Tag Archives: Newport

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Newport – Day 2… Bellevue Avenue, Ocean Drive, Jamestown, some fabulous homes, berried beer and geese.

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Newport, Rhode Island is famous for its Gilded Age “cottages”. These stately mansions line the waterfront on an avenue appropriately named Bellevue… ‘beautiful view’ in French.

And cruising down that graceful tree lined avenue is indeed a beautiful thing.

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Ornate wrought iron gates guard impressive estates.

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Some are owned by the Preservation Society and open to the public …

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Some are still privately held.

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Some look like the Addams family could live there, but trust me… they’re all spectacular.

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It’s like stepping back in time.

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Before all those pesky taxes, regulations and workers unions ate into the homeowner’s stash of cash.

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We were told Larry Ellison (founder of Oracle) just bought two adjoining properties, tore one house down and is doing 150 million dollars worth of renovations to the other. In a city that worships its history, this is akin to wholesale slaughter.

Needless to say he will not be receiving a welcoming apple pie from his neighbors.

Continuing down Bellevue Ave, we took the scenic route on Ocean Drive.

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Where large waterfront homes and properties rule the day.

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Jay Leno has a big spread here.

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And is said to drive his cars around town, popping into local restaurants and pubs quietly and politely.

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This is a gorgeous area.

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Scenically beautiful.

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And if I had that kind of money?

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I’d live here too.

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Stone is a favored building material. And turrets are popular.

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Because who doesn’t love a turret?

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Continuing across the bridge, we headed for Jamestown.

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First established in 1678 by the Massachusetts Bay Company on Conanicut Island, it’s the second largest island in Narragansett Bay.

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And though it has impressive waterfront homes like Newport…

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It’s a quieter, more laid back, rural town.

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I’m not sure why you’d want a deck around your chimney, but these people did.

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The coastline is very similar to ours in Maine.

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And they do love their stone walls.

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Crossing another bridge, we ended the day at a brewery in Middletown.

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Where I had a blueberry beer with actual blueberries in the glass. Shame it didn’t taste anything like fruit.

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An old photo on the wall paid tribute to the popular beers of days gone by. And though we were surrounded by Narragansett Bay on all sides, and Narragansett beer was on every tap in every restaurant…. the brewery itself is inland, in Providence and run by a New York company.

Boo to that.

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After an excellent clam chowder and French onion start…

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And the annoying lack of adverbs, the meal was sub par and not close to photo worthy.

But on the drive back to the resort?

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The ever present geese.

They never disappoint.

😊

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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… 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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Let’s play.

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Don’t argue. It’s required…

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My parents were not vacation people and we never once loaded up the ‘62 Ford Falcon station wagon to hit the open road when I was a child.

Oh, there were wonderful day trips to the Jersey shore to swim and stroll the boardwalks… and overnighters in NYC so I could get my fill of dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History or stuff my face full of cotton candy at Madison Square Garden when Ringling Brothers was in town…. but a true road or airline trip vacation?

Nope. Never.

I can’t honestly say I felt deprived, when you grow up in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area there’s always plenty to see and do. And while we might have spent a few days in Connecticut or upstate NY with my parent’s friends on occasion, I wouldn’t really call that a ‘vacation’.

So as weird as it sounds, my first “real” vacation happened right after I got married at the ripe old age of 20. The husband and I were living in North Carolina where he was stationed when we jumped in his shiny black 280ZX with T Top removable roof panels … the ultimate in cool in 1984… and headed for Washington DC. I’d never been so we did all the typical tourist stuff – the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, The National Zoo, the Jefferson Memorial and of course there was the prerequisite sexy photo in front of the reflecting pool at the Washington Monument.

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Complete with stone washed denim and chunky silver link dangling belt. Oh to be that thin again. Sigh…

Done with the nations capitol, we headed to Newport Rhode Island where the husband had been stationed at the Naval War College years before.

Here’s a pic of his handsome self receiving a commendation for saving a young man’s life.

❤️

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I honestly don’t remember much about what we did in Newport other than visit the Breakers… that oh so cute and cozy cottage where the Vanderbilts used to summer.

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Those were the pre cell phone and selfie days where you had to rely on your husband to take a good picture and then wait a week to see if it turned out.

So that was my first real vacay.

How about you?

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