what else Arcadia had to offer so we drove around a bit. It’s BIG - really BIG. Melissa and I talked about how amazing it’s going to be to discover these new trails together. I really love being out there with her. We drove down Ten Rod Road and took a right onto Brook Trail, which led us through an entirely new set of possibilities that we can’t wait to explore. To end the day, as we drove down this small dirt road we saw something crossing in the distance. Well as we drove closer I realized my worst nightmare. It was the biggest spider I’d ever seen that wasn’t behind glass or on TV. Can you imagine how big it was if we could see it from our car! Well I got out to take a picture of it. – but made sure I left the car door open so I could make a quick getaway.

Get out of the house and get down to Arcadia Management Area. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed. Enjoy!



Bob Black
REALTOR
Williams & Stuart Real Estate
870 Oaklawn Ave
Cranston, RI, 02920
Work: 401.942.0200 ext 28
Mobile: 401.261.1599
Bob@BobBlackOnline.com
Your Friend in Rhode Island Real Estate
Visit MyBlogLog and get a signature like this!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Reali's Fine Italian Cuisine

We’ve lived in this house for almost a year now. There’s a restaurant on the corner that for some reason we hadn’t been to… and literally, it’s a 5-minute walk. The other night, we were out running around and worked up an appetite. Knowing we didn’t have much at home to pull together to create a meal, we had to decide where to go. Melissa suggested that we finally try Reali’s.

When we walked in, we were pleasantly surprised to find a warm, inviting atmosphere… the customers seemed to know the staff, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Reali’s has a $33.99 pre fixe dinner special that includes dinner for two and a bottle of wine. We asked for that menu and were quite impressed by the choices. I went with the chicken marsala, while Melissa chose the baked scrod. Our wine choice was a cabernet from Chile that was quite good. While we waited for our entrees, we enjoyed our wine and the delicious bread with rosemary olive oil that our server delivered. Out of curiosity, we took a look at the “regular” menu and were surprised at the wide selection of entrees and appetizers. Their bruschetta alone looked like it would be enough for an entrĂ©e.

When our meals arrived, we were again very pleased. My chicken was very tender and I remember commenting about how good the marsala was. Lots of garlic, and very tasty. Melissa enjoyed her very large piece of scrod as well, which also came with plenty of garlic! Her side dish was roasted potatoes, which she said reminded her of her Dad’s. I definitely felt that we got a good value for our money, and once again, were able to get a delicious, reasonably priced meal without heading to a chain restaurant.

We didn’t have room for dessert, but maybe next time! We’re looking forward to trying the other dishes… we’ll definitely be back.

Reali's Fine Italian Cuisine
79 Putnam Pike
Johnston, RI, 02919
(401) 231- 3004


Bob Black
REALTOR
Williams & Stuart Real Estate
870 Oaklawn Ave
Cranston, RI, 02920
Work: 401.942.0200 ext 28
Mobile: 401.261.1599
Bob@BobBlackOnline.com
Your Friend in Rhode Island Real Estate
Visit MyBlogLog and get a signature like this!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

5 Tips for a Green Home

Eco-friendly. Carbon footprint. Global warming. Energy-efficient. These catch phrases have become part of our lexicon as we’ve become more aware of our impact on the environment and our role in protecting it. As a homeowner, there are some simple, inexpensive steps you can take to make your home energy-efficient. Get started on the road to being “green” with these five tips:

Change Your Light Bulbs

By replacing just five incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs, you can save $100 per year on electric bills while using up to 75 percent less energy and removing greenhouse gases from the environment.

Buy ENERGY STAR® Appliances

ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances, such as refrigerators, washers and air conditioners, meet a higher level of energy efficiency set by the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy than standard models. According to ENERGY STAR, if just one in 10 homes used ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances, the impact could be compared to planting 1.7 million new acres of trees. And, switching to these appliances is not only good for the environment, but easy on your pocketbook. Although these appliances may costs more, you can reduce your energy bill by $80 per year.

Seal Up
Cracks and air leaks represent cash seeping from your doors and windows. Get rid of air leaks in doors, windows and other areas by caulking gaps and cracks. This will help decrease your heating and air conditioning bill. But make sure you use silicone sealants. Acrylic caulk tends to shrink, while silicone sealants are waterproof and won’t shrink or crack, creating less waste.

Use Less Water
Did you know that roughly 60 percent of a home's water consumption takes place in the bathroom, according to the California Urban Water Conservation Council? The largest culprit is the toilet, which accounts for 27 percent of your household supply every year. By installing low-flow toilets, showerheads and faucets, you can save thousands of gallons of water each year. In addition, replace leaky fixtures. That slow-dripping faucet can waste as much as 2,400 gallons of water per year.

Adjust the Thermostat
When adjusting your home’s thermostat, the rule of thumb should be: turn up the dial in the summer and down in the winter. Lowering the temperature by just one degree will reduce your electrical costs. And if you use a programmable thermostat, you can program your air-conditioning and heating systems to reduce output while no one is at home or at night while you sleep. Ceiling fans are also helpful in circulating the air to keep the room cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Going green doesn’t have to be overwhelming or costly. By making just a few small changes within your home, you can help decrease energy consumption and help make the world a “greener” place.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Where have I been?

Well as most people know who’ve read this blog with any regularity I haven’t been very active lately. Life takes over and as a result, the blog suffers. It’s not like I’ve been sitting on my ass just going through my day. I’ve been very busy with work, the gym and a social life. I’m sure I can do better at putting my thoughts on screen but I’m finding it difficult to fit that in. However, I’ve made a decision to dedicate a small portion of each day to get my thoughts out.

Since the last time I blogged, Melissa and I have been busting our butts (literally) at the gym. We’ve both started to lose weight and see results in our clothing. It’s a great feeling and I’m looking forward to dropping a total of 65 lbs and keeping it off! We’ve changed how and what we eat which has had a huge impact on our weight loss. In the back of my mind I always knew the only way to get healthier was to make big changes in those areas even though it took me several years to get motivated enough to do something about it. Having a supportive, loving partner has made this transition a breeze. I could go on and on about how we’ve changed our lives but I don’t want to bore everyone with what would appear to be gloating.

Work has taken off for me and I’m out doing more than ever before. In fact, I just had another closing yesterday. Albeit it wasn’t the million dollar closing that I’m hoping for someday, but it still counts. I have a good amount of activity in the pipeline and hopefully we’ll start closing them in bunches soon.

Socially, Melissa and I have been pretty active. Last week we went out three nights in a row. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot but for us it was a stretch. Luckily one of the days was with old friends who we haven’t seen in a long time. It was so nice to spend the evening with them and catch up on lost time. We’re hoping to fit in an apple picking session and maybe King Richards Faire before it ends on October 19. I’ll be sure to let everyone know how that goes. Also, Dale Chihuly who happens to be the leading glassmaker in our country and perhaps the world, is showing at RISD. We’ve been excited about this for a long time. Again, I’ll keep you posted on how amazing it is!