I've been calling this whole trip our New England road trip. I know, I know...not all of these places are in New England. But we really did go to New England. From New Jersey we drove through Connecticut and Rhode Island, and I fell in love. Our first stop was Mystic, Connecticut, which is a darling little harbor town on the southern coast of Connecticut.
It's pretty apparent already that I have an obsession with bridges. This town had a drawbridge, which was even cooler. We got to watch it in action twice, and it was very entertaining.
The opposite side had these giant weights that balanced out the weight of the bridge while it was up.
We had lunch right on the river and walked around a bit. I love these small coastal towns!
From there, we headed to Newport, Rhode Island which was probably my favorite place that we visited. Top 5 for sure. We crossed this huge suspension bridge to get there, and had a great view of all the sailboats in the harbor. I regret not having gone sailing on this trip. I also regret not having done a lot of things. There just wasn't time to do all the cool things the Northeast has to offer.
We visited this structure in Newport, which is apparently the subject of quite a bit of controversy. It's commonly thought to be a windmill built in the 17th century, but there's also speculation that it's older and was a stone mill or observatory or lighthouse or watchtower. Regardless, it's old and cool.
We made our way down to the water and walked along the Ocean Walk, which is a trail that follows the coastline and has fabulous ocean views and mansion views. It's super long, though, and it was getting dark so we didn't make it very far.
How 'bout that wind, am I right?
Newport is famous for its historic mansions, so we drove around and saw as many as we could. They were impressive and fabulous. Many of these were built as summer getaways for the wealthy in New York City mostly in the 1800s. Several of them have been restored and are open for tours, but many are still private residences. We were too late to tour any of them, but their curb appeal is plenty impressive.
Sister Van Wagenen suggested a restaurant there that had the best lobster roll she'd ever had so that's where we went for dinner. As an appetizer, we had this....thing. I can't remember what it's called or even what it was but it was different and good. Does anyone recognize it just by the picture? Then we had the lobster roll, which was also good.
I could've spent several days in Newport, just because it had a great historical and laidback feel to it. I can totally see visiting this place every summer to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
That night we stayed with my friend Melissa Kotter's parents in Warwick, RI. This was another example of a generous family who I didn't know at all - I'm not even really that close with Melissa. We had a lot of classes together in college and became friends in class, but I didn't even have her phone number before this trip. But when we were asking around to see if anyone had a place we could stay, she offered her parents' house and they were extremely hospitable and gracious hosts, as were all the others that we stayed with. They made us a delicious breakfast in the morning, gave us some tips for our visit to Boston, and provided a comfortable place for us to spend the night. We really enjoyed our time with them.
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