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Over the Memorial Day Weekend I’m taking my girlfriend to Newport, RI, and in planning our time we’re looking for special things to do that are somewhat off the beaten track and we’re also hoping to hear live music.

She’s done the house tours and we want to spend as much time as possible, weather permitting, outdoors.  Any ideas?

–JC, Brooklyn, NY

In honor of those who have served our country, Memorial Day Weekend is the official start of the summer travel season and the grilling season here is the northeast, with the requisite cookout or BBQ dinner party.

But what we love most is that it is finally warm enough for picnics!

Take it slow and easy over the long weekend with a blanket and a picnic basket, and wile away an afternoon at the beach, on a sunny bluff or sailboat, or tasting local wines at a premier vineyard.

For the best picnic take away:

• Rosemary & Thyme Cafe (rosemaryandthymecafe.com), Sweet Berry Farm (sweetberryfarm.com), Flo’s Clam Shack (flosclamshacks.com) and the Newport Lobster Shack (newportlobstershack.com) — all terrific sources for prepared picnic food to go.

Why not take a road trip or bike ride around Aquidneck Island out to Greenvale Vineyards (greenvale.com) in Portsmouth, RI, for an afternoon of listening to live jazz while picnicking and sampling exceptional wines.

• Greenvale Vineyards is a family-run historic farm on the Sakonnet River featuring an exquisitely restored 19th-century summer house and stable, which is now the vineyards’ Tasting Room. Family members produce small batches of wines from vintage grapes. Many of these wines can be sampled to accompany your picnic, while listening to the sounds of a live jazz group on a lazy afternoon.

By the way, the only price of admission to Greenvale Vineyards is a tasting list with a variety of phenomenal wines.

~Didi