Getting the flavor of...Block Island’s untamed splendor

Block Island’s untamed splendor

Springtime on Block Island is a chance to lose yourself in “a wilderness of ocean, moors, and sand,” said Stephen Jermanok in The Boston Globe. Long a summer haven, this “wild sliver of land” off Rhode Island’s coast remains well preserved enough that it begs to be seen before June’s crowds arrive. Bring a bicycle on the ferry or rent one in Old Harbor, the island’s only town, then take a 13-mile loop through its hills and lowlands. You’ll soon see the historic Southeast Lighthouse, where a nearby walking trail leads to the “majestic” Mohegan Bluffs. Farther along the loop, stop to walk a trail into the island’s “appropriately named” Enchanted Forest. The north side of the island features a three-mile-long beach that stretches nearly to the 1867 North Lighthouse, a study in granite. Far across the water stand Newport’s famous mansions, but Block Island remains “the antithesis of such materialism”—especially in early April.

Humble Knoxville

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“Haven’t we all had enough of people, places, and things pretending to be something they are not?” said Allison Glock in Garden & Gun. Tennessee’s third largest city doesn’t strive to be the weirdest, wildest, or prettiest place on the map, and that might explain why it’s so appealing. Some of the baked-in humility probably comes from sitting in the shadows of the gorgeous Great Smoky Mountains, which is not to say that Knoxville is ugly. The “silvery” Tennessee River weaves through town “throwing light like a Kinkade” on a downtown that’s never ceased to be a vibrant mix of offices, parks, homes, bars, shops, and restaurants. Music is an integral part of life here, but there’s “no indie bar or frat bar or AARP bar”—just bars where everyone goes. Knoxville, with its population of 179,000, might be perfect in size—“big enough for an Ethiopian restaurant” yet “small enough that you recognize the vagrants.”