April 21, 2025 • 24 mins
It’s been a few episodes since we’ve made our way into New England on this show, so let’s go back. I spent the first 18 years of my life living in New Hampshire, and I go back up there fairly often to visit my family. But do you want to hear a secret? This is kind of a source of shame for me. I’ve never been to Rhode Island. True story. I’ve been all around New England but have never made it down to Rhode Island. So, let’s head to the smallest state in the country.
I like to say that even though Rhode Island is small, it packs a punch. There’s a lot of beauty in Rhode Island. It has some of the most beautiful beaches in the country, there’s so much outdoor space to explore, and there’s a lot of art. Especially in South County which is where we are heading in this episode.
South County Rhode Island isn’t technically the name of the county. It’s really called Washington County. But it’s the southern most county of the state. Hence the nickname. South County sounds wonderful. I had a great conversation with Louise Bishop. She’s the president of the South County Tourism Council. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
I like to say that even though Rhode Island is small, it packs a punch. There’s a lot of beauty in Rhode Island. It has some of the most beautiful beaches in the country, there’s so much outdoor space to explore, and there’s a lot of art. Especially in South County which is where we are heading in this episode.
South County Rhode Island isn’t technically the name of the county. It’s really called Washington County. But it’s the southern most county of the state. Hence the nickname. South County sounds wonderful. I had a great conversation with Louise Bishop. She’s the president of the South County Tourism Council. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, what's up everybody. Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My name
is Jeff Saint Pierre. Thank you for listening to episode
twenty eight of the show. If this is your first
time checking out Delightful Destinations, welcome, I appreciate your time.
It's a show that I created so I can talk
to representatives from different locations around the country and learn
more about these beautiful places that are just all around us,
(00:23):
because I'm always looking for an excuse to get away
from home, and I hope this show will help inspire
you like it has for me, for your next excursion.
It's been a few episodes since we've made our way
into New England on this show, so let's go back.
I spent the first eighteen years of my life living
in New Hampshire, and I do go back up there
fairly often to visit my family. But do you want
to hear a secret. This is kind of a source
(00:44):
of shame for me. But I've never been to Rhode Island.
True story. As far as I can tell, I have
never been to Rhode Island. I've been all over New England,
you know, skiing and snowboarding in Vermont, almost went to
college in Vermont main same story, but then Massachusetts never
Rhode Island just happened. So let's head into the smallest
state in the country. I'd like to say that even
(01:04):
though Rhode Island is small, it does pack a punch.
There's a lot of beauty in Rhode Island. It's got
some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. There's
so much outdoor space to explore, and there's a lot
of art there too, which I found out about, especially
in South County, which is where we're heading in this episode.
South County Rhode Island isn't technically the name of the county.
It's really called Washington County, but it's the southernmost county
(01:27):
of the state. That's the nickname. South County just sounds wonderful.
I had a fantastic conversation with Louise Bishop. She's the
president of the South County Tourism Council. I hope you
enjoy our chat.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Thank you for joining me in on this today. I'm
thrilled to be with you.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
I have a confession to make, and I spent the
first eighteen years of my life living in New Hampshire
on the northern side of Massachusetts. I don't think I've
ever actually crossed the border into Rhode Island in my life.
I know, I know, I don't know how that's happened.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
I don't just blown right through the state on ninety
five and fifty minutes were that small.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Every time I would go south, we'd always drive through Connecticut,
but we never really got down.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
You know. It's so interesting.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
And my grandfather lived in Hampton, New Hampshire, so that
was kind of our beach because he lived here, So
that was our beach location. Where a lot of folks
will travel south and hit the beaches in Rhode Island
in Massachusetts were just kind of staying in state. So
I think I missed out on the beauty of Rhode
Island growing up.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I think you did. Now you're going to have to
make a.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Trip north, I know, I know.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
So tell me more about South County because I was
looking at a county map of Rhode Island and South
County is not technically the name of a county, So
tell me more about South County.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Now that is correct. It is actually Washington County, but
we're a southern coast so it just kind of, you know,
it happened Rhode Islanders just oh, you're going south. You're
going south. So became you know, South County, Rhode Island,
and we're eleven towns, but we do have a long
our coast. We border Connecticut and then we run along
(03:00):
the bottom of the state to the bay, and then
just up the bay is Newport. We look across the
water at Newport or one hundred miles of coastline.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
That's a large portion of coastline.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
It is it is, and it's our area was glacial.
So the way we look is we have these barrier
beaches and then we have salt ponds that are behind
the barrier beaches that are tidal. And what makes this
unique is that if you want to be on the
(03:36):
open ocean beaches and surfing and doing you know the
fund social aspect of the waves and crashing and all that,
but you've got little kids who don't you're going You're
just going to cross behind you and you're going to
head to the pond where at low tide you're clamming.
There's seals that live there, there's oysters in there, there's
(03:57):
just fishing. Anything you want to do is right there. Crabbing,
horseshoe crabs, you name it, it's all in those salt ponds.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
I was reading up about South County and about Rhode
Island two before our conversation, and as I'm reading it,
I'm like, this sounds a lot like Maryland to me.
I mean, so much of what you were even just
talking about are things that we experience here with Maryland
and the coastline as well. If anybody's listening doesn't know,
I live in Baltimore, Maryland, but like just hearing you
talk about all this coastline and the way you can
(04:25):
go in you can find the oysters in the clan.
We have the same exact experience, and I think that's
so cool because I wouldn't have thought that you would
we would share so much between the mid Atlantic here
and the Northeast.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Oh yeah, absolutely, it's pretty incredible. I know you're a
little because you have the bay the way that you do,
you look a little different, whereas we're really open. So
when you do see our beaches, you see the blue water,
you see the and because of the way we're situated,
we have the warmest waters in New England, so people
(04:58):
are still swimming the first two weeks of October it's
been pretty incredible.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
It was hard for me to go swimming in New
Hampshire in August, let alone October, So yeah, that is
pretty incredible.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, it is pretty amazing. Actually, yes, this.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Is actually a really exciting time. We're speaking here at
the end of March, but this is an exciting time
for South County because this is where life is kind
of coming back. I mean, the animals are returning, things
are thawing out. This is a really exciting period of
time for what y'all are doing.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Absolutely it is. And it's kind of funny because I
do live here in South County. I was just telling
somebody how the daffodils are up, you know, the spring
is really is really here, and you can see it
in the wildlife. The aspray are coming back and nest here.
You know, the eagles are back, and it's a process
(05:48):
in spring, as you know, a little bit at a
time comes back. And now at this point in time,
the seals leave the salt ponds and go back out
into the ocean. So we have this migration, as you know,
and it just makes the place more interesting, to be
quite honest and peaceful. It's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
I'm not picking up on much of an accent from you.
So are you a native No.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I moved from California when I was twelve to Connecticut.
My parents are you know. My father's Bostonian and whatever,
so this New England was their home.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
So I was raised pretty much in Connecticut and went
to school in the Midwest, and then returned to New
England and here I am on Rhode Island.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So let's talk about some fun things that are coming
up here in the spring the summer for South County.
I love how art seems to be such a big
focus for y'all. I was looking at everything you have
coming up in art seems to be a big central focus.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
It is. Having an art background. Public art is a
big deal for me in all forms of art because
I believe truly that it's the arts that keep us civilized. Sure,
having this region throw into more of a luxury market
in the last I would say twelve years we needed to.
You could see the shift taking place. We have triple
five star properties. We are really that market at this
(07:04):
point in time. And with that, our main attraction obviously
is the ocean. It needs to be more than that.
So three years ago, we created the Atlantis Rising International
Sand Sculpting Competition, so we have masters from around the
world come and compete. It's incredible. This is only year three.
It's absolutely you know, twenty five thousand people. We did
(07:27):
not expect our first year to be as big as
it was, and so this is really so we had
to move it into Ninnigrat Park in Charlestown and along
with that park May eighth, we cut the ribbon on
Thomas Danbo trolls, which are the giant trolls. He's from Denmark.
He's an environmental artist. Every piece of wood that those
(07:49):
trolls are made from is recycled material. These two trolls,
a lot of palettes were used in the building of them.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
You know.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Cut the ribbon on May eighth, and the first week
of August we had sixty two thousand people that had
come into that park and we're able to track that
through geolocation company that we have and so that's been incredible.
So now we're on Phase two and there will be
a phase three. So Phase two will be August eleventh,
(08:18):
two more trolls and two other locations in South County
and then as Thomas will be identifying that third location.
The part where it all comes together is with the
third because every troll will have its QR code and
there'll be a hidden message in there, and then you
have to get each message from each troll and try
(08:41):
to figure out where the thunderstone is. The thunderstone will
be a huge granite engraved with the message of the
environment on it, So that's what you're all searching for.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
In the end, it's like, that's.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Exactly what it is, and it's going to get you
to all these other locations in the state. Yeah, we're
so excited about it. It's it's incredible. But on that
front as well, we are in the middle of getting
the Bruno Catalano.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Can I stop you for one second. I'm sorry to
interrupt you, but I want to make sure we talk
a little bit more about these trolls here, because my
mind is funny. Before we jump into the next thing,
I want to give you, know, good focus here. I
love this idea because I've talked to a lot of
folks about their regions, about their counties, and we always
talk about parks and how important the parks are and
how the outdoor space is so much fun and people
(09:35):
enjoy it. But what you're doing I love because you're
giving people an added bonus to going to the park.
Going to the park is already exciting going and walking around, hiking, running, biking,
whatever it is, and joining the nature and the outdoors.
But now you're giving the added bonus of creating a game.
And I just I love. This is such a smart idea.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
It's been wonder and having Thomas Damo as that leading artists,
He's such a creative individual that his stories just flow
from him so quickly. So as long as if you're
that person who who has the region where you can
hide these things ye in the woods, so people have
to go and find them, you know, and then start
(10:20):
to connect the dot. It's the way to go. It
reaches every age like it is Grandma and Grandpa, and
it is the little toddlers every age for this, watching
the joy on their faces. I thought I was going
for an interview at like seven thirty in the morning
out at one of the trolls, and I thought, Okay,
this is the best time because there's not going to
be anybody there. Oh no, oh no, a quarter to eight,
(10:43):
there's grandpa with three little kids. And then Grandma with
a bunch of like it was. It is so joyful
to watch how people interact with these installations. It's amazing and.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Just how unique they are.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Like I was reading a little bit about it, Thomas Dambo,
he made a hundred twenty five, one hundred and twenty
five of these around the world, but only forty four
here in America. So you've already got I'm sorry how
you have two out right now with a third coming.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I have two, and then I have two more coming,
and then the one more troll and the Thunderstone.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
So you're going to have five Thunderstone. It's just it's remarkable.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
I mean how limited these are and how unique they are,
and here you've got them in Rhode Island in South County.
I just think got such a special thing. And whoever
was this your idea? Please tell me it was your idea,
because I want to praise you for this.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I got stuck in the Jersey airport.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
This was in twenty nineteen, and I got okay, I'm stuck.
I'll get a magazine. And then I see in the
magazine a picture of Hector, the Protector Guardian of the Seas,
and he lives in Puerto Rico and it was Thomas
Danbo's troll, one of his early trolls, and I'm like,
wait a minute, okay, this hector and his family need
to come to Rhode Island. This is us. I sent
(11:51):
the shot over to my creative director and said, this
is what we need to do. And then that was
late nineteen and he was scheduled for twenty the spring
of twenty twenty, Sure COVID hit. Nobody was doing anything.
So this took us years to you know, to get
(12:13):
him to come back.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Yeah, you know, it's almost a shame that you couldn't
get it launched earlier. I mean, I know you just
had the idea in twenty nineteen, and it takes time
to build it because I remember hearing all the stories
and my family did it too. When everybody was sort
of trapped inside. What was the first thing everybody did
find a park to go walk around in to get outside,
Like that would have been the perfect time to launch it,
But it seems like even launching it now, you're still
(12:35):
reaping the benefits of getting people outside.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Absolutely without question, and not not just the art itself,
but what happened before the installation of the camaraderie. People
came in from all over the place. We had a
gud Li in from California to work on our troll
with Thomas Stanbop. We had people coming down from New Hampshire,
(12:59):
Moussage coming and staying, getting on our on our volunteer list.
We have to turn people away, and just the joy,
the working together, the being outside, it was incredible. I'm
really looking forward to August and this this new group
of people.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
When I was preparing for this interview and I saw
that you had a troll trail, I was like, what's
this going to be about? And now I'm wow, what
an amazing thing. It's just it's fascinating. The whole thing
is it's so cool.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Yeah, thank you, Yeah, it's and working with Thomas and
his team. They're outstanding people. His wife is from your
neck of the woods.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Oh okay, I'll have to look them up and learn
more about this. This is the first i'm really hearing
about it. I've heard the term hector the protector before,
which you just mentioned for Puerto Rico, so I know
that's familiar in my brain. I have to look this
up though, and learn more about them as a whole.
I just I love this idea. So before we move on,
I want to say really quick, if you want to
find out more information, you can find it at south
County r I dot com. That's where you can go
(13:58):
to find more about South County, about the troll Trail
and everything else that's going on there. I do want
to backtrack really quick too, to the sand sculpting competition,
because I didn't get to follow up on that with you.
I I didn't realize how much I needed sand sculpting
in my life until one day it popped across my
TikTok feed And now it's like the palate cleanser of
my day. I watch people carving sand sculptures and it's
(14:20):
I mean, in the world we live in right now,
this is the calm. This is the thing that I
need to bring me down at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Yes, yes, it definitely is. It's interesting because we brought
them in and well, obviously we had to do our
research on the background of this form of talent and
everything easiest people to work with on your life, and
also not just that, but the sand has to be
just right, so it comes from the quarries in New Hampshire.
(14:51):
You have the right granite sand up there, so that
comes down very It packs really well. And watching and
how they work, it's mind blowing. Our site shows the
art and you really are an off of just its
size and its detail. It's incredible.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
I don't think I ever really gave enough credit to
people that did that until watching it be built, you know,
watching a video and seeing them go through on the process.
I remember a few years ago when my parents first
got like smartphones they could text us with. They went
to something in Hampton Beach in New Hampshire and they
were like, look at all these sand sculptures and they
sent pictures and I was like a big day for
mom and dad, you know really, But then I started
(15:31):
to see more about all of the work and effort
that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
It's a remarkable artwork, oh it is.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
And these artists, as I said, they're international artists from everywhere,
but they're masters, so they're well known. This is what
they do for a living. But what I have found
over the last couple of years is that each one
of them are artists in another form. They're either painters
or sculptors or and it's just like I don't think
(15:58):
their talent has any limits.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Yeah, oh my gosh, I got incredible.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
I gotta check this out. So that event is happening
May thirtieth through June first. That's coming up here right
as we're getting towards the summer months and getting into
that the Atlanta's Rising International Sand Sculpting Competition. Well, let's
go back into something that you started to mention here,
the Traveling Sculptures by Bruno Catialano.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Yes, he's an Italian slash French sculptor. It's funny because
I saw his work. I forget how many years ago
it was. And these guys are called the Travelers. Travelers,
so they I would say, the historic time of frame
for their clothing and shoes and what have you is
kind of the forties, maybe fifties. There's something about it
(16:43):
that tells you old. And then when you see them,
you're saying, how is that even possible? Because these guys
are I would say, maybe they're about nine feet tall,
but there's parts of them that are missing, so you're
seeing the trees behind them, and they're just the details incredible.
Each one is a person that the artist knows, but
(17:04):
that has a backstory, and they all do look like
they're going somewhere. That's why they're called the Travelers. I
found them by happenstance on Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue in
New York City, and so reached out to the gallery
that was managing them, and we have them coming here.
There's nine of them, so they will be here from
September to May. So they're a traveling exhibition and we're
(17:28):
going to put them in three different parks in South County.
So once again, you're going to go and see the
first and then you're going to make your way to
the next one and then down further to the other
side of the bay.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Even though I don't have a lot of experience in
Rhode Island myself, I would always tell people that Rhode
Island is small but mighty like it might not cover
a lot of land, but it packs a punch. There's
a lot going on in Rhode Island, and I think
what's special about the size right now is that you
can spread things out and you can make it very
accessible to folks like you know, obviously want people to
visit and stay as long as they want, but you
(18:03):
can do things in a day like if someone thinks
they want to do a day trip, they can knock
the stuff out. I think that's really special because a
lot of states don't necessarily have that exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
So we're down at the DC Travel Show this weekend
and one of the things we always do is put
out a map because people don't understand they owe smallest
state in the nation. But what they don't understand is
it from the border of Connecticut to the border of
Massachusetts is fifty minutes. That's how long it takes you
to drive through the state. And then you might say
(18:32):
to yourself, but do you really look that different from
the other states? Well, we do, in fact, because Connecticut's
shoreline is looking across the Sound, we're the open ocean beaches.
It just sort of hits there at Mystic where you
know New York breaks and we're the open ocean. But
getting off the beaten path, this is the reason why
the trolls are moving into these off the beaten paths
(18:56):
are Kadia Park that is thousands of acres and giving
people the reason to get out and it may be
only a mile and a half walk, but you're going
around a lake or another body of water, and you're
experiencing only the sound of a babbling brook. I mean,
it's pretty incredible. So we're this is how we're reaching
(19:18):
out with the trolls. We're going to get you out
there to enjoy something else and just spend a couple
of hours outside. Simple.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Yeah, And really you have a lot of unique landscape too,
as you were just talking about, you know, it just
it really it's special because I don't think Rhode Island
gets the love that it deserves from a lot of people.
You know, and I want you to like hearing you
talk more about it, hearing your passion and the limited
knowledge that I have of the state. It really is
(19:45):
a state that has its own unique beauty that deserves
to be experienced by people.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
It really does. We also, right here in South County,
we have the ferry that leads out leads over into
Block Island. Block Island I always describe as an minie
Martha's vineyard. You know, you're you're gonna go for one
day or maybe two days, but the ferry ride over
is about forty five minutes. It gives you the whole
view of our coastline, which is a great experience in itself,
(20:14):
and you really want to take. Don't take the fast ferry,
take the original ferry so that you get that entire experience.
It goes out of the port of Galilee, which is
a old fishing village. So if you were staying here
in Rhode Island, say you've got an airbnb, that's where
you go and get off the ferry, get your fished,
(20:35):
your lobster, dine. It's a great slow paced vibe in
that area over there of Narragansett. But then you know,
another day you might take a ride just forty minutes
over across the bridge to Newport and and you know,
and take in the bay, get on one of the
(20:56):
boats and see that, go see the mansions, everything else
that's going on. It's it's so easy because we're so
close to each other. This is such a tiny state
that you can do things like that and not feel like,
oh geez, I just had to drive hours. You know,
you don't get that. That doesn't happen here.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
No, And like I was saying, I love that, like
I love that you can you can do a lot
of things and not have to commit so much in
your day to do it right, Like you can accomplish
a lot in a day and not feel spent and
not feel like like, oh, we did one thing and
we have to go to bed now we're so tired.
You can cross off so many things on the list.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, you really, you really can. I mean even some
of the other things that that go on, like the
Matunic Oyster bar restaurant. He's he is an aquaculture individual
who is raised oysters, platuna oysters. Now he's into scollops,
but he has the restaurant. But he does an educational
(21:53):
tour that I would recommend to everybody. You go out
on the big pontoon. You're on assault pond and you're
the life of the oysters. It's fascinating. I say, don't
miss that. If you come and you know what, it's
only gonna take an hour of your time, but what
you walk away with is just incredible, and it makes
(22:15):
you want to get into the salt ponds to find
those or find the sea horses, or find the you know,
all of the sea life that is here. You can
enjoy it when you're here.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Well, darn, Louise, you sold me, that's for sure. I'm
all in. I am all in. I want to ask you.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
We talked a little bit about driving and you can
get there off ninety five very easily.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
It goes right through Rhode Island.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
But if people wanted to fly in, if somebody from
a little further away wanted to come in, like where
what's the ease, Like where's the best place to fly
in to get there?
Speaker 2 (22:45):
So here we have Tfgreen Airport, super easy airport just
to get in and get out a very very easy.
You can rent a car there and drive to us,
which is like twenty five minutes yeah, to the coast.
Or you can take the train up from DC Baltimore, Philly.
(23:07):
Just take an Amtrak up coming all the way through
and you can get off in Westerly, Rhode Island and
that's the first town in the southern coast. And from there,
if you wanted to rent a car, Hurts is right there.
I think there's two car rental places, so super easy
to you know, get in and get out of. The
(23:29):
train station is right downtown.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
All right, I'm in. We're going to make a trip
up there this year. I think it's got to happen.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
It's got to happen, Louise got to make it happen.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
So where do people go if they want to find
out more info and start planning their trip.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Definitely, South County r I dot com and we welcome
phone calls if anybody needs to know a little bit
more of how to get around, or you need itineraries
or map. Some people like a map, so we do
have maps here that we're happy to stick in the
mail to you. But going to our website it makes
life pretty simple.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Louise Bishop, President of South County Tourism Council, thank you
so much for your time. This is great. I feel
so inspired after this conversation. I can feel your energy
and your passion coming through this call, and I just
I love it. I love when people in your position
truly believe what they're trying to sell and truly believe
in their community, and I can feel that from you.
I really do enjoy that, and I hope that our
(24:22):
paths cross sometime in the near future.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
It's time to make your way north and don't take
ninety one through mass Turnpike to get home. You have
to stay on ninety five and make a plan with us.
We'll show you around.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Big thank you to Louise Bishop.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
To find out more about South County Rhode Island, be
sure to visit southcountyari dot com, and thank you for
listening to this week's episode of Delightful Destinations. Until next time,
be well,
Hey, what's up everybody. Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My name
is Jeff Saint Pierre. Thank you for listening to episode
twenty eight of the show. If this is your first
time checking out Delightful Destinations, welcome, I appreciate your time.
It's a show that I created so I can talk
to representatives from different locations around the country and learn
more about these beautiful places that are just all around us,
(00:23):
because I'm always looking for an excuse to get away
from home, and I hope this show will help inspire
you like it has for me, for your next excursion.
It's been a few episodes since we've made our way
into New England on this show, so let's go back.
I spent the first eighteen years of my life living
in New Hampshire, and I do go back up there
fairly often to visit my family. But do you want
to hear a secret. This is kind of a source
(00:44):
of shame for me. But I've never been to Rhode Island.
True story. As far as I can tell, I have
never been to Rhode Island. I've been all over New England,
you know, skiing and snowboarding in Vermont, almost went to
college in Vermont main same story, but then Massachusetts never
Rhode Island just happened. So let's head into the smallest
state in the country. I'd like to say that even
(01:04):
though Rhode Island is small, it does pack a punch.
There's a lot of beauty in Rhode Island. It's got
some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. There's
so much outdoor space to explore, and there's a lot
of art there too, which I found out about, especially
in South County, which is where we're heading in this episode.
South County Rhode Island isn't technically the name of the county.
It's really called Washington County, but it's the southernmost county
(01:27):
of the state. That's the nickname. South County just sounds wonderful.
I had a fantastic conversation with Louise Bishop. She's the
president of the South County Tourism Council. I hope you
enjoy our chat.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Thank you for joining me in on this today. I'm
thrilled to be with you.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
I have a confession to make, and I spent the
first eighteen years of my life living in New Hampshire
on the northern side of Massachusetts. I don't think I've
ever actually crossed the border into Rhode Island in my life.
I know, I know, I don't know how that's happened.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
I don't just blown right through the state on ninety
five and fifty minutes were that small.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Every time I would go south, we'd always drive through Connecticut,
but we never really got down.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
You know. It's so interesting.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
And my grandfather lived in Hampton, New Hampshire, so that
was kind of our beach because he lived here, So
that was our beach location. Where a lot of folks
will travel south and hit the beaches in Rhode Island
in Massachusetts were just kind of staying in state. So
I think I missed out on the beauty of Rhode
Island growing up.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I think you did. Now you're going to have to
make a.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Trip north, I know, I know.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
So tell me more about South County because I was
looking at a county map of Rhode Island and South
County is not technically the name of a county, So
tell me more about South County.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Now that is correct. It is actually Washington County, but
we're a southern coast so it just kind of, you know,
it happened Rhode Islanders just oh, you're going south. You're
going south. So became you know, South County, Rhode Island,
and we're eleven towns, but we do have a long
our coast. We border Connecticut and then we run along
(03:00):
the bottom of the state to the bay, and then
just up the bay is Newport. We look across the
water at Newport or one hundred miles of coastline.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
That's a large portion of coastline.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
It is it is, and it's our area was glacial.
So the way we look is we have these barrier
beaches and then we have salt ponds that are behind
the barrier beaches that are tidal. And what makes this
unique is that if you want to be on the
(03:36):
open ocean beaches and surfing and doing you know the
fund social aspect of the waves and crashing and all that,
but you've got little kids who don't you're going You're
just going to cross behind you and you're going to
head to the pond where at low tide you're clamming.
There's seals that live there, there's oysters in there, there's
(03:57):
just fishing. Anything you want to do is right there. Crabbing,
horseshoe crabs, you name it, it's all in those salt ponds.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
I was reading up about South County and about Rhode
Island two before our conversation, and as I'm reading it,
I'm like, this sounds a lot like Maryland to me.
I mean, so much of what you were even just
talking about are things that we experience here with Maryland
and the coastline as well. If anybody's listening doesn't know,
I live in Baltimore, Maryland, but like just hearing you
talk about all this coastline and the way you can
(04:25):
go in you can find the oysters in the clan.
We have the same exact experience, and I think that's
so cool because I wouldn't have thought that you would
we would share so much between the mid Atlantic here
and the Northeast.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Oh yeah, absolutely, it's pretty incredible. I know you're a
little because you have the bay the way that you do,
you look a little different, whereas we're really open. So
when you do see our beaches, you see the blue water,
you see the and because of the way we're situated,
we have the warmest waters in New England, so people
(04:58):
are still swimming the first two weeks of October it's
been pretty incredible.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
It was hard for me to go swimming in New
Hampshire in August, let alone October, So yeah, that is
pretty incredible.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, it is pretty amazing. Actually, yes, this.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Is actually a really exciting time. We're speaking here at
the end of March, but this is an exciting time
for South County because this is where life is kind
of coming back. I mean, the animals are returning, things
are thawing out. This is a really exciting period of
time for what y'all are doing.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Absolutely it is. And it's kind of funny because I
do live here in South County. I was just telling
somebody how the daffodils are up, you know, the spring
is really is really here, and you can see it
in the wildlife. The aspray are coming back and nest here.
You know, the eagles are back, and it's a process
(05:48):
in spring, as you know, a little bit at a
time comes back. And now at this point in time,
the seals leave the salt ponds and go back out
into the ocean. So we have this migration, as you know,
and it just makes the place more interesting, to be
quite honest and peaceful. It's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
I'm not picking up on much of an accent from you.
So are you a native No.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I moved from California when I was twelve to Connecticut.
My parents are you know. My father's Bostonian and whatever,
so this New England was their home.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
So I was raised pretty much in Connecticut and went
to school in the Midwest, and then returned to New
England and here I am on Rhode Island.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So let's talk about some fun things that are coming
up here in the spring the summer for South County.
I love how art seems to be such a big
focus for y'all. I was looking at everything you have
coming up in art seems to be a big central focus.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
It is. Having an art background. Public art is a
big deal for me in all forms of art because
I believe truly that it's the arts that keep us civilized. Sure,
having this region throw into more of a luxury market
in the last I would say twelve years we needed to.
You could see the shift taking place. We have triple
five star properties. We are really that market at this
(07:04):
point in time. And with that, our main attraction obviously
is the ocean. It needs to be more than that.
So three years ago, we created the Atlantis Rising International
Sand Sculpting Competition, so we have masters from around the
world come and compete. It's incredible. This is only year three.
It's absolutely you know, twenty five thousand people. We did
(07:27):
not expect our first year to be as big as
it was, and so this is really so we had
to move it into Ninnigrat Park in Charlestown and along
with that park May eighth, we cut the ribbon on
Thomas Danbo trolls, which are the giant trolls. He's from Denmark.
He's an environmental artist. Every piece of wood that those
(07:49):
trolls are made from is recycled material. These two trolls,
a lot of palettes were used in the building of them.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
You know.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Cut the ribbon on May eighth, and the first week
of August we had sixty two thousand people that had
come into that park and we're able to track that
through geolocation company that we have and so that's been incredible.
So now we're on Phase two and there will be
a phase three. So Phase two will be August eleventh,
(08:18):
two more trolls and two other locations in South County
and then as Thomas will be identifying that third location.
The part where it all comes together is with the
third because every troll will have its QR code and
there'll be a hidden message in there, and then you
have to get each message from each troll and try
(08:41):
to figure out where the thunderstone is. The thunderstone will
be a huge granite engraved with the message of the
environment on it, So that's what you're all searching for.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
In the end, it's like, that's.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Exactly what it is, and it's going to get you
to all these other locations in the state. Yeah, we're
so excited about it. It's it's incredible. But on that
front as well, we are in the middle of getting
the Bruno Catalano.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Can I stop you for one second. I'm sorry to
interrupt you, but I want to make sure we talk
a little bit more about these trolls here, because my
mind is funny. Before we jump into the next thing,
I want to give you, know, good focus here. I
love this idea because I've talked to a lot of
folks about their regions, about their counties, and we always
talk about parks and how important the parks are and
how the outdoor space is so much fun and people
(09:35):
enjoy it. But what you're doing I love because you're
giving people an added bonus to going to the park.
Going to the park is already exciting going and walking around, hiking, running, biking,
whatever it is, and joining the nature and the outdoors.
But now you're giving the added bonus of creating a game.
And I just I love. This is such a smart idea.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
It's been wonder and having Thomas Damo as that leading artists,
He's such a creative individual that his stories just flow
from him so quickly. So as long as if you're
that person who who has the region where you can
hide these things ye in the woods, so people have
to go and find them, you know, and then start
(10:20):
to connect the dot. It's the way to go. It
reaches every age like it is Grandma and Grandpa, and
it is the little toddlers every age for this, watching
the joy on their faces. I thought I was going
for an interview at like seven thirty in the morning
out at one of the trolls, and I thought, Okay,
this is the best time because there's not going to
be anybody there. Oh no, oh no, a quarter to eight,
(10:43):
there's grandpa with three little kids. And then Grandma with
a bunch of like it was. It is so joyful
to watch how people interact with these installations. It's amazing and.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Just how unique they are.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Like I was reading a little bit about it, Thomas Dambo,
he made a hundred twenty five, one hundred and twenty
five of these around the world, but only forty four
here in America. So you've already got I'm sorry how
you have two out right now with a third coming.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I have two, and then I have two more coming,
and then the one more troll and the Thunderstone.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
So you're going to have five Thunderstone. It's just it's remarkable.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
I mean how limited these are and how unique they are,
and here you've got them in Rhode Island in South County.
I just think got such a special thing. And whoever
was this your idea? Please tell me it was your idea,
because I want to praise you for this.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I got stuck in the Jersey airport.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
This was in twenty nineteen, and I got okay, I'm stuck.
I'll get a magazine. And then I see in the
magazine a picture of Hector, the Protector Guardian of the Seas,
and he lives in Puerto Rico and it was Thomas
Danbo's troll, one of his early trolls, and I'm like,
wait a minute, okay, this hector and his family need
to come to Rhode Island. This is us. I sent
(11:51):
the shot over to my creative director and said, this
is what we need to do. And then that was
late nineteen and he was scheduled for twenty the spring
of twenty twenty, Sure COVID hit. Nobody was doing anything.
So this took us years to you know, to get
(12:13):
him to come back.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Yeah, you know, it's almost a shame that you couldn't
get it launched earlier. I mean, I know you just
had the idea in twenty nineteen, and it takes time
to build it because I remember hearing all the stories
and my family did it too. When everybody was sort
of trapped inside. What was the first thing everybody did
find a park to go walk around in to get outside,
Like that would have been the perfect time to launch it,
But it seems like even launching it now, you're still
(12:35):
reaping the benefits of getting people outside.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Absolutely without question, and not not just the art itself,
but what happened before the installation of the camaraderie. People
came in from all over the place. We had a
gud Li in from California to work on our troll
with Thomas Stanbop. We had people coming down from New Hampshire,
(12:59):
Moussage coming and staying, getting on our on our volunteer list.
We have to turn people away, and just the joy,
the working together, the being outside, it was incredible. I'm
really looking forward to August and this this new group
of people.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
When I was preparing for this interview and I saw
that you had a troll trail, I was like, what's
this going to be about? And now I'm wow, what
an amazing thing. It's just it's fascinating. The whole thing
is it's so cool.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Yeah, thank you, Yeah, it's and working with Thomas and
his team. They're outstanding people. His wife is from your
neck of the woods.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Oh okay, I'll have to look them up and learn
more about this. This is the first i'm really hearing
about it. I've heard the term hector the protector before,
which you just mentioned for Puerto Rico, so I know
that's familiar in my brain. I have to look this
up though, and learn more about them as a whole.
I just I love this idea. So before we move on,
I want to say really quick, if you want to
find out more information, you can find it at south
County r I dot com. That's where you can go
(13:58):
to find more about South County, about the troll Trail
and everything else that's going on there. I do want
to backtrack really quick too, to the sand sculpting competition,
because I didn't get to follow up on that with you.
I I didn't realize how much I needed sand sculpting
in my life until one day it popped across my
TikTok feed And now it's like the palate cleanser of
my day. I watch people carving sand sculptures and it's
(14:20):
I mean, in the world we live in right now,
this is the calm. This is the thing that I
need to bring me down at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Yes, yes, it definitely is. It's interesting because we brought
them in and well, obviously we had to do our
research on the background of this form of talent and
everything easiest people to work with on your life, and
also not just that, but the sand has to be
just right, so it comes from the quarries in New Hampshire.
(14:51):
You have the right granite sand up there, so that
comes down very It packs really well. And watching and
how they work, it's mind blowing. Our site shows the
art and you really are an off of just its
size and its detail. It's incredible.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
I don't think I ever really gave enough credit to
people that did that until watching it be built, you know,
watching a video and seeing them go through on the process.
I remember a few years ago when my parents first
got like smartphones they could text us with. They went
to something in Hampton Beach in New Hampshire and they
were like, look at all these sand sculptures and they
sent pictures and I was like a big day for
mom and dad, you know really, But then I started
(15:31):
to see more about all of the work and effort
that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
It's a remarkable artwork, oh it is.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
And these artists, as I said, they're international artists from everywhere,
but they're masters, so they're well known. This is what
they do for a living. But what I have found
over the last couple of years is that each one
of them are artists in another form. They're either painters
or sculptors or and it's just like I don't think
(15:58):
their talent has any limits.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Yeah, oh my gosh, I got incredible.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
I gotta check this out. So that event is happening
May thirtieth through June first. That's coming up here right
as we're getting towards the summer months and getting into
that the Atlanta's Rising International Sand Sculpting Competition. Well, let's
go back into something that you started to mention here,
the Traveling Sculptures by Bruno Catialano.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Yes, he's an Italian slash French sculptor. It's funny because
I saw his work. I forget how many years ago
it was. And these guys are called the Travelers. Travelers,
so they I would say, the historic time of frame
for their clothing and shoes and what have you is
kind of the forties, maybe fifties. There's something about it
(16:43):
that tells you old. And then when you see them,
you're saying, how is that even possible? Because these guys
are I would say, maybe they're about nine feet tall,
but there's parts of them that are missing, so you're
seeing the trees behind them, and they're just the details incredible.
Each one is a person that the artist knows, but
(17:04):
that has a backstory, and they all do look like
they're going somewhere. That's why they're called the Travelers. I
found them by happenstance on Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue in
New York City, and so reached out to the gallery
that was managing them, and we have them coming here.
There's nine of them, so they will be here from
September to May. So they're a traveling exhibition and we're
(17:28):
going to put them in three different parks in South County.
So once again, you're going to go and see the
first and then you're going to make your way to
the next one and then down further to the other
side of the bay.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Even though I don't have a lot of experience in
Rhode Island myself, I would always tell people that Rhode
Island is small but mighty like it might not cover
a lot of land, but it packs a punch. There's
a lot going on in Rhode Island, and I think
what's special about the size right now is that you
can spread things out and you can make it very
accessible to folks like you know, obviously want people to
visit and stay as long as they want, but you
(18:03):
can do things in a day like if someone thinks
they want to do a day trip, they can knock
the stuff out. I think that's really special because a
lot of states don't necessarily have that exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
So we're down at the DC Travel Show this weekend
and one of the things we always do is put
out a map because people don't understand they owe smallest
state in the nation. But what they don't understand is
it from the border of Connecticut to the border of
Massachusetts is fifty minutes. That's how long it takes you
to drive through the state. And then you might say
(18:32):
to yourself, but do you really look that different from
the other states? Well, we do, in fact, because Connecticut's
shoreline is looking across the Sound, we're the open ocean beaches.
It just sort of hits there at Mystic where you
know New York breaks and we're the open ocean. But
getting off the beaten path, this is the reason why
the trolls are moving into these off the beaten paths
(18:56):
are Kadia Park that is thousands of acres and giving
people the reason to get out and it may be
only a mile and a half walk, but you're going
around a lake or another body of water, and you're
experiencing only the sound of a babbling brook. I mean,
it's pretty incredible. So we're this is how we're reaching
(19:18):
out with the trolls. We're going to get you out
there to enjoy something else and just spend a couple
of hours outside. Simple.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Yeah, And really you have a lot of unique landscape too,
as you were just talking about, you know, it just
it really it's special because I don't think Rhode Island
gets the love that it deserves from a lot of people.
You know, and I want you to like hearing you
talk more about it, hearing your passion and the limited
knowledge that I have of the state. It really is
(19:45):
a state that has its own unique beauty that deserves
to be experienced by people.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
It really does. We also, right here in South County,
we have the ferry that leads out leads over into
Block Island. Block Island I always describe as an minie
Martha's vineyard. You know, you're you're gonna go for one
day or maybe two days, but the ferry ride over
is about forty five minutes. It gives you the whole
view of our coastline, which is a great experience in itself,
(20:14):
and you really want to take. Don't take the fast ferry,
take the original ferry so that you get that entire experience.
It goes out of the port of Galilee, which is
a old fishing village. So if you were staying here
in Rhode Island, say you've got an airbnb, that's where
you go and get off the ferry, get your fished,
(20:35):
your lobster, dine. It's a great slow paced vibe in
that area over there of Narragansett. But then you know,
another day you might take a ride just forty minutes
over across the bridge to Newport and and you know,
and take in the bay, get on one of the
(20:56):
boats and see that, go see the mansions, everything else
that's going on. It's it's so easy because we're so
close to each other. This is such a tiny state
that you can do things like that and not feel like,
oh geez, I just had to drive hours. You know,
you don't get that. That doesn't happen here.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
No, And like I was saying, I love that, like
I love that you can you can do a lot
of things and not have to commit so much in
your day to do it right, Like you can accomplish
a lot in a day and not feel spent and
not feel like like, oh, we did one thing and
we have to go to bed now we're so tired.
You can cross off so many things on the list.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, you really, you really can. I mean even some
of the other things that that go on, like the
Matunic Oyster bar restaurant. He's he is an aquaculture individual
who is raised oysters, platuna oysters. Now he's into scollops,
but he has the restaurant. But he does an educational
(21:53):
tour that I would recommend to everybody. You go out
on the big pontoon. You're on assault pond and you're
the life of the oysters. It's fascinating. I say, don't
miss that. If you come and you know what, it's
only gonna take an hour of your time, but what
you walk away with is just incredible, and it makes
(22:15):
you want to get into the salt ponds to find
those or find the sea horses, or find the you know,
all of the sea life that is here. You can
enjoy it when you're here.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Well, darn, Louise, you sold me, that's for sure. I'm
all in. I am all in. I want to ask you.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
We talked a little bit about driving and you can
get there off ninety five very easily.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
It goes right through Rhode Island.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
But if people wanted to fly in, if somebody from
a little further away wanted to come in, like where
what's the ease, Like where's the best place to fly
in to get there?
Speaker 2 (22:45):
So here we have Tfgreen Airport, super easy airport just
to get in and get out a very very easy.
You can rent a car there and drive to us,
which is like twenty five minutes yeah, to the coast.
Or you can take the train up from DC Baltimore, Philly.
(23:07):
Just take an Amtrak up coming all the way through
and you can get off in Westerly, Rhode Island and
that's the first town in the southern coast. And from there,
if you wanted to rent a car, Hurts is right there.
I think there's two car rental places, so super easy
to you know, get in and get out of. The
(23:29):
train station is right downtown.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
All right, I'm in. We're going to make a trip
up there this year. I think it's got to happen.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
It's got to happen, Louise got to make it happen.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
So where do people go if they want to find
out more info and start planning their trip.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Definitely, South County r I dot com and we welcome
phone calls if anybody needs to know a little bit
more of how to get around, or you need itineraries
or map. Some people like a map, so we do
have maps here that we're happy to stick in the
mail to you. But going to our website it makes
life pretty simple.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Louise Bishop, President of South County Tourism Council, thank you
so much for your time. This is great. I feel
so inspired after this conversation. I can feel your energy
and your passion coming through this call, and I just
I love it. I love when people in your position
truly believe what they're trying to sell and truly believe
in their community, and I can feel that from you.
I really do enjoy that, and I hope that our
(24:22):
paths cross sometime in the near future.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
It's time to make your way north and don't take
ninety one through mass Turnpike to get home. You have
to stay on ninety five and make a plan with us.
We'll show you around.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Big thank you to Louise Bishop.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
To find out more about South County Rhode Island, be
sure to visit southcountyari dot com, and thank you for
listening to this week's episode of Delightful Destinations. Until next time,
be well,
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!