This trip took a tad longer than three hours but I chose the longer route via I-84 versus I-95. I-95 traffic on a holiday weekend was to be avoided at all costs. And when I return home Monday, I'll avoid it again. The drive was more scenic and the traffic was on the moderate to heavy side but it moved with very few slowdowns. This four day, three night excursion brought me together with Florida friends, Vicki/George and Trish/Craig.
This campground is quite unique. It's an old family owned parcel just a mile from the ocean with mostly seasonal rigs packed as close together as I've ever seen. Around me, if I were to walk a square of one hundred steps, I'd count six RVs within. The standout feature, however, from this "coziness" was the friendliness of all the occupants in the surrounding rigs. After a cheerful greeting and the usual small talk regarding each of our home states/cities, I found them friendly and was comfortable to be in such close quarters. Ken, behind me has a son who graduated Marist College in 1995. Behind C/T was Jim and his wife, who have been seasonal there for twenty years. In January, after winterizing, they drive down and spend four months in South Carolina. My first night's dinner was at C/T's next door. Grilled chicken, zucchini and salad from Trish, baked potatoes and fresh corn on the cob from V/G; all done to perfection and delicious. My contribution? Wine.
Views of surrounding RVs show their close proximity. With the daily excursions into Newport and/or the beach during my short time here, it's of no consequence. With temps dropping down into the 60's, sleeping is comfortable with heat kicking in now and then, My thermostat is set for 67°.
Just in front of my site #41 is a graveyard listed by the Rhode Island Historical Cemetery - Middletown, number 22 in its register. In 1890, a RH Richardson found 18 stones with inscriptions from 1697 to 1830. Most of this cemetery has been destroyed except for what is seen in the photos below.  |
| Edward Tew - 1776 |
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| Just about visible are the members of the Tew family and their ages at the time of passing. |
Just down the street from the campground on Prospect Avenue is another historic site. Boyd's Windmill, also known as Boyd's Wind Grist Mill. From Wikipedia, I learned that it's "a historic smock mill at Paradise Valley Park on Prospect Avenue in Middletown, Rhode Island. John Peterson built the windmill on Old Mill Lane in Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 1810, and William Boyd purchased it in 1815. It originally had four common sails, but four more were added by the family. The mill is a timber-frame structure, octagonal in shape, and about 30 feet (9.1 m) tall, with a rotating cap powered by eight vanes with canvas sheets. The grindstones in the middle of the mill are Fall River granite; the upper one, which is connected to the power mechanisms, rotates six times for each turn of the mill's main shaft. In 1916 Benjamin Boyd removed the original vanes and powered the mill using a gasoline engine. It is one of only two historic windmills (out of what was estimated to be more than thirty) to survive on Aquidneck Island"
The windmill was restored by the Middletown Historical Society after receiving it as a donation in 1990 and moving it to Paradise Valley Park in Middletown. The windmill is open to the public on Sunday afternoons in July, August and September."
On Saturday as we entered Newport, I, as passenger was able to capture some of the charming houses that makes touring Newport so special.
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| Our first stop was to the Travel Center to pick up tickets for the 12:30 Viking Narrated Trolley Tour No. 2, the "Grand Mansion" Tour. Too late, sold out. So we opted for the 3:00 pm Tour No. 1, the "Scenic Overview." |
With lots of time on our hands, we set out southward into the area loaded with shops and restaurants
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| Walking down Bowen's Wharf |
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| A kiosk for purchasing boat tours |
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| Hmm. Must be a holiday weekend. |
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| The Block Island/Newport Hydrofoil |
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| White walled tires? Dems waz da days. |
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| The International Yacht Restoration Society's Regatta |
Our mini-tour brought us up to lunch time and we chose the Clark Cooke House for our mid-day meal.
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| We sat up on the second floor |
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| Tourist on a day pass |
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| Trish |
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| ??? A pale ale ??? |
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| My caretaker from the Home |
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| Smoked turkey on Tuscan Bread with Portobello mushroom, Swiss cheese, tomato, Bermuda onion and Dijon mustard served with mixed greens and herb vinaigrette. |
Wall to wall traffic crept along Thames Street on this busy, crowded Labor Day weekend. We were treated to many interesting sights; people walking by of every shape, size, color and ethnicity but the pristine Crown Victoria was a special treat.
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| Owner declined George's offer to buy it. |
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| At 2:45 it was time to board for our 1½ hour trolley tour. |
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| 50-room Ochre Court now a part of Salve Regina University. |
We were fortunate to have Ray for our 3
For our evening meal, the ladies prepared and served a most delicious assortment of finger foods. We drove a mile or two to Sachuest (Indian origin: "little hill at the outlet") Beach, locally known as "Second Beach," a south facing, mile long public beach where surfing is popular and the sand is of a fine grain. A table was set up and dining outdoors on the beach was the perfect ending of a great day.
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| Counted nine life guard towers along this beach. Following is a 180° degree sweep of the horizon. |
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In the distance, Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge |
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| Cheeses, crackers, humus, mozzarella balls, tuna fish and egg salad sandwiches on croissants. Alcohol wasn't allowed on the beach, so instead we brought Jess Jackson and his wife Jane Kendall Wadlow as guests. |
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| "Pink skies at night, sailors delight. Pink skies in morning, sailors take warning." |
Sunday, the American Constitution of the American Cruise Line is due into Newport Harbor at Fort Adams. Tenders will bring passengers across the harbor to dock and the local shops will enjoy one last hurrah realizing income that will last them through the winter months. So our trip today into Newport was unknowingly well planned.
We spent our Sunday afternoon at nearby Newport Vineyards where we enjoyed our wine and a delicious lunch that boasts a "farm fresh, 100% from scratch" menu. We had a wait for our table so we enjoyed the grounds overlooking 50 acres of vines spread out over 100+ acres of preserved farmland. |
| Waiting on line... |
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| ...for a very nice pour; 3 Chards and 1 Cab. Thank you, Craig. |
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| Entertainment all afternoon provided by Cee Cee & the Raiders A female fronted blues band playing classic and original blues out of southern Rhode Island. |
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| Leslie "CeeCee" Grimes - Vocals "BigCat" Matt Bruneau - Lead and Slide Guitar David "Hollywood" Underwood - Drums |
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| A beautiful day for an enjoyable relaxing experience. (No, I don't know who they are) |
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| So neatly pruned and well taken care of. Newport Vineyard became a reality for the Nunes Family in 1995. |
Finally, we were summoned that our table was available and in we went.
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| Terrific chalk art work greeted us at every turn. |
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| The view outside from our table |
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| View into the rest of the dining room with our handlebar mustached waiter on is way to us with Trish's "Wine Flight." |
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| A "Wine Flight" is your choice of any four Newport Vineyard wines for your personal tasting. |
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| Our LEFT HANDED waiter soon brought Vicki her.... |
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| "Beer Flight". Yes, this winery also brews their own beer. You choose any four of the nine they brew. |
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| I stuck with the Chardonnay: "Burgundian in style, with crisp pear and apple flavors and a long clean finish." |
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| My choice for lunch was the Thai Chicken Salad Wrap: Curried chicken salad, peanut sauce, arugula in a spinach wrap. |
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| The table shared five seasonal assorted cheeses, fruits, nuts, honeycomb, jams and bread. |
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| The Cheesy Details: Bloomy, Firm, Rustic, Funky & The Blues What we chose is listed below. |
Bloomy - the Simmons Farm Infused Chevre, from Middletown, RI. Goat's milk, pasteurized and infused in our kitchens with house-grown herbs.
Firm - Ubriaco Pinot Rose, from Oderzo, Veneto. Pasteurized cow's milk, aged, rose-rinded wheel bathed in sparkling wine. A fruity arma, buttery-sweet white wine flavor.
Funky - Don't remember which cheese we chose. It was one of the two that follow:
Morn Dew, from Pylle, Somerset. Pasteurized Cow’s milk, made with Guernsey cow milk. Washed and aged for 3 months; springy texture that has bold, nutty, fruity flavors.
or
Durrus - From Durrus West Cork. Raw Cow’s milk. Gentle, sweet, from Jeffa Gill in County Cork, Ireland. One of the last makers using raw milk.
Rustic - Devonshire Red from Newton St. Cyres. Pasteurized Cow’s milk. Earthy aromas of freshly-mown grass, wet soil with notes of horseradish, brown mustard and toasted nuts.
The Blues - Bayley Hazen Blue from Greensboro, VT. Raw Cow’s milk from the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont (rumored to have more cows than people). Paste is drier than most blues, with deep pockets of blue-grey mold. Rich yet subdued floors of hazelnut, dark chocolate and licorice spice; aged 4 months.
Geeze, that was as complex and confusing as a wine-tasting session. One platter, five different flavors mixed with an assortment of nuts, fruits and jams. I never gave "tasting" thoughts to cheeses but that's another world enjoyed by a great many people. For me? Tasty and filling. So happy to have been able to experience it.
To conclude the trip to the brewer/winery, some photos of the other parts of this well run, clean and efficient operation.
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| The lines out the door was for the tour and wine tastings on a first come, first served basis. We just came for the lunch and were allowed right in. |
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| We still had an hour before a seat so we looked around. |
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| Wine Bar |
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| Another beautiful chalk mural. |
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| Wine or beer? "What does it matter." |
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| See above |
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| Bottling Machine |
Thank you, Craig for lunch and so ends another adventure where, thanks (again) to T/C who chauffeured. It allowed me the sights, sounds and memories I would not have been able to enjoy on my own. As I read this blog and prepare to post it, I'm amazed at what I/we squeezed into a three day stay. Trish/Craig hope to be on the road by 8:00 am and Vicki/George probably soon after. Checkout time here is 11 am. It's Labor Day Monday and one can only imagine what the traffic will be like. As mentioned earlier, I'll avoid I-95 at all costs and won't bore anyone with the gory details of that decision. I'll be home but four day to stock up and replenish supplies before taking off to join my Hudson Islanders friends at the Catskill Adventure Resort in Wurtsboro. My stay there will be cut short as I will then head to Maine via New Hampshire. My remaining itinerary is available with this link.
I have a few finishing touches (calling/reserving/deposits) to my 2020 Winter Adventure before I can post but it's well on its way to completion. Thanks for spending the time with me here in Newport, RI. It was a wonderful but short three days with V/G and T/C. To them, safe travels and stay well.
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