Tag Archives: Newport

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Foggy morning feeding.

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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.

The man loves to talk.

🤣

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It’s a walking town.

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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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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 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 5… a brewery/vineyard combo where we made a new friend.

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As our fifth day in glorious Newport, Rhode Island was drawing to a close… we made one final stop.

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Needing a bottle or two of regional wine to gift our pet sitting neighbor upon our return, we ducked into a local favorite.

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I can honestly say I’ve never visited a winery that’s also a brewery, but this place made it work.

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With multiple tasting rooms…

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And outdoors spaces…

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We browsed their large retail shop, purchased two bottles of wine for our neighbor and chuckled at this hard cider I know Mark would love.

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Making our way into the tasting room, we stood on line and ordered a flight.

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Which is when the men who stood beside us paid for it. Thanking my husband for his service and saying Semper Fi started a conversation with one of them which would last until the employees were locking the doors and we were the last people in the building. My husband’s money was no good and stories of the military flowed.

Turns out this fellow was a Commander who was in the Persian Gulf the same time as my husband and an instant friendship was formed.

I’ve been married to my guy for 41 years and have heard his stories so many times I could recite them myself, but there’s something about veterans getting together and talking about their experiences that resonates. It’s special. A brotherhood that civilians can never truly understand.

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Commemorating the meeting with a photo as I always do, our new friend asked me to text him a copy and shortly after we parted ways sent me this message.

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He included this old photo.

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And not that we needed one, but reuniting these two men will be an excellent excuse to visit Newport again.

❤️

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Newport – Day 5…. in which we visit Narragansett and Galilee and have lunch beside an old Marine.

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Another day, another scenic coastal drive.

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Through Narragansett…

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And under the remnants of its once famous casino.

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Down to the end of a peninsula, an area called Galilee.

You can see Jerusalem from there.

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No, I wasn’t kidding.

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Our destination was George’s.

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A seafood restaurant with a water view.

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Lunch off season left us with the place pretty much to ourselves….

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So I settled in with a perfectly refreshing Spring Sangria…

grey goose l’orange vodka, st. germain, pineapple, white wine, club soda

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Husband started with garlicky mussels..

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And I had Rhode Island clam chowder, which is pretty much the same as New England clam chowder… rich, creamy and delicious.

Before long a few locals joined us at the bar.

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Since the gentleman closest to me was wearing a Marine Corps hat, a conversation began. These two men had been friends since they were in elementary school. They married local girls, went to war and came back home to raise families.

We bought their drinks.

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As we watched the Block Island ferry come into port.

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My crab stuffed shrimp with garlic butter roasted baby potatoes and broccolini was divine.

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As was the husband’s shrimp scampi.

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After eating, serious storytelling commenced.

😊

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I left them to it and wandered outside to enjoy the view.

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You can always tell when a fishing boat has taken on bait.

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They have a dedicated seagull following.

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🐟🐟🐟

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Newport – Day 4… back to base, naval history, beer and geese.

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The fourth day of our trip dawned wet.

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So we headed back to the base to check out the Naval War College museum and hopefully find someone familiar with its recent history to talk with my husband about his time there.

On the way, we passed the required geese.

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Rain doesn’t bother them a bit.

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The museum is a fine old building with a unique back story.

From Newport Poor House to Founders Hall

Coasters Harbor Island was the site of Newport’s Asylum for the Poor. Built in 1819, the stone and brick building provided shelter for the town’s homeless. At various times it also served as a quarantine site during epidemics, as a holding area for minor criminals and as a facility for the insane. By the early 1880s, the overflowing facility was taxing Newport’s resources. In 1881 the town relocated the inmates to other institutions and the State Assembly of Rhode Island ceded the island and the building to the federal government.

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As we walked around, we found it had some interesting exhibits.

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But we soon realized we were the only people there…

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Aside from this headless fellow.

No staff, no docents, not a single person for my husband to engage in conversation.

Oh, the horror.

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From the first submarine…

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To a sailor enjoying his projectile a bit too much.

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Past a torpedo boat that just looked… wrong.

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And a WWI listening device that appeared to be George Lucas designed… the place was as quiet as a tomb.

There were marvelous model ships.

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And some history that made me laugh.

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The close ups will explain the laughing.

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Oh, those crazy colonials.

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A civil war drum.

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Some lovely memorabilia.

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With a sailor who knew how to work a parasol.

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We saw a portrait of an admiral who was a dead ringer for Ben Kingsley.

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And propaganda posters…

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As well as a death mask with some ceremonial silver.

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There was even a possible ancestor of the Charmin toilet paper spokesman.

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But not a single historian with whom my husband could chat.

Feeling badly for him, I suggested we take the elevator to the top floor office. We did, but only found a 30 something secretary who hadn’t even been born when my husband was stationed here.

We enjoyed the museum, but I know my guy was disappointed.

And when you’re disappointed?

There’s always beer.

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Newport craft brewery to be exact.

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Which had an excellent tasting space…

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And some very tasty beer.

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I liked the Ungourdly Hour so much I brought some home.

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We were hungry enough for a nibble and discovered they had a satellite station of Wally’s Weiners, a Newport favorite.

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I can’t say I was overly impressed with the corn dog bites or garlic Parmesan fries…

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But the beer was good… and my husband had an hour long conversation with the bartender, telling stories of the old days so I know he was happy.

😊

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Newport – Day 3…. The Breakers finale and a fabulous Irish pub.

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Finishing our tour of the top floor we strolled across the upper loggia.

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It was a semi outdoor sitting room.

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Filled with wicker furniture, rugs and potted palm trees in its day.

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The ceiling is a continuation of the painted sky from the great hall.

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Looking out…. you can see the waves breaking over the cliffs that give the house its name 30 feet below.

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Here’s the husband taking a picture of the servant’s stairs.

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The kitchen was large and extremely workable.

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Which is a good thing considering the size of the dinner parties they had to cater.

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Here’s the separate two story butler’s pantry that housed the china. Because why have one 50 piece pattern… when you have the space for 20? The family’s 1,000 piece monogrammed Tiffany silver was kept here as well. In the locked safe. Away from the possible sticky fingers of the 40 person staff.

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Here are some exterior photos of the house.

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The sun was hard to avoid so pardon the rays here and there.

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We visited the Breakers once, decades ago in the summer… and the grounds were lovely.

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Me, in 1989, tan and thin.

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Husband in 1989, still active duty and thin.

In March 2025 things were mostly brown.

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World’s largest bird bath?

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I can’t imagine having this type of wealth.

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Or living in this type of home.

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But it sure was fun to wander around and pretend we did.

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We spent the entire morning here and were famished by the time we were through. Reading in the brochure about a cafe on the grounds, we brought our appetites.

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Only to discover the elaborate building had no kitchen, just bottled drinks in a cooler and bags of chips.

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Bit of a let down, that.

After battling the crowded Thames Street waterfront…where there were ample restaurants but no parking, we drove a little farther and discovered Zelda’s.

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A wonderful Irish pub favored by locals.

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Nautically themed…

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With an anchor chain serving as bar foot rail…

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We happily settled in for lunch.

My cocktail of choice?

PRICKLY PEAR SPRITZ

RUFFINO PROSECCO, FRUITFUL PRICKLY PEAR, ELDERFLOWER LIQUOR, FRESH LEMON

Perfection!

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And ooh la la.

A weird selection for an Irish pub… but their shrimp and grits was da bomb. They were fried, which was also weird, but everything was perfectly cooked and spiced. Tender shrimp, creamy cheesy grits, I was a happy camper.

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There’s a very large Irish presence in Newport. Most of whom are ancestors of the original indentured servants brought over to serve the wealthy and build their fabulous summer homes. The robber barons are gone, but the Irish remain. And because of that….you’re never very far from a decent pub.

😊

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Newport – Day 3…. more of that little summer cottage.

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Continuing our tour of the Breakers…

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We constantly had to remind ourselves to look up.

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Because no matter how beautiful the rooms were, the ceilings were equally lovely.

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Even small alcoves used to play cards…

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Had intricate overhead embellishment.

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The last room on the first floor tour of the “cottage” was the library.

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Yes, there were a few bookcases beside the 16th century French fireplace and chimney brought from the Chateau d’Arnay Le Duc …

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But even here it was more about seeing and being seen than actual reading.

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Up the back staircase…

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Was a balcony that ran around the entire top floor offering a view of the great hall below.

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Red seemed to be a popular color for bedrooms.

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And though the upstairs wasn’t quite as ornate as the down..

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It was still wall to wall marble.

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With decorative touches.

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Sore butt station.

Got it.

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Personally, this wallpaper gave me hives.

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But Gertrude seemed to like it.

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She might have been a cute child…

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But looked to be a battle ax in her later years.

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A photo outside the house during her wedding.

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This simpler green guest room was more soothing.

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And it had a lovely view.

Here’s my husband taking a picture…

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Of hangers.

He collects old wooden hangers you know.

🥴

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One more glimpse of the grand staircase from on high…

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And we moved on.

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Newport – Day 3…. in which we see how the other half lives.

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Newport, Rhode Island is famous for many things but no visit to the area is complete without touring the “cottages”.

And by cottages, I mean American castles.

Built by the fabulously wealthy of the Gilded Age they line the waterfront of Bellevue Avenue and are a testament to what life without property and income tax provided the robber barons of their day.

Grandest of the grand is The Breakers.

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Built by premier architect Richard Morris Hunt in 1893 for Cornelius Vanderbilt, it has 70 rooms and a total of 138,300 interior square feet.

Occupied for a short summer season of 6-8 weeks, the Newport “cottages” were the epitome of excess and a symbol of financial power in an era where the haves had a lot, and the have nots were laboring hard to keep them rich.

In true WTH? husband fashion, my spouse directed me to take a picture of the gutter at the front entrance.

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Walking through the colossal front doors, you enter the Great Hall.

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The largest room in the house….

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It’s 50 feet long by 50 feet high. And even though we’d just started our self guided tour, my husband found people to talk to.

Sigh.

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Vanderbilt children slid down these stairs on solid silver trays.

As one does.

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Under the stairs?

A fountain.

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Next door was the formal dining room, which was impressive enough for even my husband to break out his camera.

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It’s hard to imagine sitting down for your morning bowl of frosted flakes on Louis XV furniture, but to each their own.

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12 rose colored columns of solid alabaster draw your eye up to the beyond ornate detailing.

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And bracket what I’m assuming is the largest salad bowl ever.

Here’s a quick video for scale.

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I have to admit the Vanderbilt pool table is a little bigger than ours.

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And their hand cut marble mosaic walls and ceilings are a trifle more colorful than our man cave walls.

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Saying ooh and ahh is trite…

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But as you stroll through this place you simply can’t help yourself.

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Take the music room for example….

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Gold and silver leaf, crystal chandeliers, silk draperies. The walls, ceiling, floor and furniture were all built in France and imported to Newport for installation.

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The morning room.

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Just a comfy little nook for your first cup of Joe.

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And yes, that’s platinum on the walls.

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To be continued…

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