April 2023
I realized in Massachusetts that I had not made it to Rhode Island and could not remember if I was there in the past (pretty sure I went to Providence years ago) so backtracked south to Newport. Not only did I really love the town, I met this fabulous couple, Sara and Steve who live in Buffalo, NY. I ended up spending some time with them, including a night nature walk in the Norman Bird Sanctuary which Sara found. We learned all about Peeper frogs which gave me the one bit of knowledge I could impart to Barbara and Ryan when I arrived at their place in New Hampshire as could hear them making their mating calls at their place. I did not see much in the way of poverty which I understand is concentrated in Providence. The state overall falls in the middle of the scale between Maine and Iowa. It is a small state and I decided to skip Providence having been discouraged from going there by others as falling into the not worth a visit category. I found people to be friendly and willing to strike up a conversation and the area overall felt safe walking day and night.
WATCH HILL. I drove here first to start my drive along the coast. There is a nice beach and some mostly closed restaurants and shops – still off season – and of course some very large homes. I understand Taylor Swift has a place here as well.
NEWPORT. Loved this quaint seaside town with a fantastic Cliff Walk. I stayed at the Marshall Slocum Inn which was walking distance to everything, had easy parking and really good coffee. My first room was a bit interesting as the bathroom was up a narrow spiral staircase, the kind you would find in a ship – decided to not drink too much water that night. I walked along Bellevue Avenue by all the mansions, most of which were closed for the season, and made my way to the end of the Cliff Walk to return along the shore and taking a detour through the Salve Regina University campus. The whole walk is beautiful and it was fun to scramble among the rocks. On my way back I had a great breakfast at Cru Café. On my first night I ate at Bar ‘Cino which has a lively atmosphere and met some fun folks from the area and learned Newport is provincial, sort of like Sausalito.
