I know it seems hard to believe but this trip was the first night the both of us were away from Iris! Wow, I know right?! Truth be told up until now she wasn't a good enough sleeper for me to feel good about leaving her with anyone, so thank goodness she is now, it has been so wonderful! Also, Jesse doesn't get a whole lot of time off of work for us to be able to plan trips, so I've been waiting for this mini trip for awhile. Actually getting to have breakfast with Jesse is very far and few between with him working Saturdays and church on Sunday morning, so getting to have coffee and sit down on Saturday and Sunday was so wonderful! So, here goes the mini trip that turned into quite the adventure!
We stayed at my parents house Friday night that way we could leave Iris already asleep and leave super early Saturday morning as we had a five hour drive and only two days to make the best of our time! So I got up around 4:30 and got ready and we ventured out. Everything was going smooth we were on our way up listening to music, drinking coffee, talking about everything. We came into the state of New York and a cop passed us while we were following a line of cars. No problem right, nope. He ended up turning around and pulling us over! I didn't even know they really could do that. So yup, speeding ticket. Great start to the trip I know! So we tried to just blow it off and continue on the trip and not let it ruin our start, even though of course you cant help but be a little frustrated! On top of it the check engine light came on in the car. Insert double eye roll here. We pulled over and Jesse checked it out, decided it was nothing really, they can come on for the simplest of reasons, but of course still an annoyance! So we continued on ignoring the engine light and speeding ticket in our glove box. The drive ended up taking more like seven hours instead of five with all the bumps in the road.... but alas, around one o'clock we reach our destination!! Driving across the bridges to the lovely town of Newport was a breath of fresh air. What a refreshing sight to see the ocean, sail boats floating in and out of the harbor, the bustling quaint town. It was worth it, it was worth all the bumps to be able to take in new sights and new people.
After arriving we drove around, mapping out our main points of interested. There is just so much to see and do here! Endless restaurants (with amazing seafood), the cutest cafes, little shops, mansions to gawk, views of the harbor, views of the rocky coast. It truly is a gem of the north. It's definitely a New England Charleston to me, and if you know me, Charleston has my heart. So upon arrival we planned to go and find an inn to stay. When I was previously planning this trip I found dozens and dozens of quaint inns and Jesse decided we would just wait and decide in person where to stay. Well, mistake numero uno. Little did we know of course, the weekend we went up was the international boat show. Yup, you guessed it... Literally almost every single place was booked, with the exemption of rooms left for 500 dollars and UP. Next question, you may ask, where did we stay? Well of course, in the car.... Oh yah, we did. Our romantic weekend getaway turned into a hot night in the back of the car on a side street. Yah guys, I'm a good sport! Well anyways, we will get back to our hot date night in the car later, for now let us enjoy our evening in Newport. So after we figured out we would be saving a few dollars for our free night of trunk stay, we ventured out to explore.
Snapped a quick mid face adjustion pic, classic I know ^. Oh, and that classy pocket knife.
I'm a sucker for quaint towns and this had all the right factors. The old and up-kept town houses, colorful and wooden doors, cobblestone streets, friendly folks, and the smell of the ocean all made for a wonderful evening. We ate lots of yummy seafood and sipped lots of tea and coffee at cafes. All I ever wanted.
A little outside of the main town you pass mansion after mansion. There has to be 200 plus mansions. It's really incredible! Actually this part of Newport was my absolute favorite. It had the vibes of Ireland or Scotland. Green rolling hills, big rocks, breaking waves against the rocky cliffside's. Truly breathtaking. Of course, seeing people out on the cliffs made us want to go out ourselves. So we parked and sat on the cliffside enjoying the peacefulness of the breaking ocean. I had Jesse snap a few good pics and all was well. You know where this is going. Everyone else, everyone else was out there enjoying the cliffs for hours, small waves crashing below in peace. No, not me. I sit down for five minutes, and a tidal wave comes. Oh yah, right over my head and on top of me. I was DRENCHED. All we could do was laugh, I mean it's ridiculous right? Now I don't have a shower to refresh in or dry off anywhere. So I changed into clothes in the back seat and air-dried until dinner time. To be honest, I wasn't even mad. At this point I'd excepted this wasn't going to be the most perfect romantic trip ever, but in a way it kinda was. It was wonderful in all of it's craziness because it was an adventure in a beautiful place with my best friend. Honestly, I really can't complain. We finished our night off with a much deserved fancy seafood dinner and walked back to our car, hah!
Guys, I'm laughing writing this. I was so embarrassed as Jesse was piling all of the stuff from the trunk into the front seats, he used a blanket to drape over the front two seats for privacy, and laid down the back seats for our comfy bed. I was so afraid we would get in trouble, how ridiculous! I don't know why I thought we would, I just couldn't get it out of my head. To be honest, sleeping wasn't all that terrible. I mean I wouldn't say it was my finest night of rest, but it was okay, and we moved on! The one perk of sleeping in the car was we were up very early and we had an early start on our last day, which ended up being our best day!
We started off with some hot tea and scones and talked for a bit. It was really nice to have a fresh start and just be able to talk and enjoy our time. The chaos from the day before was behind us and we were ready for a new day. We walked the town one last time and Jesse decided he wanted to rent a moped! I'm glad he did because it was really a lot of fun! We buzzed around the coast for a couple hours stopping to take in sights and talk to some locals. After those few hours passed we returned our hot ride and finished out the trip exploring a few mansions. Let me just say, FAVORITE PART! Ugh, I just cannot get over these places. First of all, I am obsessed with Italian and French vibes, especially French! I'm a sucker for those beautiful pastel classic tones. These mansions had every bit of dreamy class. They were the best tours we had ever been on. It took you to a different time. A time of class and elegance. The precision, the lifestyle, the balls and events, the social aspect, everything was just so different then. We had a great time strolling through a few of these great homes and I hope to see a few more when we return someday! Oh, and if you notice my hair is looking pretty bad, just remember 5 hour drive, drenched by the ocean, sweaty car night of sleep, no shower....
We finished perfectly having a drink on the lawn at Castle Hill Inn, overlooking the sailboats floating in and out of the harbor, and then proceeded to have lunch there where I had some of the best service in my life. Not to mention the calamari, best every guys!
We said goodbye around four in the afternoon and left for home. I know it may seem like quite the crazy trip, but it was still great. I love adventures and sometimes things don't go as planned, honestly they often never do. Learning to roll with it is an ongoing learning process, but the more things go wrong the better we get at it, and the more I appreciate little moments in life. Our life is wonderful and we are so fortunate. I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't wait to have more adventures with this guy, especially in Italy next summer! So beyond excited for that trip. Oh, and our stay will be of course preplanned so a little less chaotic and more magical.... I hope!
