For a joint birthday weekend between me and my friend, I headed to Rhode Island. She’s finishing an engineering degree and I came for a visit. I’ve never been to the country’s smallest state (you can drive the length of it in about an hour and a half!) and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Honestly, I was kind of thinking Gilmore Girls, which is the only New England setting I can call to mind. It wasn’t exactly that, but I was surprised at the quaintness of the state.

I arrived in Rhode Island Saturday evening. The sun hadn’t started to set but it was definitely getting darker. And while I drove through the trees and buildings that are miles apart, I wondered “Am I in the right place?” But as quickly as I asked that, the tree parted to reveal a cute, little town with old, quaint buildings and trees just starting to turn colors. That night we went a college bar and caught up over dinner and drinks.

The next day, my other friend took the train in from Boston, where she’s doing research at MIT (I know, my friends are like really smart). We picked her up from the station in Providence and quickly googled something fun to do in Rhode Island. It was an amazing reunion because I hadn’t seen this friend in about a year because she’s always traveling to do research. (She’s been to every continent at least once in the last four years!) So this chance that the three of us were in the same vicinity at the same time was incredibly rare and I’m already treasuring this weekend forever.

We spent a good five minutes asking each other what we wanted to do before I threw out going apple picking. Mostly because I had seen a sign on the way up and because it’s a fun fall activity. We turned on the GPS and headed towards the orchard. We spent the majority of the afternoon roaming the aisles, looking for the best apples to take home. I even found an apple tree designed for me and all the other shorties of the world! We then took the giant bag of apples (seen in the picture, only half full) back home and started cooking. We searched for apple recipes before deciding on an apple stuffing and apple crisp. And even though we used apple fifteen apples, I still have a whole bag left so I’m going to have to jump on those other recipes, stat!

Top: ASOS • Skirt: Free People • Belt: J. Crew • Boots: Old Navy • Vest: similar, Old Navy • Necklace: similar, Zappos

After cooking and eating, we headed back to the train station in Providence so my friend could get back to Boston. Then we spent the rest of the night watching Netflix movies.

The next day, we headed to Newport, possibly the world’s cutest waterside town. It’s about twenty minutes from where we were staying in Narragansett. And even though it was a chilly fall day, it was still the perfect day trip. It has a port where boats and ships are docked and a walking path that runs alongside it. The water is calming and beautiful lapping against the rocky shores.

When we first got to Newport, we had lunch before walking around and checking out some of the shops. We stumbled upon a bakery so adorably named The Cookie Jar. We got one of each cookie and a cup of apple spiced tea and continued looking around. Everything was decorated so cutely for fall with hay bales and pumpkins and gourds and mums.

We even stumbled upon a cute little pumpkin patch set in the middle of town in the midst of gorgeous historical buildings. With the chill setting in and my hands warmed by apple spice tea, we saw the last bit of town before heading back to the car to check out the historic mansions that Newport is famous for.

These houses are honestly the definition of #goals. Most of these historic mansions are museums open to the public for tours. While we didn’t go into any of them, we drove past in wonder, imagining the kind of parties that went on in there. (If only there bloggers in that era). Some of them were looked like people still live in these beautiful houses on rocky shores. Now I know why people “summer” here. Honestly, I want to summer here.

That evening we had dinner and headed back to the hotel. Everything about this state was so quaint and dressed for fall. My favorite part of this cute little state were all the rock walls (seen in the first image) lining the roadsides and separating houses from each other.

Top: Forever 21 • Skirt: similar, Urban Outfitters • Jacket: similar, Madewell • Belt, vintage • Bag: Vera Bradley

Our last day, we stopped by the beach before we left. The ocean up there is so blue and looks so beautiful crashing against the rocky shoreline. And instead of shells, there are little pebbles everywhere. I picked up a couple smooth, white ones to remember the trip by. Then, we went into Boston for the day to shop and eat. And on the way home, we stopped through New York to say hello to a family friend.

Dress: English Factory, through No. 14 Boutique

I fell in love with Rhode Island the more time I spent there and honestly, I didn’t want to leave when it came time. Driving out of New England, I already started planning to return, and maybe adding in the other states like Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Next time, though, I think I’ll fly.

• always chose adventure •