Our Vacation Report: Newport, Rhode Island - Day 1

Did you guess right? (Actually, only CT Girl in KS guessed right...but, then again, she's from Connecticut so she kind of had an advantage!)

Given our circumstances (on the East Coast for a limited time, a young family with two children under the age of 3) we're going to try to do as many road trips as possible during the next year or two. Three hours of driving seems a manageable distance for our little family (possibly with a little McD's break in the middle so we can all catch a meal and stretch our legs), and driving is preferable to flying. (The last time we flew with BBJ, she demanded - at 36,000 feet - that I open the door and Let. Her. Out. She didn't take kindly to my refusal to cooperate.)



Newport, Rhode Island fit the bill! At a mere 2 hours and 45 minutes, we were able to spend about half a day on the travel. On Monday morning, we all woke up, finished the packing, gave Siu Jeun his morning nap...and we were off!



Straight into a Rain Storm. Anyone out here in the Tri-State area probably remembers what I am talking about. Our little Honda was sliding on the corners, and chugging up the hills, but we stayed on the road and persevered, laughing nearly the whole way. (It's amazing - two grown adults can break down into fits of nervous giggles...especially when they have just survived their second or third skid through a freeway puddle.)



We rolled into Newport around 3 in the afternoon and checked into our hotel. (Here's the part where I start giving you tips on Doing Newport.) If you can, please go stay at the Admiral Fitzroy Inn (398 Thames Street). We got a great deal - they have two night packages that really sweeten the pot. Our package included a large room (one queen bed, one day bed with a trundle), a gas card and a gift certificate to Red Parrot, a restaurant located about two blocks from the hotel. (I want to add that the gift certificate to Red Parrot wasn't part of the original deal - a gift certificate to a much swankier restaurant was switched to this family friendly establishment, at the suggestion of the Inn Keeper, Angela. She really thought of every detail for us!)



When we arrived in our room, I was pleased with how cute it was, without feeling overly-cheesy. It was clean, and large, with a sweet, white bathroom. Angela had made sure there was a small crib in our room for Siu Jeun, complete with sheets and a small baby blanket. (Have you ever stayed in a hotel where they kept baby blankets around??! Me neither.) We were happy to find the small refrigerator in the room (to store snacks for BBJ, and leftovers from meals to snack on later) and BBJ was thrilled to find two small chocolates waiting on the table for her.



Other packages at the Admiral Fitzroy Inn include a Knitters Package (includes a small kit of yarn and directions to sew a small project during your stay), Special Occasion (with appropriate fruit and bubbly), and Mansion Package (includes a ticket that will grant you entry to any one of the open mansions).



Seeing as it was pouring buckets, we loaded back into the car and headed down the street to check out the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Lo Gung, if you don't already know, loves tennis. The museum did not disappoint! (Well, it disappointed Lo Gung, but it wasn't really their fault. You see, Monica Seles is set to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, but her induction ceremony isn't until July...so none of her trophies, etc. are on display yet. So...Lo Gung was disappointed...because Miss Monica is just his favorite.)


(Tennis Hall of Fame, Grass Courts. If you are ever in Newport during the summer months, you can contact the Tennis Hall of Fame to reserve one of these grass courts! I've heard that playing on grass is quite different from playing on a normal hard court.)

(It was a dark and stormy day, y'all!)

(Lo Gung loves him some Monica Seles gear!)

(Training BBJ up right- that's Monica Seles she's pointing at. Even without her display up, there were still a few glimpses of Monica's name here and there. Apparently, someone from the Hall of Fame was in Monica's home a few weeks ago, packing up her 60+ trophies to prepare a display in her honor, to coincide with her induction in July.)

(More Grass Courts)



After the International Tennis Hall of Fame, it was still raining...and Miss BBJ still hadn't taken a nap. Seeing as it was only 4 pm, and too early for dinner, we decided to take a turn around Newport, by way of the Ocean Drive. This road skirts the coastline, giving fabulous views of both the beautiful ocean and the fabulous houses and farms that overlook it.

When it's sunny, that is.

(The ocean, splashing up onto the road.)

(BBJ did eventually take a nap...)

(A puddle, similar to this one, eventually caused us to turn around. We weren't sure our fabulous, gas-efficient LITTLE Honda could traverse the 5" deep pond that blocked our way!)

We returned to our Inn, and Lo Gung went out to hunt and gather (read: order pizza and bring it back). He was pointed toward Brick Oven Pizza by our Inn Keeper. The food was decent, if a little pricey. Lo Gung and BBJ split a Hawaiian pizza while I dined on a falafal wrap that weighed about 3 pounds.

And then it was night time. This, honestly, was the only part of the trip that I WASN'T looking forward to...and BBJ delivered.

I nursed Siu Jeun and got him settled into bed at 8:30. So far, so good.

We spent the next two hours cajoling, threatening and bribing BBJ to stay in bed. This all culminated with a small "attitude adjustment" in the hallway with Daddy at 10:15. She settled down after that, and went to sleep.

I have to keep it real, here: I do believe there was some Divine Help in the execution of this trip.

1) We successfully, and safely, navigated the freeways and backways, through the driving rain, and only "hydroplaned" twice.

2) Siu Jeun and I both woke up on Monday still sick with the colds we had caught the previous week. By that evening, both of us were sniffle free. (Yes, I prayed for this specifically. I wasn't sure I could deal with sharing a room with BBJ AND a sick baby.)

3) At no point during the trip did BBJ throw a tantrum. She ignored our directions, talked over tour guides and crawled around on the floor like a puppy, but at no point did she scream and cry for an extended period of time. (Come on, she's two! There was crying, but we were able to nip the tantrums in the bud. Yes, there was candy involved. It was vacation, and we wanted to enjoy ourselves! Here's my advice if you're traveling with toddlers - save all your bribing mojo for your vacations!)

4) Siu Jeun slept through all of BBJ's tears and screaming that first night. I was most concerned that BBJ would wake up the baby...and she never did. To return the favor, when Siu Jeun woke up two or three times that night to eat, he never woke up his sister...even though they were sleeping only a few feet apart.

5) Due to the rain, we pretty much had the museum to ourselves. BBJ was free to roam, touch, poke, push, yell...the only people we saw were the Hall of Fame staff, and they just smiled and kept walking. It was such a relief to let her just be her.

Stay tuned for Day 2! We're going to visit some "Princess Houses."