I’m only going on four hours of sleep today. I didn’t finish working on our server computers until about 2:30am, and then maybe got to sleep around 3am. And of course, today has been chock full of problems. Oh well—such is life. Early to bed tonight.

But on with the adventure.

Thursday. Thursday began by sleeping late—something I haven’t done in quite a while (especially this morning).

We (Renée, Aunt Paulette, and I) spent the day walking through Wickford (or as them R.I.ers call it, Wickfud) at all kinds of little shops. I entered a small book store in the area and search for The Count of Monte Cristo, but to no avail. We also spent some time walking through an old cemetery (of the legendary Updikes) and through the Old Narragansett church—close to 300 years old. Surprisely, the church still holds services in the summer. In the winter, families used to sit in boxed pews and bring warm bricks to keep the heat in the building, since it was mighty drafty.

After that was the highlight of my day: our first real taste of seafood. We went to a local market right on the marina and purchased some snail salad, stuffed quahogs (stuffed clams), and stuffed scallops. Oh man, oh man, oh man. What a heavenly decadency! Oh mother of magnificence! Tasty tantalization. Renée and I both were on cloud nine.

Well, about this time Renée’s fam’ had arrived in Rhode Island, so we jaunted over to their hotel. We picked up Paul and went over to Bonnett Shores (where we were the previous night) to meet up with Aunt Paulette’s sister Denise and her family. We were planning a huge bonfire on the shores, to the tune of snail salad (and other food), a nice breeze, and lots of fun.

But—it rained.

Hard.

In fact, we went up to our “cabana” and tried to wait it out under a tiny tarp above our heads while we ate pizza. So much for the bonfire. But now with Uncle Richard, Aunt Georgette, Ricky, Simonne, Uncle Johnny, and Aunt Paulette, Paul, Renée, and I are rather enjoying the company. So much, that all of us decide to go to Uncle Johnny’s Ben & Jerry’s store in downtown Providence, even though it’s a good hour away.

So after the rain lets up slightly where we were, Paul, Renée, and I jump in with Aunt Paulette and head off to Providence in the Volvo (gotta love those people). About 30 minutes later, though, we had the fright of our lives.

You see, it was raining torrentially, and I guess even some New Englanders can’t always keep their vehicles under control. We were okay—but a Jeep came spinning 360 degrees multiple times right by our left side and ended up straight in front of us, headlights shining brightly into our eyes. But Aunt Paulette kept calm and veered to the right to go around him—but in the moments after, all of us were extremely nervous, scared, and shocked. Thank God for His marvelous protection! No one hit the Jeep, either, which is a blessing.

So, needless to say, we don’t really need any sugar in our bodies right now. We decide to call it a night and count our blessings instead. Ice cream will come later.