If you’ve ever been excited to snap a photo of Boyd’s Windmill at Prescott Farm in Middletown, thank the Boyd family who in 1990 donated it to the Middletown Historical Society who then set about restoring and relocating it to Paradise Valley Park.

One of two surviving mills (the other’s over in the Windmill District in Jamestown) out of a grand total of 20 that were thriving back in 1800’s on Aquidneck Island, Boyd’s Wind Grist Mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

If you’ve never seen it in real life, I highly recommend motoring over at some point soon and also checking out these other Patty J approved places and things in the area:

• The Power Of Juice — This boutique market, owned and operated by an award winning chef, is a plant based eater’s DREAM. I adore their Not Your Mother’s Mousse (so good) and vegan chili. They are also known for their fresh juices, seed bread (if you’re currently reading or have already read the most recent Norma Kamali book, you know), and a whole lot more.

• Newport Vineyards — Bookmark the patio at NV for this spring and summer. In all honesty, when they reopened it last year, sadly I could NOT get a reservation. It was booked busy, as the kids say. An hour or three there truly feels like a mini escape from it all. (PS — the honor flower stand the Dahlia Shed on East Main Road this spring too !!!)

• Purgatory Chasm — Marvelous water views (of both Second Beach & Sachuest Point) and a good excuse to get out and stretch your legs starting this month. The chasm that is visible once you reach the wooden bridge on the main trail is in fact a glacial cleft that is approximately 10 ft. wide and 50 feet deep with a continuous stream of ocean water flowing through. Pick a clear and sunny day and you are golden.

Another buzzy location in the area? The family run Simmons Farm !!!

I personally am pretty impressed that they offer organic but that, my friends, is only the tip of the iceberg.

They also host these hikes with goats (my friend KG blogged about her hiking-with-goats experience last spring, read her post HERE) and cheese making classes.

As always, if you patronize any of these fine local businesses, please let them know that you heard about them via Patty J and Patty J.com.