Rhode Island

[I'm still over a week behind, but I'm trying to catch up!]

So I rode the commuter train from Boston into Rhode Island (not terribly exciting). My good friend and recent CGU alum, Elise, picked me up for a quick weekend getaway in RI. First, she drove me around Providence and through the Brown University campus where she works. We grabbed a bite to eat near the college at a little pizza place that had a wide selection of odd pizzas. I passed on some of the more obscure (one with ground beef, sour cream, cheddar cheese and tortilla chips, another with steak and some kind of brown sauce), and went with a piece of pesto tortellini (yes, pesto sauce and cheese tortellini on the pizza), and a piece of chicken parmagiana pizza. I was in pizza heaven! Then, we drove through some of the more exclusive neighborhoods in Providence - the architecture was amazing and the houses were beautiful.

So, the median lines in the road were decorated in different neighborhoods. In one area, it was painted red, white, and blue (presumably from the 4th celebration), in another it was red, white, and green (an Italian community) – very festive, and not something I’ve ever seen in California.

There are a lot of “firsts” in Rhode Island – the first 4th of July celebration (that one might be longest running, rather than first), the site of the first democracy on US soil, the first American synagogue, the first place to claim to be "first" of anything...

On Saturday, we headed out to Newport, with a quick pitstop in Portsmouth, where my friend grew up. Her parent's place was adorable and she even had a window seat in her (old) room that overlooked the ocean - I would have died for such a place when I was young!

Once in Newport (which is on one of Rhode Island's many islands), we parked near the marina and walked down the water front. It was a beautiful day, and although the streets were fairly busy with pedestrians and cars, it wasn't too crowded. As we strolled down the street, I got my first glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean. (it looked a lot like the Pacific) We grabbed a bite to eat at the Brick Alley Pub (yum!), and enjoyed the weather at our table on the patio.

After lunch, we drove through the "nicer" side of Newport - where the multi-million dollar homes are. These houses were HUGE and some of them had incredible views of the ocean. Elise mentioned that Nicholas Cage recently bought a home in that area for something in the neighborhood of 20 million dollars (!). Our drive took us past the rocky part of the coast, and past Brenton Point, where the sky was filled with kites. I don't think I've ever seen so many kites at one time! The pictures don't even come close to doing it justice, but here's my best attempt (all of those little specks are kites):

Eventually, we drove around the island to the "beachy" section, which was packed! We decided to wander the cliffwalk - a long path winding around the coast of the island. It was a great way for me to see the Atlantic Ocean up-close (and unfortunately, smell the Atlantic Ocean up close - it was particularly stinky - Elise said it was because of the seaweed and there being no offshore windflows, or something). There was a section of ocean where there were a dozen or so surfers - I'm not sure why I was surprised - as if surfing is a solely California thing to do! Anyways, here is one of my Atlantic pictures...


After the day in Newport, Elise and I grabbed some Italian take out and relaxed in front of the TV with a movie. It was a great way to end the day!