Newport, Rhode Island

8:01 am - Monday - October 1st - Smithfield, RI - 56º F, 100% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the south by southwest.......sunny now, but rain on the way by 2 pm.

The weather Sunday was perfect!  It was definitely worthy of our t-shirt, shorts and flip flops attire.  We spent the morning watching the final round 12 Ryder Cup singles matches.  By 11 am it was obvious that the European team would win, and it was at that time we got dressed and headed out to visit Newport for the afternoon for some more sightseeing.  

The drive down to Newport takes about an hour, but it was a great day for a drive.  Our first stop was in Jamestown at the 3rd oldest lighthouse in North America....Beavertail Lighthouse and Museum......first activated in 1749!

7th order Fresnel lens....about 3-4 feet tall

Unlike later lighthouses, this one was square

The original lighthouse was octagonal, as the uncovered foundation revealed

You can just see a Princess Lines cruise ship in the deep background

....frankly, if we had thought about bringing our beach chairs I would have been happy to spend an hour just watching the sailboats and the ocean as literally dozens of people were doing.  From there we drove into old town Newport (est. 1639) to drive around, walk around and have lunch.  As we drove down the one way street we passed an Irish pub called O'Brien's, and decided on the spot to find a parking place and have lunch there....it was a good decision!

The $4 (each way) toll bridge into and out of Newport

They have a water feature in the middle of the outdoor dining area which is filled with 'floaty' toys for kids to enjoy

I ordered pint of their Red Ale, and TLE a pint of the seasonal Samuel Adams Octoberfest.....for our entrees we each ordered a salad.....Chicken Caesar, and for TLE their Greek salad.....both Yelp and Tripadvisor only give them 3.5 stars, but we would be more in the neighborhood of a solid 4 stars......great food, great ambiance and wonderful, attentive service.....is there anything I missed?

There's that cruise ship again

.....our next stop was Fort Adams, named for President John Adams.  It was first garrisoned in 1841, and formed an integral part of the U.S. coastal defenses.....

The Princess Cruise ship up close and personal from Fort Adams

 It took 8 men to handle each of these Seacoast 32-pounder cannon.....there were 100 of them in addition to 57  24-pounder Seacost cannon, and 42 24-pounder flank howitzers

 Construction of Fort Adams was completed in 1841.  Its namesake was John Adams, our sixth POTUS

.......our next stop was mansion row......many of these mansions were built in the 1800's.  The well known 'Marble House' was built for the William K. Vanderbilts between 1888 and 1892.....you can go on tours of the grounds and the insides of a number of these old mansions, but it costs $35/adult......no thank you......

Being renovated

The 'Breakers' Mansion today....completed in 1895  for, whom else, the  Vanderbilts

How it looked in 1895

.....by 3:45 pm we were ready to head for home.  Newport and evirons is quite beautiful, and has some quite spectacular coastline.  It is definitely worth a day, or two of sightseeing.  We were home just before 5 pm with smiles on our faces.  A great day spent with my best friend.....how does it get any better than that?

Thanks for stopping by!

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