Tag Archives: humor

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Newport – Day 2 … Fort Adams, endless stone walls and of course, geese.

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The tour of the fort starts in front of this granite block facsimile.

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It represents the current fort which replaced the original build from 1799 that was named to honor President John Adams. Construction began in 1824 and was completed by 1857, though soldiers were stationed here in 1841. Designed by a French engineer who was an aide to Napoleon, it was a temporary site of the Naval Academy before the Civil War.

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Entering through the east gate you’re surrounded by granite, shale and brick.

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The grooves my husband is examining were cut to give traction to the mules and horses who were dragging supplies and canons up the ramp.

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Fort Adams is an impressive place.

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The parade field alone is over six and a half acres. For reference… Fort Sumter, Fort McHenry and Fort Ticonderoga could all easily fit inside.

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Behind the bust of John Adams are the officer’s quarters.

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Some still in their original condition. Every room of the fort was defensible. See the light shining through in the back? That’s a rifleman’s slit.

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I love history and have visited all the forts mentioned above, but strategically and for sheer firepower? Adams puts the others to shame.

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There were 117 canons on three tiers mounted in the west wall alone. This is a 32 pounder. A serious boomer and the reason most of its 8 man crews suffered severe hearing loss.

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I won’t bore you with all the facts I find fascinating. For those who are interested, the full history is here.

https://fortadams.org/discover-the-fortress/fort-adams-history/full-history/

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But before I end this pictorial essay….

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I have to show you the “listening tunnels”.

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Back in the day, enemies who couldn’t breach the fort’s walls tried to tunnel underneath them and blow them up from underground.

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So a half mile network of tunnels was built and manned.

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Ready made holes on the side made it easier to start a countermining attack.

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It was dark and damp and the farther you went, the smaller it became.

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A few people in our group had to turn back due to claustrophobia.

Rats?

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This one was fake, but it was put there to remind tourists they’re never truly alone down here.

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I could have happily explored the entire system…

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But our guide brought us back to the light.

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Fort Adams was designed to garrison 200 soldiers in peacetime and 2,400 in time of war. She could hold 468 cannon but was never armed or staffed at full strength. As a testament to her superb defensive planning, the fort never saw action and was decommissioned in the early 1950’s.

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If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend the tour. It’s ten dollars well spent.

Leaving the fort, we passed a home with a stone wall.

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A stone wall that wrapped around the entire property…

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Lined the driveway on both sides…

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And seemed endless.. like many we would discover on our tour of this area.

First impressions of Newport, Rhode Island?

Wind.

Stone.

And of course…

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Geese.

😊

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Newport – Day 2 … too early for Fort Adams, a brisk walk and yes, more geese.

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Next up on the list was Fort Adams, a coastal fortification built in 1824 at the mouth of Newport Harbor. On the way there we passed a memorial to Portuguese sailors, which of course….

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Was surrounded by geese.

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We live in Maine.

Canada is our neighbor.

We have a lot of Canada geese, but I swear Rhode Island has more.

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Fort Adams State Park is a lovely area.

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But unfortunately you can’t tour the fort by yourself and the ticket office didn’t open until 10:00am.

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Since we had half an hour to kill, we explored.

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And took what turned out to be one very cold walk.

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This is Narragansett Bay…

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This is the fort.

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And this is the husband ducking against the gale force wind.

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There was no escaping it, and had I taken a video you wouldn’t have been able to hear me speak.

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My jacket is zipped up to my neck and my nose is red. I have half a smile, but inwardly I was cursing the nonstop buffeting.

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The husband might have been thinking about jumping and ending it all right here, it was that bad.

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Did I mention Fort Adams is the site of the famed Newport Folk Festival? Where Dylan notoriously plugged in and went electric? After experiencing the strength of the wind, I no longer think he was making a statement. He was simply anchoring himself.

At 10:00 we happily stepped inside the small museum.

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It was previously used as the fort’s jail.

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And the cells were pretty grim.

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Not to mention small.

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Really, really small.

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The first tour was at 11:00am so I’ll give you one guess how my husband passed the time.

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In deep conversation with the tour guide.

It started with my spouse comparing those cells with the cells he patrolled as a brig guard when he was stationed at the Portsmouth Naval Prison in New Hampshire many moons ago. That was at the tail end of the Vietnam era, which led to stories about my guy’s time in the war.

In his element, the stories continued for the full hour. When it was time to start the tour, the guide was so impressed with my husband’s gift of gab… he offered him a job.

It’s a shame we live too far away because talking all day would be right in my husband’s wheelhouse.

🤣

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Miscellaneous nonsense.

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His Lordship has discovered the joy of popping bubble wrap.

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And literally throws his whole body into it.

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Because Easter is right around the corner.

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This sounds utterly disgusting to me, and to be honest… I don’t think the Peep looked pleased either.

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I didn’t know this, but am glad I do now.

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Yes, she’s still here.

And yes, we’re still getting snow.

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I know I complain about trying Facebook recipes that never turn out as pictured…. but I dare any of you to cook a pork tenderloin that comes out like that!

🤣

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If you know, you know.

😖

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My neighbor sent me this picture a while back. She was coming up her driveway and captured the strange cloud formation.

Very odd.

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Newport – Day 2… Goat Island, more geese and some serious waterfront homes.

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Our second day in Newport dawned bright, sunny and of course… windy. Not breezy mind you, but knock you off your feet gusts. It took some getting used to.

Seeing as our resort (blue dot) was right across from Goat Island, a drive over there was our first stop.

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Goat Island is small, and so is their lighthouse.

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Since the wind felt hurricane force, we opted to enjoy it from the car.

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The lighthouse is a popular wedding destination as it sits on the end of the giant Newport Harbor resort that takes up half the island.

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(Internet photo, I didn’t suddenly sprout wings.)

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The other side of the island is a private gated community so we opted to walk along the marina instead.

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You’re never very far from water in Newport and it’s all about sailing here.

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The masts are sky high and hella impressive.

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Back across the bridge we headed for Ocean Drive, a scenic byway that loops along the shore at the bottom of Newport.

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We found geese on walls.

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Geese on lawns.

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And geese in the air, flying by some stunning waterfront homes.

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The rugged shore is very like ours in Maine.

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And like Maine, the wealthy build their homes in the best spots.

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And while I never thought anyone could beat the amount of stone in my fair state…

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Rhode Island can certainly give us a run for our money.

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Newport – Day 1 …. geese, taking an old Marine back to base after 50 years and a sunset dinner.

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There were two things I couldn’t ignore about Newport, Rhode Island when we visited last month.

First?

The wind. It blew a gale force, every minute of every day, everywhere we went. Seriously, it put Chicago to shame and must be the windiest place on earth. Temps were in the 50’s but rarely felt like it. I brought one scarf and wore it every day. My hair spray screamed uncle. It was nuts.

Second?

The Canada geese. In every field, on every lawn, by the edge of all the highways and on every median strip. You might see three, or three dozen, or three hundred, but see them you will. And watch where you walk, because where there are geese there is … well, goose 💩.

Copious amounts of goose 💩.

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After we settled into the resort, the first thing my husband wanted to do was tour his old duty station.

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I’d never been there, so after clearing the security gate… we drove.

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Past a lovely marina.

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And the Admiral’s quarters.

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With the ever present bridge in the background.

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Did I mention there were geese?

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We drove past a giant anchor.

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And the Naval War College.

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And yes, more geese.

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The husband was searching for his old Marine Corps barracks, where this picture was taken in 1976.

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Husband is on the right, receiving a commendation for saving a young man’s life.

❤️

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We found a big red Marine Corps ball, but couldn’t locate the barracks.

I know he really wanted to chat with someone about his time there in the mid ‘70’s, but there were no Marines to be seen. The office was closed, as was the military museum.

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He recognized a few buildings.

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But so much had changed.

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Vowing to go back again another day, we made our way to Newport’s famed waterfront for dinner.

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The sun was beginning to set on The Reef and we were more than ready to relax.

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The restaurant looked nice…

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And even from the bar where my husband always wants to sit, the view was lovely.

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My spiced cranberry Sangria was perfect.

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As was the husband’s local beer (Whalers Rise APA) and butternut squash soup.

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My coconut shrimp appetizer was tasty but things went straight downhill with our entrees.

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I opted for the wild mushroom risotto which was beyond horrible and literally crunched. Not what one looks for in a risotto. I didn’t photograph the husband’s salmon but it was equally as awful and sent back as well.

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Shame, because the location was wonderful.

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And the sunset just about perfect.

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Bet you didn’t even know I was gone.

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On a miserably wet morning two and a half weeks ago …. the husband and I took off on a trip.

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Roughly 4 hours later we crossed a bridge….

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And reached our vacation destination.

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Newport, Rhode Island.

The smallest state.

Home to the Americas Cup and Narragansett beer.

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Newport is old and full of maritime history. Founded in 1639, it was an important trading port for the British colonies. After the Civil War, the Gilded Age rich chose its beautiful coast as a site for their “summer cottages” … by which I mean American castles. Today, tourists flock to its beaches and vibrant waterfront shopping and dining areas.

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Newport is surrounded by water.

And lighthouses.

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And criss crossed with bridges.

It’s also home to the Naval War College where my Marine Corps husband was stationed 50 years ago.

This walk down memory lane trip was part of my birthday gift to him.

Our digs for the week? A Wyndham resort on Long Wharf.

Internet photo.

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My photos.

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Though we had a two bedroom, two bath unit it was smaller than most of our timeshare condos.

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With a seriously ugly color palette.

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But it was clean and quiet.

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With a Narragansett Bay view.

In the background, to the right.

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After unpacking, we left our home base and started exploring.

( to be continued, sequentially and ad nauseam… so be prepared for photo bombs lasting into May )

😉

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Go for the beer, stay for the food.

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Friday dawned sunny and relatively warm so the husband and I jumped in the car for a drive to the mountains.

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Heading west to try a new brewery that had popped up since our last visit.

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And while the hilltops were free of snow, the lakes were still frozen.

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Our destination was Steam Mill Brewing which had a colorful tasting room.

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And a comfortable, laid back western vibe.

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We did a few tastings but weren’t overly impressed with the beer.

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But my Rogue Angel – Titos, elderflower cordial, grapefruit juice, soda water and orange bitters – hit the spot.

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Crab cakes with Cajun remoulade and truffle aoili? OMG. To die for. Some of the best I’ve ever had… and they are always my go to app.

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Husband’s French onion soup? Dark, rich and full of sherry. Yum.

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The vaguely spider like overhead lighting was bizarre.

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But my veal, beef and pork bolognese and his mixed green salad with grilled chicken and warm maple vinaigrette were amazing.

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The town was also running a cocktail competition that, had I lived there, I would have been all over. Bar hop 11 places and taste test their cocktails? Sign me up.

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Naturally I tried Steam Mill’s entry… which, while tasty, was down right deadly.

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On our way out, the rest rooms provided a few laughs.

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Then it was back over the mountains for a scenic drive home.

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A good time was had by all.

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News you can’t use.

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Useless and never ending. This describes my blog site perfectly.

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That’s a very large rat.

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Way to go Carolina.

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I know airline food is bad, but how hungry do you have to be to eat beads?

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As well she should.

😡

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Trust me, if we’re talking about Trump?

It has everything to do with sucking.

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I admit to being clueless about this as well.

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What does the “Pooh” mean in Winnie The Pooh?

“ …..a book by Winnie The Pooh author AA Milne called When We Were Very Young. 

The 1924 book of poetry, which predated the Winnie The Pooh stories, contained an introduction from the author which reads: “Christopher Robin, who feeds this swan in the mornings, has given him the name of ‘Pooh.’”

“This is a very fine name for a swan, because, if you call him and he doesn’t come (which is a thing swans are good at), then you can pretend that you were just saying ‘Pooh!’ to show how little you wanted him.”

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Mystery solved.

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I completely forgot about the Hands Off rally held this past Saturday. I wanted to go, but am glad my local peeps represented with some snappy Maine-centric signs.

😊

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