Tags
beach, boat, Boats, Del's Lemonade, ice cream, International Tennis Hall of Fame, kids, Lobster, Newport, Newport Bridge, Rhode Island
Wow! We had a very good day today. So many great opportunities for adventure (and lobster….and boats…and mansions)!!! Our plan for today was to go to the beach in Newport, have Del’s lemonade, and eat ice cream. But it turned into so much more than what we had planned….and so much better than we were expecting (and we were expecting it to be pretty awesome).
All three boys had a GREAT night of sleep…and that always makes for a better start to the day. We have started to struggle with being worn out a bit, and the sweet little guys are becoming a bit more irritable than normal. But this morning, was a great morning. All three boys enjoyed waking up slowly and spending time watching a movie on the iPad. I feel like there should be a “no fast wake ups” rule when on vacation. Our guys love a quiet morning.
Once we were all up and ready to head out, we started out on our drive to Rhode Island (the boys haven’t visited Rhode Island much and they don’t know much about the state). They did however know that we were planning to go to the beach and get ice cream.
We parked at a great beach, Easton’s beach in Newport. There weren’t many people, there was a Del’s lemonade truck on the board walk, it was clean (oh goodness after our Staten Island adventure I am SO glad it was clean), and it is adjacent to Newport’s famous Cliff Walk.
After our first Del’s lemonade, we headed to the Cliff Walk. A 1.7 mile walk along the rocky coast of Rhode Island is a great way to start the morning…we may become beach bums, open a good truck, and move to the beach. (I haven’t actually talked to the hubby about that plan, but I can promise you that throw in a kayak rental company and he would be all in!)
Can we just talk about mansions??? We toured one mansion…and it was amazing. Not necessarily the, “I want to live there kind of amazing”…more the…”OH MY WORD, people love like this??” Kind of amazing. And to think, many of the mansions are just summer houses. Here’s the thing, the upkeep of those mansions…with fifty rooms…just sitting there empty, have to be expensive. As we walked through, my mind wandered about all of the ways we could change the world (or at least a piece of the world) with a gigantic mansion. A home for displaced kids, a place for people with special needs, a hostel for women fleeing domestic violence. But instead, the houses are open as museums, where we celebrate history (and wealth). I value the history, I struggle with how much history and how many houses need to be empty…and maintained. No pictures were allowed inside, but we can confirm, that Marble House is as extravagant as it sounds…and the value of the house is only a portion of what the items in the house must be worth. The boys loved the Asian inspired tea house in the back yard, and I loved the Camperdown Elm Trees.
Lunch…oh my word…lunch. We are over looking the exhibition grass court of the International Tennis Hall of Fame…and had an undressed Lobster roll. A-MA-ZING.
As if a beautiful walk and mansions weren’t enough, we also had time to play on the beach!!
After playing on the beach we had an even better and really special surprise! A boat ride with my dad’s Cousin ‘C’. The boys took quickly to “Uncle C” and LOVED his boat. I mean, they LOVED the boat. (But then…it has a bed…a kitchen…a table…a shower AND a toilet, fold down steps, AND plenty of benches for little boys to explore. There is no doubt that our Florida boys are water boys. They adore being on the water and were super excited about their boat rid (and the predinner ice cream, Newport Bridge, HUGE yachts and sailboats, boat races, barges, light houses, lobster pots, water taxis…and so much more!)
As the day closed, I just kept reminding myself how truly blessed we have been on this trip. The opportunities our family has had in the last few weeks will be treasured memories. Our boys will return to school with endless stories to tell their teachers and their friends. I am so fortunate to have the boys that I have…and a husband who loves adventure as much as I do. Today was a good reminder of how even a simple day, can turn into an amazing day…when the pieces all fall together.