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Summer Time!

We’ve assembled a guide to all that awaits, inside and (mostly) out, at the beach and in town, and whether your wallet’s feeling thin or thick. The sun is shining. The living is easy. Go have fun.

Photography by Chris Vaccaro

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Drop $100

Yes, You Clam

Hold an old-fashioned clambake. Sure it’s insanely time-and-labor intensive, but getting everyone together to dig a hole and cook a big seaweedy mess of food is deeply satisfying — and not just to your stomach.

Assemble:
► beach fire permit from a local police/fire department
► shovels and people willing to use them
► children to gather beach rocks
► firewood, newspaper and matches
► seaweed and a canvas tarpaulin
► tongs, utensils (incl. lobster crackers), cups and plates
► lobsters (at least one each), clams, corn, potatoes
► beach chairs; easy snacks and drinks

Hit the beach around noon to start in on a two-by-two-by-two-foot pit. Line it with rocks and build a fire on top. Light it three hours before you want to eat (you wanted to eat at nine, right?). When rocks are hot, extinguish fire, spread a thick layer of seaweed and fill with food. Cover with more seaweed and the canvas. Shovel sand on top.

Sand-oven constructed! Any adults who did not dig should by now be pouring drinks for those who did. Hell, they should probably build a bonfire, too. And they better have brought snacks for the kids.
After two hours, haul up the tarp and grab the steamy food. Feast. By the time every shell is empty, it will be dark and you will all be exhausted. Put out the fire, pack up the trash and tell us it wasn’t worth it.  
 

 Rent a Pontoon Boat

Non-boaters, get nautical!
Here’s the boating equivalent of car camping: Drive to Champlin’s Marina on Block Island and load your stuff directly onto a large, stable, idiot-proof floating platform. Then chug slowly into the wave-free environs of the Great Salt Pond, cocktails and deck chairs undisturbed by swinging booms or slamming keels. Simply drag the boat up onto the sand for land-side exploration, or hang on to a trailing rope wearing a mask and snorkel for an eyeful of the pond’s rich sea life. No aquarium can match this. Rates from $80, $260 half day, twelve person capacity, dogs welcome.
Aldo’s Boat Rentals, Westside Rd., Block Island, 466-5811.