Monthly Archives: May 2025

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Day 8…. Goodbye Newport, a Jurassic Girl Scout, the drive home and a few gifts.

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And finally our vacation was over.

Day 8 dawned bright, and as I looked out the window of our condo… windy. No surprise there.

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We said goodbye to Narragansett Bay.

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And a decent enough resort.

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Heading out of Newport, we saw a T Rex selling Girl Scout cookies and had to stop.

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These young ladies were doing a brisk business and we purchased 4 boxes in a drive through line. Very efficient.

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Did I mention there are windmills in Newport?

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Like, everywhere?

With the constant wind I can’t blame them. but it was odd seeing them randomly dominate the skyline.

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In Providence this fellow didn’t seem pleased with the time.

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In Massachusetts?

A very well marked curve.

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Clearly the clientele of this McDonalds outside of Boston are somewhat… questionable.

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Twin bridges somewhere along the way.

And in a mere 4 hours we were home, having greatly enjoyed our time away.

My husband’s birthday fell during our trip and while my surprise Antique Roadshow thing didn’t work out.. ( the rat bastards )…he still had a nice day.

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I thought this guy looked a little like His Lordship.

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Gift #2? A pair of night vision binoculars for critter spotting in the dark.

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Gift #3? A package of stickers that made him groan.

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Gift #4? A lighted coin microscope for closer examination of his collection … which he broke on day one.

🥴

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Newport – Day 7…. antiquing part deux.

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After a nice lunch and waterfront stroll it was back to the trenches..

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To an even bigger though slightly nicer antique mall.

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I swear my husband’s eyes lit up the moment we stepped inside.

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It’s times like these I’m glad he’s a cheapskate when it comes to purchases. The man wants a bargain and there weren’t many to be had here.

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That frog was about five grand.

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I thought about this for the man cave.

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And wouldn’t have minded having this, but it was badly cracked.

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More wooden yardsticks.

For the love of God… why?

🥴

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Interesting, but a hard pass.

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Giant clam anyone?

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Just looking at these shoes hurt my feet.

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You know that was risqué for its day.

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Yes, he bought the yardsticks.

Sigh.

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I was really tempted to buy this vintage cocktail shaker and glasses for the man cave. It was even aviation themed which was my husband’s career field.

Coulda, shoulda.

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This place went on forever and long story short we were there until it closed.

I purchased this.

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A $500 Confederate bond from the Civil War. When we lived down south I used to pick up Confederate currency now and then but I didn’t have one of these. It still has four coupons attached, though I think my chances of cashing them in are slim.

😉

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On the way out of New Bedford, Massachusetts?

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Underpass fish.

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Newport – Day 7…. lunch on the working waterfront.

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After endless hours following my husband around the antique mall, I needed sustenance.

And a drink.

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The Black Whale on the New Bedford waterfront seemed to be the place.

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They must have been understaffed because we walked by an entirely empty room …

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And were pointed to the last two seats available in the main dining room…

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Which happened to be at the bar, so you know my husband was happy. My spring sangria was crisp and lovely… sorry I can’t remember what was in it.

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And my crab cakes with Cajun remoulade were heavenly.

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Husbands’s clam chowder was a rich creamy meal in itself so we opted to split an entree.

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Of fried scallops, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted broccolini.

Yum.

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After eating we took a little stroll along the waterfront.

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No pleasure craft here.

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Just fishing boats.

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Long haulers, draggers…

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If you wonder where your seafood comes from, it’s here.

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I spent my adolescence surrounded by fisherman and believe me when I say they are hardworking people.

Salt of the earth.

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Or the sea, in this case.

😊

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News you can’t use.

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Not useful, but hopefully humorous.

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Me thinks the bar is pretty low for that particular award.

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This implies the people of Arklow, Ireland have been swimming with floaters for quite some time.

A subject which does not bear thinking about.

🤢

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The way America is currently being run? I fervently hope so… where do I unplug?

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Most excellent.

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This is the very epitome of useless news.

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She’s married to J.D.

How could she not?

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Newport – Day 7…. husband’s choice, antiquing in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

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On our last full day of vacation I threw the husband a bone and let him choose our destination and activities.

Big mistake.

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Naturally he picked a giant antique mall in the neighboring state of Massachusetts.

It was a ratty looking old place and after an hours drive, we hit the rest rooms upon arrival.

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I was not impressed.

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But the husband was in treasure heaven.

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He adores these places and examines every item fully.

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There were a few interesting dealers and pieces.

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But after the first three hours?

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I was ready to drop the plunger on that detonator.

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And out of all the items in this massive space?

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My guy picked out old wooden yard sticks.

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Jesus wept.

He shopped, and shopped.

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And shopped….

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And I seriously regretted throwing him that bone.

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I don’t mind looking at vintage things. For a while. But antique shopping with my husband is a marathon event.

To pass the time I usually end up flipping through albums.

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This caught my eye.

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And this made me chuckle.

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And then I lost the husband to a clearance sale booth.

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After 4 hours, he wasn’t ready to go but I insisted on a lunch break.

He bought yard sticks, a giant glass water bottle, old advertising wooden hangers and some military ephemera.

I walked out with one thing.

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Jefferson Airplane’s last album with the original lineup, 1969.

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Controversial in its day for anti war lyrics and political content, Jerry Garcia made a guest appearance.

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A classic counter culture piece of vinyl history to add to my collection. .

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Newport – Day 6… a dive (like) bar and a stroll around the Newport shipyard.

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As we were walking along the harbor that early evening, my husband spied a bar he’d heard about from some locals.

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The Quencher is what some might call a dive.

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But I grew up in New Jersey and then the working waterfront of Portland, Maine in the late 70’s and early 80’s (before gentrification of the Old Port). Trust me, I know dives… and this wasn’t one.

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It’s a bar, you should buy a beer.

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Old Winnie knew his stuff.

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Being a Wednesday, I made it just in time for 20% off.

This bar was loud, with a bartender uninterested in conversation.

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Internet photo.

We were still full from lunch otherwise I’d have been tempted to try a pizza.

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The husband did order wings which were awful, so no photo required. We had one drink and moved on.

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To the Newport shipyard down the road. The husband’s new favorite breakfast cafe was there and he’d come back to the resort every morning filled with stories of the giant ships being worked on there.

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Untold millions of dollars in watercraft require a 24/7 guarded gate and no one drives in without a pass, but we walked and the guard recognized my husband as one of the breakfast crew. It pays to make friends.

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This was a research vessel from Maine.

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And this catamaran cost well over a million itself.

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All I can say is, it must be nice.

💵

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Newport – Day 6…. a private lighthouse and a stroll around Newport harbor.

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Leaving Bristol, we saw a sign for a lighthouse and decided to check it out.

Off the main road, down a hill, onto a rutted dirt lane and under a bridge…

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We found this –

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A private home with no trespassing signs posted everywhere. You weren’t even supposed to turn around but unless we wanted to drive into the bay, we didn’t really have a choice.

Note to Rhode Island – don’t post signs for lighthouses you don’t want people to visit.

Geesh.

We did pass this little guy a while later…

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But it’s not like we could visit that one either.

Back at the resort, but with some daylight still to burn, we took a stroll around Newport harbor…

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Since it was literally across the road.

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Whatever PFD was, we didn’t have it.

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But maybe this Kraken did.

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Here’s a photo of my husband examining one of the boats we could probably afford.

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All in all, not a bad way to spend an evening.

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😊

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Let’s play.

42 Comments

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You’re already here, so why not?

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I know it’s going to sound weird not to say chocolate or cheese or something wonderful, but honestly?

My answer is broccoli.

Every night when I’m cooking dinner I pick a vegetable for the husband and then choose fresh broccoli for myself. I could literally eat it with every meal. Steamed broccoli, roasted broccoli, broccoli casserole, broccoli salad… I love it all.

Weird, I know.

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How about you?

What could you eat every single day…

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Newport – Day 6…. Downtown Bristol, seagull meet and greets, fried egg jellyfish and the husband goes back to the playground.

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After our fabulous meal, we felt the need to walk off some of the calories.

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And took a stroll around the waterfront of downtown Bristol.

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Quiet on the off season, I’m sure the marina is full of pleasure craft in the summer.

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Along the edge is the Maritime Center. A one time armory built in 1894, it now houses public restrooms, showers and laundry facilities for boaters as well as a wi-fi lounge and a 4,000 square foot multi use hall displaying local artists.

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Though the marina was people free, the seagulls kept a close eye on us.

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And since we were roughly 20 miles from the wind tunnel that is Newport?

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A smile and a relatively in tact hairdo.

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Should we visit the area again, I would take more time to explore this lovely town.

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And perhaps bring the seagulls a treat.

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The gulls concur.

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As we were leaving I glanced over the side of the pier and saw…

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Eggs?

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They’re actually jellyfish, but tell me that doesn’t look like someone randomly cracked a few eggs in the harbor.

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As we made our way back to the car through the park, my husband made a friend.

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Who was a little reticent at first, but when he realized the strange man could push him higher than his mother?

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Was quickly and happily on board.

😊

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