We located a nice RV Resort in Portsmouth, RI, right on the boundary of the Naval Station. In fact, it’s right behind the base housing, which leads me to believe it may have been a base campground at one time.
They recently added several pull-thru sites and we reserved on of those for our 2-night stay.
The sites were long, level gravel pads with paver patios, built-in firepits, and full hook-ups, including cable. It was a very nice campground – Melville Ponds.
Tom was still on the hunt for a lobster roll, so he asked the neighbors for a recommendation on a seafood restaurant, and we headed into town for dinner.
General Rochambeau
and Tom . . .
We bypassed the shopping district, and took a little driving tour first . . . along Ocean Drive,
and past the many mansions that overlook the Atlantic Ocean.
The homes were beautiful! Many were behind gates that blocked the view from the road, others were far back and up on cliffs. Incredible!
As we drove around the southern tip of Newport, past the state park (a great place for watching the sunset – noted for later), Ocean Drive turned into Bellevue Ave, home to many historical mansions that are now owned by the state and operated as museums.
We weren’t interested in touring any of the mansions, but just took some photographs of the exteriors.
Amazing architecture!
Tom said we would fit right in to the neighborhood!
In this same area, along the coast behind many of the mansions, there is a 3 mile trail that follows the rocky shoreline – the Cliff Walk.
We were getting hungry, so we headed over to the restaurant recommended by the neighbors – Anthony’s Family Restaurant.
It was pretty basic – order at the counter, self-service on drinks – but we were assured that they had the best seafood in town.
Tom finally got his lobster roll . . . and he said it was fantastic! I had chicken strips, and they were pretty good, too.
By the time we got out of there, we didn’t have enough time to get back to Ocean Drive before sunset, so we just drove through the Navy base, along the bay, on the way back to the RV park, and caught the sunset over Narragansett Bay.
I took a 1/2 day vacation the next day and we spent the afternoon strolling through the historic shopping district and around the wharf on the bay.
There are lots of historic buildings still standing,
There were lots of shops and restaurants, and for a mid-week fall day, it was still pretty busy . . . we were surprised at the amount of people walking around, but it was a beautiful day.
There were some amazing ships in the harbor, too, but we couldn’t get very close – you can’t just wander around on the docks here!
We had a nice afternoon of shopping and exploring,
and then went back home for dinner and to get the dog out, before heading back to the state park on Ocean Drive for sunset.
We almost missed it!
As we drove past the harbor on our way home, we noticed that the sky was still a beautiful orange, so stopped for a couple more pictures.
Beautiful!
Newport is a great historic town, and we were really glad we made the trip down here to add Rhode Island to our map!
Exploring Historic sites and crossing states off on your map at the same time, things can't get any better then that.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.