Every summer for the last 18 years, I meet my friends and family at Cardines Field at 20 America's Cup Avenue to hear the first crack of the bat during the opening game of the Newport Gulls, a summer collegiate baseball team based in our hometown of Newport, Rhode Island. Founded in Cranston in 1998, we take pride in saying we’re one of the NECBL's most successful teams, winning six Fay Vincent, Sr. Cups to date.

There’s nothing like biting into a steamy fried clam roll while sitting on the beach overlooking Sakonnet River, the juiciness of the oyster seeping out to form the ultimate creamy combination with homemade mayonnaise. It’s hard to believe this sandwich, one of our most illustrious traditions, was all but unfathomable at the dawn of the 1900s when New Englanders only ate their clams steamed, raw on the half shell, or chopped in chowder.

On Wednesdays throughout the summer months, the renowned Aquidneck Growers’ Market awaits a 10-15 minute stroll from The Vanderbilt. Take your pick of seafood, colorful produce, local mushrooms, fragrant flowers and other specialty products—but whatever you do, save time to grab the famous, juicy pork taco that’s sure to run down your hands and beckon you back for seconds.

My ideal day in Rhode Island starts with a morning hike spent amid nature at the Norman Bird Sanctuary. With 325 acres and seven miles of marked hiking trails, there are many routes to choose from but I always seem to opt for the Hanging Rock Trail. The trails close at 5:00pm, so save your sunset for Sweet Berry Farms— which takes me to my next Rhode Island must-do.