First, Shawn and I woke up early to enjoy the breakfast buffet at our hotel. Then we did some exploring, walking down to the Bowen's Wharf to get our tickets for our 10 a.m. harbor sail. When we arrived to check in to our cruise, Shawn was surprised to learn I had purchased $30 tickets on a cruise with 20 other people instead of a $200 solo cruise, which is what he would have booked if he had been in charge. I can't think of something that better illustrates the differences between Shawn and me and how we view the world (and our bank accounts). A solo trip around the harbor would have been lovely, but it was totally unnecessary. We were perfectly content sitting on a boat with other people, drinking mimosa and snapping photos of the views. Shawn would have blown $200 more than me just for a personalized trip. When he realized what had happened, he admitted that this was why I was in charge of booking these sorts of things from now on. Enough said.
We were a little early for our sail, so we wandered around the wharf for a little bit. It was just opening up and there wasn't much activity, but we did find a small coffee shop tucked away at the end of one of the docks. Turns out, one of Shawn's friends knows the owner, and she made us two ridiculously amazing lattes, which we drank while sitting on Adirondack chairs on the dock, admiring the yachts in port.
Our sail was fun and beautiful. We had some wind, but the boat had to rely on its engines to get us back into port in time for the next cruise to leave. We drank mimosas and learned about some of the fascinating history of the area, including the waterside farm Jackie Kennedy's family used to own, the unique house owned by Joseph Wharton in Jamestown and a very cool self-sufficient house on an island with a three-year waiting list to rent.
It was about noon when we made it back to land, the perfect time for lunch! We ordered two lobster rolls (one hot, one cold) and giant drinks from the lobster place right at the end of the wharf, Aquidneck Lobster Co. The restaurant had been recommended to us by several people, and it was no surprise! The lobster was yummy, but we both agreed we liked the cold lobster more. And for some reason, Newport restaurants put dill on everything! I'm not a huge dill fan, so I'm not sure if I can deal with this this weekend.
After lunch, we walked back up the hill to our hotel. We had a lot of alcohol and lobster rolling around in our stomachs, so we decided to take a nap. When we woke up a few hours later, it felt like a brand new day!
Despite the fact that it was really hot outside, we decided to walk to the Cliff Walk. Well, Shawn decided that we would walk and somehow I thought maybe we would take a cab. But, after walking a few blocks, I realized we were really walking...and I sucked it up and walked the rest of the way with
We got back to the hotel, showered, and got ready for dinner. We trekked back down to Bowen's Wharf, this time I was in heels, which was the worst idea, ever. Actually, second worst. The first was wearing Toms with almost no support on our epic walk of Newport. But, more on that later....
We managed to snag seats at a busy bar at a waterside restaurant near where our sailing excursion had departed in the morning. It felt like so long ago! We ordered drinks and a cheese plate -- ensuring that by the time we got to dinner we were already well on our way to being full!
For dinner, we walked down America's Cup Ave to The Mooring, one of Newport's premiere restaurants. We sat out back on a porch overlooking the dock as the sun set. We ordered oysters, lobster from the raw bar, chowder and salad to start, then I ordered scallops and Shawn got surf and turf. We were basically full by the time our entrees arrived (the amazing bread didn't help, either) but we managed to force it down. There was no room for dessert though. We had to go home!
On our way home, through the dark and busy streets of Newport, I took off my shoes -- my feet were too beat up from the day of walking around Newport. I've also been battling a crazy cramp in my calf. I woke up on Thursday morning with it and it's still bothering me. I think it's happening because I've been walking around in my Toms, and today didn't help!
Despite the leg cramps and blisters, I'm enjoying our time in Newport so far. It's been peaceful and romantic and sweet to spend a little one on one time with my hubby. A girl could get used to this.
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