Rhode Island – seafood and old money

Newport, RI

Thank goodness, today dawned clear and sunny (if a little on the windy side) – hard to imagine where all that rain went. Still it was very welcome to be digging the sunglasses and short sleeves out once more.

We decided to make some tracks this morning heading south and get clear of Boston ASAP. The problem was everything electronic wanted to send us through Boston and we weren’t so keen on those city freeways. So I decided to stay on the I-95 which looped around Boston, much to the absolute annoyance of Emily, whom for a full 20 minutes tried to make me quit that interstate for the one of her choice. Eventually she gave in and despite all that stubbornness she added a mere 15 mins to our estimated time. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t avoid the Boston jams for 15 mins of free, clear driving.

To celebrate we stopped in a rest area that turned out to be our first McDonalds of the trip, though only for liquid refreshment. The car also partook of some premium unleaded – to fill a big SUV like ours from 1/4 a tank took $35 – not much more than 20 quid. No wonder they don’t mind 25mpg and no sign of any diesel.

Not much more than an hour later and we were pulling into the Sea Whale Motel in Newport, Rhode Island. I haven’t mentioned the other places we stayed because they were pretty much faceless, corporate hotel chains – pleasant enough, but the only way you could tell you’d changed hotels was the way the beds were positioned. The Sea Whale is a proper motel with the car right outside and an excellent view from our picture window over the Easton Pond.

But we didn’t hang about – just enough time to unload the car then back in to Newport town proper. It was packed. We were lucky to get a parking spot it was so busy. Turns out there’s a seafood festival this weekend plus the Newport marathon tomorrow and everyone is in town. No wonder our motel is full. But we strolled round a very pleasant Newport for a couple of hours, then headed out up the hill to take a look at the famous mansions and the clifftop walk. If you don’t know, Newport is where the likes of the Vanderbilts (and other New York and Boston money) built their holiday homes – in the shape of gigantic mansions perched on the clifftops. It was like Prestbury-on-sea! After a good nose round we headed home, with only a quick detour to Wendys for some tea. I wouldn’t bother normally, but it’s called Wendys – it’s compulsory for us to visit!