Weatherholtz Family: Day 2: Boston to Newport, RI

This morning James walked a few blocks to pick up our rental car, a Jeep Cherokee, while the girls and I got ready for the day. We met in the lobby, grabbed coffee and pastries from the lobby cafe, and set out for Rhode Island. It was pretty cute when SE and I walked up to the counter together and the barista looked between us several times and to SE said, "she is your mum!" in the most wonderful accent.

We drove into Newport and decided to start at the visitor's center. The first parking lot we came to was $55 - what the heck? We found one directly across the street for $10. I felt like we just made 45 bucks.

I had researched several things to do, but I find it's always best to get a local's advice. We found out there's a free trolley route that takes you to a few local stops on the Cliff Walk. The Cliff Walk was the number one thing on my list, so this is what we did first. Instead of heading back to the car and grabbing our hiking pack with snacks, water and sunscreen, and putting on tennis shoes instead of our flip flops (SE and me), as one adult suggested, we decided to just go for it as the other adult suggested. After all, the Cliff Walk is only three miles and a "walk", right?

Newport is known for its mansions and it did not disappoint. The trolley dropped us off at The Breakers, the most famous of the mansions built by the Vanderbilts in 1893. We debated doing a tour and decided to first start walking the Cliff Walk and then see what we think. We walked north to the "Forty Steps." This was a set of steep steps that led down to some cliffs that were perfect for pictures and being close to the crashing waves.

We then continued south on the Cliff Walk. The mansions just kept coming and coming - many different styles, and all massive. The cool breeze blowing off the water was magnificent.

There were several places along the walk that you could choose to get off of the path and make your way back to the trolley. We decided to keep going along the path at each one until we finally did the whole thing.

Teenager and still wants to hold her daddy's hand!

So, let's talk about this walk concept... There were sections that were nothing but rocks and boulders - not exactly the best terrain for flip flops. It goes to show you, you can research all day long, but sometimes you still end up doing 4 mile HIKES over rocks and boulders in your flip flops!! Cliff Walk, my fanny.

By this point we were all thirsty, starving and tired - a dangerous combination for a traveling family.

This kid can sleep anywhere!

We rode the trolley back to town and settled on The Gas Lamp Grill for lunch. I say settled because most places had a wait. We were way too hungry to care. We had a great table by the open air doors overlooking the touristy sidewalk...that is until the delivery truck pulled up and blocked the entire opening. The food was decent, and did its job of filling our hangry bellies.

We shopped the touristy street for a bit and then set off to find our inn.

We are staying at Rhea's Inn By the Sea. When researching everything online, it is hard knowing what you are getting. This little inn turned out just great. Our room is on the third floor. With no elevator in sight, we lugged all our luggage up the stairs. I just know I will be hearing about packing in the largest suitcase for all our future trips. I knew I was in trouble as soon as they plopped down on the couch. We agreed short naps could be taken and we would head back out in an hour.

On my list of things to do for Newport was to visit Fort Adams. We got there around 5, being that google said it closed at 6. We tried to start at the information center and gift shop, but it was all locked up. We walked up to the fort entrance and the gate was partially open. We moseyed on in and started our own tour. A nice man came out to meet us and inform us that we technically were not supposed to be in there. After hours, they must host private events in certain parts of the fort. He said we could continue to walk around the parade area, so we circled around. The parade deck was actually very large - 6 acres! As we aren't big into long, detailed tours, this little jaunt was just fine for us.

We left the inside of the fort and walked out to Fort Adams Lookout Point. After this, we drove Ocean Avenue, which a 10-mile scenic coastal route that is full of ridiculous mansions. Mansion, after mansion, after mansion - this place is insane!

We drove back to town for some more touristy shopping and to find ice cream. We ate ice cream at Sticks and Cones - delicious. While we were shopping in one of the stores, the salesperson asked us where we were eating dinner. We told her we had no idea, but were in the mood for pizza. She suggested a pizza place that was actually right across from our inn. We weren't sure we would be hungry, but kept it in mind.

After ice cream, we drove back to Castle Hill to find the lighthouse there. I had read this was a great place to watch the sunset. It was a little tricky to find, but was an amazing spot and we had the entire place to ourselves. We stayed for an hour climbing the rocks, exploring and taking a lot of pictures.