Sept. 20 – Going Home

We enjoyed our last breakfast at the inn. Portuguese sweet, bread French toast, sausage, muffins, mixed fruit, juice and coffee. I think I will miss having breakfast ready for me each morning. It was easy to get spoiled.

We did a little last minute packing and left for the airport. Our flights (Providence to Orlando and then Houston) were on time and very smooth. No last minute troubles this time.

We had a wonderful trip…enjoyed the cool weather, the people, the food and especially the boats. We will definitely need to spend more time in New England soon.

Final look at Newport - Bannister's Wharf

Bowen's Wharf

Sept. 19 - Wine Tasting

We started the morning with a spinach and cheese frittata, fried potatoes, bacon, fresh pineapple, cranberry bread, juice and coffee.

We walked back to the wharf one last time and went through the lobster house. We watched a lobster boat come in. The lobster boats are docked right next to the multimillion dollar yachts.

We stopped at Nikolas Pizza for lunch before driving out to Greenvale Vineyard. We ate our pizza at the restaurant, but realized after we got to the vineyard…we should have brought it with us as a picnic. The Vineyard was absolutely beautiful…as well as the day. Kyle and Bryt had called ahead and set us up with the Jazz Wine Tasting. We tasted six wines, took a tour of the vineyard, and relaxed on the lawn listening to music. What a great day. The Vineyard sits on 24 acres over looking the Sakonnet River (bay)…gorgeous.

Greenvale Vineyard

Scottish Highland Cattle (at Greenvale)

Stan relaxing at the vineyard

Stan & Susie at Greenvale Vineyards

It was such a pretty day we decided to go back to the Castle Hill Lighthouse. We took a trail down to the lighthouse from the resort. Stan relaxed in the Adirondack chairs watching the sailboats while I took pictures of the lighthouse.

We later moved over to the Castle Hill Resort lawn to watch the boats…we had a pretty lazy relaxing day. The lawn at the resort is a popular place to watch the sunset.

Castle Hill Lighthouse

Castle Hill Resort

View from the lawn

We had dinner at Busker’s Irish Pub. Stan had his usual salmon and I had the shepherd’s pie (not as good as mine). After dinner we headed back to the inn. Two other couples were visiting in the sitting room so we talked with them for an hour or so. We had a good time visiting with people on this trip.

Home tomorrow.

Sept. 18 – Boat Show

Another wonderful breakfast started our day. This morning it was raspberry peach pancakes, sausage, orange bread, honeydew melon and blueberries, juice and coffee.

The weather today was perfect…mid 70’s and a clear blue sky.  A perfect day to spend outside enjoying the boat show. We spent most of the day looking at the sailboats…big and small. If money was no object…we found the boat we would buy. We enjoyed talking to the owner of the 39 foot catamaran we fell in love with. Everyone we have met here is very friendly.

Seawind 1160

Bowen's Wharf

We spent time later in the day walking through the old colonial part of town. We went to the White Horse Tavern for a beer and clam chowder. It is the oldest tavern in the United States…built in 1673. Just think of all the people who have been through the doors and had a beer there.

White Horse Tavern

At the tavern

Trinity Church (founded in 1698)

Old Colony House (built in 1739)

Court House

Homes in Newport

One of  Newport's Fire Stations

We really enjoyed the wonderful New England fall day. We had dinner at Mamma Louisa, a small Italian restaurant located in an old house down the street from our inn. The food was good and we enjoyed visiting with people at the other tables….very friendly people here. We have even run into people from Texas.

Sept. 17 – Cliff Walk & Sightseeing

We started our morning again with another great breakfast. Crepes Eggs Benedict this morning served with bacon, fried potatoes, cantaloupe and raspberries, blueberry bread, juice and coffee. No lunch needed today either.

We did the ten mile scenic drive after breakfast, because it was a little cool out. It starts out going by the large mansions they have in town. These mansions were summer homes to the very rich and built at the end of the 1800’s. The drive then goes along the coastline and by several yacht clubs in the area. The mansions and regular homes in this area are amazing. We stopped at several places and walked in the sand, I even picked up a few shells.

View from Castle Hill Cove

Castle Hill Lighthouse

Castle Hill Resort

After our drive I did a little shopping…or looking actually. There are some cute shops in Newport. Stan wasn’t too interested so he stayed behind and took a nap. We then did the Cliff Walk; it runs along the eastern coastline and gives you a view of the large mansions from the back. Very impressive. We did about 2 miles of the walk…and then 2 miles back!

The Breakers

Coastline along the Cliff Walk (looking north)

Astors Beechwood Mansion

Coastline along the Cliff Walk (looking south)

We drove out to Sweet Berry Farm, a cute little farm that lets you pick your own fruit. Raspberries, blackberries, peaches and apples were ready. We picked the berries…very good. They also had a lot of pumpkins in the fields. Their little store was very cute.

Flowers at Sweet Berry Farm

Display on the store's porch at Sweet Berry Farm

Since we didn’t have lunch we ate dinner early at a place called Flo’s Clam Shack. I had fried clams and clam cakes and Stan had fish and chips. It was all good, but it’s been a long time since we have eaten fried food…so far it was our least favorite meal.

We spent the evening wandering around the wharf area and then watching TV. We were worn out from all the walking we did.

Sept. 16 – Stan’s Birthday

We started our day with a wonderful breakfast at the inn. Belgian waffles with berries, sausage, pineapple, banana nut bread, juice and coffee. Stan did a little business on the computer and then we were off to the International Yacht Restoration School, it is a school that teaches the techniques needed to restore wooden boats. Guests are welcomed to come through and see the work they are doing. Stan talked to some of the people there and we enjoyed seeing an 1885 Coronet…it is the oldest, largest and most original yacht still in existence. They have a lot of work yet to do.

We had planned to go out on an 80 foot schooner called Adirondack II, but they didn’t have enough people signed up for the sailing we wanted so we had to change our plans. We ended up going out on the 80 foot schooner Aquidneck. We had a great time, the boat can carry 46 passengers…but we only had 10 on our trip. Wonderful. Stan helped hoist the sails and then steer the boat. It was a great day for sailing…even though it was a bit chilly.

Since we had such a large breakfast, we skipped lunch. Instead we had a small bowl of clam chowder at a place called The Black Pearl after our sail. It was just enough to hold us over till dinner.

We spent the rest of the afternoon looking at boats and bumming around. When we returned to the inn there were a couple of birthday surprises for Stan. The inn made a small cake for him and we got an email from Kyle and Brytanie treating us to a Jazz Wine tasting at the Greenvale Vineyard on Saturday.

We had dinner at a funky little place called The Salvation Café. The food was wonderful…salmon, coconut rice, and crispy spinach for Stan and scallop and lobster risotto for me. It was a great day.

Stan hoisting the sail

Stan and Suie

Captain Stan

Schooner Aquidneck