"Rhode Island?" "I never heard of it!" "Oh, is that near Long Island?" "Where the heck is Rhode Island?"
I am not suggesting that readers of this post have not heard of Rhode Island. Nor am I suggesting that readers do not know where it is. However, I know that there are plenty of people out there who might ask the same questions as those I have mentioned because I have personally been asked those questions from people I have encountered in numerous places throughout my life.
Ok, I do not want to bore readers with a geography lesson, but I am going to present a little lesson here and now. I might present more lessons in future posts but, for now, I will only be giving you a short and very basic one.
Rhode Island is one of the 50 states in the United States of America. It is the smallest of them all and this may explain why so many people have never noticed it on a map. Rhode Island, abbreviated as RI, is located on the east coast.
Because the state is so small, if the name of the state is written over it, the entire state's image becomes covered and hidden by the text. This is why the name is often written somewhere off to the right, with maybe a line or an arrow pointing out the exact location. To really be able to see it, though, a close-up of the northeast is practically required.
The northeast region that RI is located in is known as New England, which also includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. RI sits on the southern shore of New England, nestled inbetween Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Rhode Island has quite a scraggly, crooked coastline and it does include a number of islands. The largest island, Aquidneck Island, is actually the island in the name Rhode Island. (More on this in a future post.) To fully appreciate the state's true appearance, a map showing only what is within RI's borders is recommended.
Once removed from the context of New England, and especially from the entire map of the country, one can clearly see that Rhode Island truly does exist. There really is land area. Granted, it can be perceived as a strange looking state, but it is none-the-less one of the finest states in America.
19 comments on Little Rhody
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I don't know if you saw my reply to your comment because I think I didn't do it right. If you didn't see it before, it is located directly below this reply to you.
As an island dweller, I'm interested in how Island got tacked on to Rhode.
I'm going to do more blogs on Rhode Island and one of them will explain the name of the state. In the meantime, though, I can tell you that Rhode Island is only part of the state's full name. The largest island is Aquidneck Island and it represents the "island" part of the state's name. It was named after the Island of Rhodes.
Oh, you are very welcome. I plan to do more like this, but I don't intend to let any one post get too long or boring.
No, Hawthorne was not from RI, but you are very close! He was from Salem, MA, which is approximately an hour's drive from RI depending on the actual starting point. Salem is best known for it's history related to witch hunting, but Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables is there, too.
Thumbs Up Donna great post.
I'm with Angie above..Knowing people from and all I've read,Rhode Island is a awesome place..
We had plans in the works to move there years ago because my husband worked for Hasbro.But in the end he had to go to Ireland to a new plant Hasbro had started up..Thats when QC was important to the company.. I always felt I'd have liked the experience of living in RI.Guess I missed out on something,huh!! :-)
Oh, too bad you didn't get the opportunity to sample living here. I think you would have liked the people, a lot of interesting things to see and do, and the historical and natural charm the state has. I won't kid you, though, it can be a bit trying at times because there are so many taxes here and it can be difficult sometimes to live comfortably. But, I guess every state has it's positives and negatives. (Do you mean we were almost neighbors? That would have been awesome!)
What a nice intro. Thanks for putting it together!
AJ
I'm glad you liked it, AJ. I'm counting on you to correct any mistakes I might make in future posts, so keep an eye on me, ok?
Thanks for the History lesson hun, I actually did know where it was..*grins* even a southern girl like me. But I always enjoy reading about where my blogster friends are from..
Oh, elfie, you are welcome. I did mention that I thought most, if not all, of the readers would have heard of RI and would know where it is. But, it didn't hurt to go over it, right?
Did you know that Hawthorne's relative was a judge during the witch trials of Salem? Hawthorne's literature reflects the guilt that he felt just from having a relative so involved. He changed the spelling of his name.
No, I didn't realize that! Thank you for giving me something new to learn. You know, I toured the House of Seven Gables and that information probably was given during the tour. Although I tend to be a good listener, I have to admit that I was so involved in the house itself that I caught myself missing some of what the guide was saying. I should hang my head! Or, go on the tour again!
I really appreciated your blog and most especially the close-up maps. I truly didn't know that RI touched CN and MA. My late DH took me to Milford, Connecticut to show me his hometown. Didn't realize Rhode Island was so close. Good blog.
Well, thank you. To think that you were so close and didn't even realize it! There is a bit of distance between the two, but because all of the states in New England are so small compared to so many other states, driving from one state to another is almost like driving from one city to another in some states, so we say everything in New England is close. Although, when it comes to driving, Rhode Islanders think that going somewhere more than 15 minutes away is "so far away"! lol