While the husband was walking a mile plus for breakfast, I got ready for a day of exploring and stepped out on the balcony.
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Which required opening the interior sliding louvered doors before opening the exterior sliding glass doors.
I’m like a cat, always on the wrong side of the door.
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Balcony selfie in the fog.
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We headed to Bristol that day, over the seriously foggy Mt. Hope bridge.
Our destination ?
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Blithewold manor and gardens where the fog had thankfully pulled back a bit.
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Purchasing our tickets at the carriage house, we learned a little history of the property…
In 1896, Augustus Van Wickle and wife Bessie purchased the then 70-acre property now known as Blithewold as their Country Place offering them an expansive summer retreat away from the city.
The beauty and location of the site made it the perfect place to pursue the family’s love of outdoor activities and Bessie’s passion for horticulture.
Bessie oversaw the placement of almost every tree, garden, and structure on the grounds.
Blithewold’s archives contain journals, letters, and thousands of photographs that paint a detailed picture of life on the estate during the last century. Her elder daughter, Marjorie, inherited her mother’s love of gardening and grew thousands of plants for the gardens.
Marjorie Van Wickle Lyon had the foresight to bequeath Blithewold to the public for their enjoyment, education, and inspiration.
That legacy has continued to inspire the thousands who visit Blithewold each year.
We began strolling.
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Past moss covered stone walls…
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And through a moon gate.
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I tried talking the husband into building us one of these at home…
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But he said it was a little above his pay grade.
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Shame, that.
It was quite pretty.
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Walking onto the rear patio of the house…
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It was too foggy to see Narragansett Bay in the distance.
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But it was a good looking house up close.
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We visited the third week of May and though everything was lush and green, the gardens weren’t yet in full bloom.
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The fog didn’t help my photos either, everything looks muted.
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But there were touches of color…
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And one extremely low stone bench.
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Leaving the house tour for later, we headed into the woods.
We stayed at Club Wyndham Newport Onshore which is part of our timeshare.
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The location was perfect, it was clean, well kept and fully staffed. Hot and cold running housekeepers brought my husband more coffee, firmer bed pillows, and even a toothbrush since he forgot his.
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Some of our timeshare properties assign you a unit of their choice with no chance of switching. But this resort gave us the two bedroom, two bath top floor condo on the harbor I requested… and we were happy campers that this building had 3 separate card keyed lobbies with 3 separate elevators and only one other unit on our floor.
Peace and quiet is never over rated.
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Indoor and outdoor pools, a gym, outdoor grilling areas, wine and cheese nights… I’d stay here again. But that doesn’t mean it was perfect.
Parking was limited, and definitely an issue. So much so, we were assigned three different spots during our stay and had to wiggle in and out every morning hoping not to hit anything, or anyone.
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We started in the underground area below our unit. It was tight, but doable. And then….
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The resort began replacing all its patio furniture and those areas were blocked off.
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So we moved outside to space #13, which was fine, until we came back one afternoon and found this…
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No way we were parking there.
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Our final spot was under cover again, but pulling in and out with a lot full of diagonally parked vehicles made me glad the husband was driving.
The condo itself had been newly remodeled, but once again I questioned the interior decorators. I realize everyone’s taste is different, but the colors and “art” on the walls was….
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Well…
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A bit much.
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I get it, Newport is on the water and they wanted a nautical theme. But couldn’t they find something more attractive than anchor chain and rigging?
We woke to a good bit of fog on our first morning back in Newport.
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Of course we’re those annoying resort neighbors who are up at 4:30:-5:00am to start the day so we often beat the sun.
As we sat on the balcony with tea and coffee, a friend was making his presence known directly below us.
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Most people who live on or near the coast hate seagulls…
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But we love all creatures… so naturally the husband started feeding him.
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This is not recommended.
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Before long, our friend from down below became our friend up top.
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Seagulls are opportunists.
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If they find a food source, they’ll take full advantage.
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My husband started with Cheetos, but then laid out a wheat bread buffet.
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And though the railing proved a bit slippery.
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Our new friend soon figured out a drive (fly) by maneuver.
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And then he told a friend.
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And another friend.
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Three squawking, circling gulls at 5:30am was enough to prompt the man staying on the sailboat below us to holler up at my husband to please stop feeding the birds, which he did.
Reluctantly.
And as we were sitting on the balcony ignoring the still hungry and now pissed off birds…
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My husband realized the nice little cafe where he had breakfast every morning on our previous trip was over there.
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A not insignificant distance, but you know he got dressed and walked over there anyway. Every morning …to eat breakfast and more importantly, chat with the locals.
After unpacking and making a grocery run for the week, it was early evening so we headed out on foot to search for food.
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Our resort was right on the harbor… but technically its address and check in office (white turret) is Thames Street, the busiest part of Newport, Rhode Island. One way streets, little to no parking and a constant flow of tourists make navigating the area by car challenging . On our last trip we weren’t able to explore, this time we were staying right in the heart of it.
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Right next to the Sailing Hall of Fame.
Did you know there was a Sailing Hall of Fame? Neither did I, but it was an interesting building.
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At the corner of Thames Street and Americas Cup Avenue (notice a trend?), we found the Red Parrot.
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The Red Parrot building is listed on the National Register of Historical Places in Newport. It was built in 1898 by John Alton Barker as a meat packing house where it employed hundreds of people during the era known as “The Gilded Age”.
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Through the years this building has housed a variety of eating establishments serving heads of state, diplomats, royalty, movie stars, the thousands of people visiting Newport each year and now you.
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Nearly empty when we arrived, I dove straight in to their lengthy cocktail list.
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Tempting as a rubber duck margarita was, 48 ounces seemed a bit much… even for me.
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I chose the Luxe Berry instead.
Citrus vodka, Chambord, pink lemonade and a splash of raspberry puree, served on the rocks with fresh lemon.
I wish I could copy and print the whole menu for you because it was large and extensive.
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As well as humorous.
(If you’ve never seen the Godfather? Never mind.)
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For appetizers…. husband had a wonderful and almost overwhelmingly cheesy French onion soup while I struggled to eat half of my amazingly rich ‘Shroom flatbread.
(Fire grilled dough, with caramelized onions, Portobello mushrooms. Topped with garlic herb Boursin and mozzarella cheese). That was a meal in itself… but we had to move on.
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Cocktail #2?
The Refresher… Prairie Cucumber vodka, raspberry puree, fresh lime over ice splashed with club soda.
Dinner was a tropical grilled Mahi Mahi with asparagus and mashed potatoes for the husband, pan seared scallops with spicy plum sauce, jasmine rice and sautéed spinach for me. Both meals were fabulous with generous portions and though I was honestly stuffed…
I decided to put myself in a sugar coma and drank my dessert.
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THIS DRINK IS BANANAS…B.A.N.A.N.A.S.
Rum Chata, Banana liqueur, White Crème de Cacao, fresh banana, vanilla ice cream and a splash of honey simple syrup blended frozen and topped with whipped cream.
By the time we waddled out of the restaurant there wasn’t an empty seat to be seen …
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(Vacant table on the left was the one we just vacated). And yes, that’s my husband on the far right chatting with someone at the bar.
The man loves to talk.
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Back at the resort, we relaxed on balcony #1 and enjoyed the end of our first day on Newport vacation Part Two.
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Ahhh…
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😊
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Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 