On the first day trekkers are allowed to wake up any time they like they get up at 7:15. Throughout the morning Cessnas and other small aircraft fly overhead. We spend an hour munching on oatmeal, cereal, and peanut butter. At about 9 we head out to Mohegan Bluffs, a cliffside beach accessed by 8 flights of stairs creaking as we rush down them.
At the beach some of us catch a wave, a tan, or a handful of clay. At the bottom of the stairs a winding creek deposits dark mahogany water onto the sand. Nicholas, along with Emmett, Will, and Tristen begin crafting. Eventually everyone is making something, etching in details with feather and stick.
Unprovoked, Dani does a backflip, as if getting bored of arts and crafts. We lay our clay onto hot rocks to sundry and come back later to pick the up. Our next stop is the Frederickson Town Beach.
Biking through the dry heat in wet suits for a few miles, the umbrella laden beach is just ahead. On this side of the island, The Old Bay, we find Colonial-era beachside inns, dozens of ice cream shops, and lines of tourists on single-speed bikes. At the beach we rent a few umbrellas and have lunch: sandwiches, fruits, and chips with guacamole.
Next, most of us take showers and prepare for some more riding. We take one road up the coast looking for branded attractions The Maze, and The Labyrinth. They’re walking trails, but somehow we misunderstand them for corn-maze-like puzzles.
At The Labyrinth three miles down the road we find a set of a few hundred stones placed on the ground a few inches high. The sign says to walk through the linear path in a meditation rather than a game. We trod circles around the center for the next few minutes in a row. At the center a bench and some painted rocks lie as reward–at least we get a good photo op.
Trying to reach the end of the island, we then go north toward Sandy Point. A mile or so of beach sits between the edge of the road and a lighthouse near the tip of the shore. Begrudgingly, the group dismounts and walks the rocky route, seeing 800 pound seals and whiny seagulls along the way.
Our destination is quaint, more of a house than a lighthouse. An old man outside welcomes us and the desk attendant let’s all the twelve year olds in free of charge. We learn about the history of the building and a few infamous crashes on Block Island.
Then we head back into town and find somewhere to eat. At the restaurant we play billiards and darts while waiting for tacos. Next, the crew buys a bundle of firewood and heads back to camp for an early rise tomorrow.