beach combing – Catching Marbles

I had been told about Moonstone Beach last summer, or perhaps even before that. Rumor was that during the off season it was a decently isolated beach that was perfect for gathering pretty rocks and I am a sucker for pretty rocks. Especially since I have a fish tank and an excuse to bring them home now!

So on this blustery Monday afternoon I headed out into the 39 degree weather forgetting that ocean = wind. I had attempted to come to Moonstone Beach once before but the road leading to it was flooded that day and if there’s one thing I won’t do with the Prius it’s drive into puddles of unknown depth. Today however I lucked out. I drove into their odd parking situation (no parking at the end of the road and only to one side on the rest of it) without taking the Prius swimming.

A pick-up truck drove in at the same time but no one ever got out of the car. I did! And wandered onto the beach. WOW was it coooooold!!! The wind was fierce and nonstop, waves were crashing on the shore and foaming up the beach and there were the promised rocks. Millions of them in all colors shapes and sizes, the vast majority completely smooth from the ocean’s battering. Next time I set up a new fish tank I’m totally bringing a bucket out here and picking a bunch up!

I tried to take a few artsy photos as this beach was made for such a thing but the wind was so cold my fingers were hurting and my face was bright red. The solitude of the beach almost made it seem colder.

The beach appears to be open year round but perhaps I’d suggest visiting it on a warmer day or at least in more layers of clothes if you’re insane enough to go in the dead of winter like I did. I wasn’t there for long but I believe I’ll be back to take more time feeding my need for gorgeous photography and pretty rocks of course. I’d heard whispers of finding the occasional agate or other vaguelly more valuable rock here. There was certainly a bunch of beautifully polished quartz in both white and rose sitting next to speckled smooth lumps of granite. I really don’t know much about geology so I couldn’t say what the rest were but I’m sure some rock hound out there might be able to.

Today there wasn’t any shells so to speak but there was the delightful rumble of the clattering stones as they were washed in and out on the waves. This was the sort of communing with nature I so desperately needed and it filled my soul with the greatest joy.

As I got back into my car and settled in to drive off another young woman drove in. Our eyes met through the car windows and we both gave each other only the biggest of smiles. It was a sweet and wholesome moment to end my trip out here.

All and all I think Moonstone was a wonderful place for a rock hound or introvert to poke at during the off season. I suspect in the summer its probably too peopled for my taste but to each their own!

I am continuing my quest to get to 500 Catching Marbles Entries before the end of this year. We’re running out of time, energy, and good weather… which could explain why we decided to go to the beach in DECEMBER.

Oh my, was it BRISK! A fair wind was coming off the waves and even I, who has been overheating like a cheap European car all summer, was a bit chilly. Big gray clouds went out to sea as far as the eye could see. Despite being cold as a witch’s tits it was actually kinda gorgeous.

The beach had a huge parking lot which I am sure costs money to park in during the on season, however December was so far into the off season that we found a pack of herding dogs joyously running up and down the beach with their owners despite big signs reading, “NO DOGS ALLOWED ON BEACH.” I get it. You and your friends were insane enough to adopt a gaggle of border collies during your golden years AND you live in a densely populated area. Where else are you and the other crazy grandmas going to go to burn off some of that unused herding energy?? And I for one am all for it. Even though one of these dogs didn’t like me. I think I surprised him.

But really this beach must be HOPPING in the summer! It had a series of roofed structures with picnic tables and a bunch of benches to watch the waters and people going by. And the parking lot was ENORMOUS. I never understood the appeal of sunning next to a thousand other strangers while their children trip over you but hey, to each their own! I preferred the beach now… cold, unforgiving, and completely taken over by a less stressful kind of creature: birds. Holy birds! There were sea gulls and a swarm of ADORABLE sandpipers and some weird sea ducks?? (which I thought were pipers when I was taking photos because I have shit distance vision and frequently have no idea what I am taking pictures of. Sadly this led me to not taking photos of the actual pipers. Just as well, those fuckers are as fast as they are adorable.)

But we weren’t here for the beach. No matter how many rocks I shoved in my pockets proved otherwise. (As a lifelong cool rock collector you have no idea how deliriously happy I am to have a fish tank to put them in now. It’s a veritable rock scrapbook of places I’ve been… with fish!) We were actually here to check out the ruins that I saw someone post on Facebook. I mean… this is how I will be lured to my death some day.

The ruins were waaaaaay on the other side of the beach so we hoofed it through the sand until I was again, overheating. I looked on slightly irritated because my companion was gliding over that sand while I sunk into it like a water buffalo with four left feet. It’s SO MUCH harder to walk through when you’re sinking! Whhhhhy?! Why must I lack so much grace?!

Just as steam was starting to pour out of my ears we reached our destination. The ruins of the Windswept mansion which sits directly between the Scarborough Beach and Black Point. It was built in 1895 on the backs of chronic pain sufferers. Well, at least their hard-earned cash paid for it. You see the money used for building it was earned through selling the family business – Perry Davis’s Vegetable Pain Killer. Believed to be the first such tincture marketed directly to chronic pain sufferers it probably had quite a punch being made almost entirely of alcohol and opium which are suspicious vegetables if you ask me. Eventually it became a fancy restaurant Cobb’s by the Sea before changing hands and starting a long retirement of vacancy in 1952. Ravaged by no less than 5 fires little remains of what was once a 21 room mansion. However, what is still standing is still pretty neat and made for some lovely photos! And a brief study in pediatric psychology as we found some youngin’s notebook ripped up and spread to the wind inside the ruins. Pages and pages and pages of, “I am certain I love my girlfriend.” I wish I could have written back. Sweetheart, whatever mindfuck she’s putting you through ain’t worth it. RUN my child! RUN LIKE THE WIND!

And that was our trip to the ruins. This place was definitely entertaining on this off-season day and wasn’t hard to get to. If you love ruins, or beaches, or just a bit of fresh air I do suggest checking it out.

Tag: beach combing

Exploring Moonstone Beach South Kingston Rhode Island: A Rock Hound’s Paradise

Black Point Ruins Narragansett Rhode Island