Newport, RI

OK, having heard the opinions of my loyal readers, I am actually updating my blog with a REAL update. Of course, to be able to do this, I had to get off my big fat bum and go do something so that I actually have something to write about.

This past weekend was just the most perfect weekend that I think we've had this year. Blue skies. Temperature in the 70's. And a woman with the need to do something blog-worthy. With such a perfect combination, I knew something good was about to happen.

I hopped into my car bright and early and headed to the land of the rich and famous...Newport, RI. It was a beautiful drive to an incredibly beautiful spot...one of my very favorite ever. I decided to skip the mansions, after all, I've seen several of them before. I decided to be healthy while enjoying one of my favorite walks ever, so I headed to the Newport Cliff walks.

OK, confession time. By the time I had driven clear to Newport, I had decided to walk everything on the cliff walks except the really rocky part that scared me the last time I walked it (in 1999). It had been really rough way back then, not to mention scary, I mean, they ARE cliffs, and I had been with friends then. Surely it wasn't something I wanted to attempt on my own.

I got to Newport and parked and the visitors center to ask direction to the cliff walks, and they strongly recommended that I take the trolley there and then get picked up at another point on the cliff walks that was MUCH shorter than I had thought I'd walk, but hey, any excuse to be lazy, right?

I got on the trolley packed with people going to this big flower show in town, and they all got off at the same stop. It was just me and the trolley driver. I asked him where the place was that the woman had recommended to start the cliff walks, and he told me that that wasn't the place. He decided that since I was the only passenger on the trolley, he'd drop me off at the BEST place to start the walk. Guess where. Yep. Right at the mouth of the rocky part. He was sooo thrilled that I was going to walk the thing that he waited to watch me start my (unexpected) LONG hike. Well, there was no way I could be rude and refuse to walk from there OR catch a trolley from that location since he had left the trolley route just to drop me off there, so off I went across the rocks laughing that God had such an evil sense of humor. Here I was thinking I was going to be slacking off, and I wound up doing more than I had wanted to from the beginning. Oh well...one day when I'm thin (or when you can all see me in my dreams, which is much more likely to happen), I'll thank that sadistic trolley driver.

The day was perfect. Blue skies, beautiful ocean, gorgeous flowers along the cliffs, and the perfect temperature (and lack of humidity) to be out scampering along the cliffs. I did find that starting on the roughest patch made the walk a lot better and over the last several years they actually had builts a couple sets of steps over the most trecherous parts of the walks. As I got further into the walk, things smoothed into a dirt path and then half way through the 3 1/2 mile walk, it became a beautifully paved and landscaped walking path. It was so gorgeous that I decided to walk the entire thing. Then, because I had walked past the last trolley drop off, I wound up having to walk way back into town. By the time I got done, I'd probably walked 5 or 6 miles, and I was STARVING. I wound up finding the same restaurent Steve, Joyce, and I had gone to when I had taken them there in 1999 (we only visited mansions on that particular trip), but it was fond memories for me.

After that, I walked around the town a bit to check out all the adorable little shops they have there, but I was good and resisted buying anything. The truth be told, I was so tired, I didn't want to lug anything else around with me. I finally drug my poor aching body to the car and drove home. By the time I arrived home, my body was so sore, I could barely get out of the car! To say the least, I vegged out Sunday, but it was worth it.

Travel tip for you: If you ever get the chance to hit New England, make sure to take the time to stop a couple days in Newport--one day to see the gorgeous mansions and another day to walk the cliffs and see the town.

This weekend, I'm heading home. Going to see Jeff's new place down in southern IN. Should be fun, and Steve & Jennifer are bringing really yummie steaks (Steve swears these come from one of the best tasting cows he's ever eaten!). Hope to see you there, if not, I'll eat a bit of steak in our honor! :-)