Newport, Rhode Island
We decided that our first day trip would be to Newport, Rhode Island. We visited there (very) briefly last summer and have wanted to go back ever since. It is very historic, and a beautiful and quaint place. The area is most well known for its allure and popularity back in the Golden Age of Newport in the 19th and early 20th century, where all the rich old money families would "summer" in Newport...in their gigantic mansions. Yes, huge, enormous, beautiful, lavish, manicured, mansions just for the summer. They have tours and everything for all of these mansions all over the place...the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, the Astors and anybody who was anybody back then had a mansion in Newport. It is all pretty cool, surreal, but cool. A taste of a social climate that we surely will never understand!
The first thing we did was hike the cliff walk, a 3 mile stretch along the rocky coast with sweeping views of the ocean to one side and views of all of the mansions (or ginormous absurdities as I called them) on the other. We hopped the town trolley to the start of it (I mean we are crazy runners, but we didn't feel like a 6-miler on vaca!) It was spectacular, and Gabriel got a first class seat atop Daddy's back (in the newly aforementioned pack!). It was so cool to climb up and down the rocks along the coast and watch the waves crash against the shoreline...pretty intense at some points. Once we finished the cliff walk, we walked another mile or so back into the main part of town where we visited the Tennis Hall of Fame, and the Newport Creamery (sinful chocolate shake, yum!)
It was time to get G out of his pack and onto the beach. Yes, it's true we technically took him to the beach last year, but that doesn't really count. He didn't, in any way, experience the beach. We were excited to see his reaction. Throughout the entire cliff walk we kept talking to him about the ocean and waves and the beach.
Gabriel did not disappoint, he took to the sand and the ocean like a fish! He loved, LOVED the ocean. We thought he might be afraid of the waves, and the water was very cold, but he just walked right in, splashing and laughing. We had to pull him out eventually because his teeth started chattering, but he wasn't ready to leave. We played in the sand and "shooed" away seagulls (I hate those things!) until it was time to call it a day. Just as we were leaving there was a concert starting up out on the boardwalk and we noticed there was a carousel and other activities around the boardwalk...we will definitely be coming back to this beach.
We headed back to Fall River (only about 25 min away) to get ready for the bedtime ritual. It was still early enough when we first got back to the hotel to try to pool out...again, Gabriel had technically been in a pool last summer, but not to his knowledge! What a water baby, he loved splashing in the water. Andy took him all around the pool and he just laughed and laughed. We had to take him out again because his teeth started chattering, plus it was time for bed.
We had a king bed and pull out sofa, so we pushed the sofa in a corner and thought it would be perfect for G to sleep in. Well it started out okay, but around 1am I awoke to him fussing and as I opened my eyes I saw him climbing over the edge of the sofa...I quickly jumped out of bed and dashed over to him before he toppled out. Time for plan B...he just slept in the bed with us the rest of the night. Andy and I didn't realize we had a donkey for a child, he kicked and thrashed all night, so no sleep for us. You'd think a king bed would be plenty big for two adults and little boy, but not when that little boy is stretched out perpendicular to us and we are teetering on the edge of the bed just to keep him contained. Aaah well, making memories, right?
Now for the picture show of our Newport adventure:
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