Newport, RI

On the last day of Pattie’s visit we decided to go out for a nice seafood dinner. We had had already visited Boston, Plymouth, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, so we were brainstorming for a new place to go to explore. My friend Lindsay had suggested we give Newport, Rhode Island a try, and we figured why not? We made the hour long drive just after three and arrived in Newport a couple of hours before dark.

I had done some quick research on the town using Wikitravel, and had found out that the Cliff Walk was not to be missed. The Cliff Walk is a 3.5 mile long public sidewalk that runs along a cliff overlooking Easton Bay of the Atlantic Ocean. The walk is famous not only for its awesome views of the bay and the crashing waves of the ocean, but also because on the other side of the sidewalk are MASSIVE AND GORGEOUS mansions. We found ourselves walking along and not knowing which direction to look in. On one side we had a view of a lighthouse, 70 foot cliff drop offs and picturesque surf, and on the other side we had sprawling estates with differing styles of architecture. We walked by villas with names like The Marble House, The Rosecliff, and Astor’s Beechwood. Soon five o’clock rolled around and we noticed a visible pick up in foot traffic on the trail. People were out strolling hand in hand and some were out running for their nightly walk. I can definitely see why this would be one of Newport’s top attractions.

Easton's Beach at the beginning of the Cliff Walk

Walking on the Cliff Walk in Newport

Waves in the Atlantic Ocean

Massive mansions! 

Another mansion!

When it was getting close to dark I ran back and picked up our car. We had left it parked on the bridge overlooking Easton beach at the beginning of the Cliff Walk. On the way back I drove along Bellevue Avenue and got to see the same mansions we’d seen on the walk, but from the front. Most of the mansions have now been converted to museums or university buildings, but they still retain their beautiful outsides and mostly look like private homes.

We went to the Brick Market Place district for dinner. The Brick Market Place is just like it sounds, a market place with brick lined streets. It is located between Thames Street and America’s Cup Avenue, and there are several attractive wharfs just across the street. While walking on the wharfs and taking pictures of sailboats at sunset, we asked a local for a recommendation for a place to get good seafood. She recommended Benjamin’s just down the road, so off we went.

Bowen's Wharf in Newport, RI 

This turned out to be a great recommendation; we ate to our heart’s content! Pattie had a delicious prime rib, Sky and I split the massive plate of seafood linguine, and then we all shared a Crème Brule for dessert! Num, num, num! Also, during dinner our waitress let us know that they were bringing in huge live lobsters downstairs, and invited us to come have a look. Here is what we saw:

Huge 15lb lobster!

That dinner was exactly what’d been hoping for and was really a great end to a great visit!

To see more pictures of Newport, click here.

Happy Fresh Seafood Eating!

M.

P.S. The granddogs already miss their grandma...Here is a pic of Chloe and grandma enjoying breakfast on one of the mornings during Pattie's visit:

Pattie and Chloe enjoying breakfast in the travel trailer