Beautiful Newport, Rhode Island

Oh, but we've had a wonderful time here in Newport, Rhode Island visiting our daughter and son-in-law . . . what a charming little part of the USA this is.

Originally the "kids" were going to leave us a car to get around in while they headed off to work each day, but we quickly realized that walking wherever we wanted to go in this charming little town was the much better way to go. Between walking our grandpuppy, Hazel, each morning, plus the additional sightseeing we did on foot, I would guess we walked somewhere between 20-25 miles during our visit. I just love getting to know a new locale on foot. By getting around under our own steam we were better able to soak up the local atmosphere, see the town's charm up close, enjoy the brisk fall air, say "hello" to dozens of "townies," discover where the really good coffee houses are, and get a little taste of what living here full time might be like.

Our grandpuppy, Hazel, on squirrel patrol during one of our walks

We toured several of the famous Newport mansions - The Breakers, Marble House and The Elms, and came away with a whole new perspective of what life in the Gilded Age was like. (Holy smokes, life before income tax was apparently good!) In addition to the over-the-top decadence of the homes themselves, the tours provided different perspectives on what life here during the late 1800's /early 1900's was like, depending on whether one was a rich tycoon, the wife of a rich tycoon, a family member, a guest, or a servant. Each mansion was newly done up for the Christmas holidays, and they were all absolutely beautiful, particularly, most particularly the lushly decorated Breakers mansion.

The Marble House estate 

We walked along Newport's famous 3 1/2 mile Cliff Walk, which meanders past 64 mansions on one side, and the ocean cliffs of Newport on the other. Parts of the walk were recently damaged by Hurricane Sandy, but I'll confess that when we saw some locals bypass the fence meant to redirect people onto the street and around the damage, we followed suit and did same. And are glad we did. The storm damage appeared to be minimal, and we wouldn't have wanted to miss out on any portion of this gorgeous walking trail.

Nonstop views along The Cliffs walking trail

We enjoyed possibly the most delicious, amazing sandwiches we've ever enjoyed, at Rosemary and Thyme Boulangerie. I had The Mediterranean - grilled eggplant, sauteed spinach, roasted red peppers, sweet pepper relish, topped with oven roasted tomatoes and asiago cheese on a freshly baked baguette - sublime! Be sure to stop by if you are ever in Newport . . . I promise you will not be sorry.

We loved our time here, and we're sorry to be leaving. But the Christmas holiday season with all of it's festivities, plus a mid-December RV trip to seaside San Elijo, await us when we return to California, so we have lots of good things to look forward to.

(By the way, do I seem upbeat and happy most of the time in my posts? I hope so, because increasingly I am. And it's not because my life doesn't contain it's share of curve balls - it does - but, really, why dwell on those things I cannot change? More and more my philosophy these days is to simply deal and move on. Life is simply too short to waste precious time doing otherwise.)

I was captivated by the beautiful fall foliage on these trees

A more modest Newport home's front porch, charmingly done up for fall 

 Hazel and me at Fort Adams State Park, the largest coastal fortification in the United States. Hazel didn't care two hoots about the park, but she did love going into high alert over all the Canadian geese and squirrel  that were everywhere.