Hello, my beloved long lost blog. I’m so sorry for going MIA and abandoning you, but I am back (for now).
Between work and moving out of my apartment and putting most of my life into storage, things have been a wee bit hectic, BUT I did manage to go on a MUCH-NEEDED (yes, all caps for emphasis) trip to Rhode Island for a week in September.
As someone who is used to hopping on a plane every month to go somewhere around the world, I was surprisingly totally fine not going anywhere for months. Part of that was because it felt so trivial to say “I miss travel” when I could literally hear sirens outside my window every 10-15 minutes during those first few months of the pandemic. I didn’t even go to the grocery store, much less think about hopping on a plane (thank goodness for grocery delivery).
And then when I finally did decide to travel, it was done with many precautionary measures in place so that I could safely go to Florida to spend time with my family. Little did I know at the time that I was jumping from one COVID hotspot (New York) to another (Florida), but it all worked out and I was glad to be closer to my family for awhile.
And then somewhere around early August, I hit a mental and emotional wall and knew I had to figure out a way to 1) take some much-needed vacation time before I burnt out with work, and 2) go somewhere new to satisfy my never-ending craving for exploring different places.
Enter Rhode Island.
I decided on Rhode Island because I wanted to go somewhere I had never been before that was also relatively safe and somewhat close to New York so it didn’t require getting on a plane, nor did it require quarantining in New York upon my return. I did end up taking a train (technically not a road trip, so pardon the blog title), but it was only a roughly 3-3.5 hour ride.
I also desperately wanted to be near the water. Even though I had some great beach days in Florida, I was craving a different kind of water experience, which is how I landed on spending a few days in Newport, Rhode Island, with an overnight stopover in Providence first.
Overall, it was such a therapeutic trip. It sounds very indulgent of me to admit this, but I LOVE hotels and really missed staying in a place that wasn’t my own. In fact, I stayed in three different hotels over the course of a week. Don’t ask me why, but clearly that proves my point that I love me some hotel stays and felt I had to spread some much-needed love to the hospitality industry. Also, I felt completely safe in every single hotel. In fact, I felt safe my entire time in Rhode Island.
In Newport, there were large “Masks Required” signs everywhere and it wasn’t overly crowded since I deliberately booked my trip for after Labor Day weekend. Also, Amtrak tickets were extremely low-priced so I booked business class, which allowed me to choose my seats ahead of time. The trains had half the seats blocked off anyway, so it was easy to socially distance from other passengers, and the actual train ride itself — which traveled mostly near the water through New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island during some gorgeous weather — was stunning.
Here are some highlights from my trip:
My First Meal in Newport
These days, it’s the little things that have the most satisfying impact. My first meal in Newport, Rhode Island – which was a late lunch outside on Bowen’s Wharf – was my second time eating at a restaurant since March (the first time being a few days earlier with a good friend of mine at an outdoor restaurant in New York). I had a lobster roll (because, Newport), salad and a glass of white wine. It wasn’t even the best lobster roll I’ve ever had, but just the act of being able to sit in the sun with a glass of wine felt so deeply satisfying, and again I felt safe and never as though people were crowding me or being disrespectful of one another.
Champagne Sunset Sail
Another highlight of my trip came a few hours later when I went on a champagne sunset sail with Sightsailing of Newport. It was one of those perfect September days where it was high 70s, low humidity and sunny the entire day. The sailing company had reduced capacity on the sailboat and marked off where people could sit in order to stay socially distanced from one another. Overall, it was a gorgeous evening and the champagne certainly flowed (which is never a bad thing).
Doing the Entire Newport Cliff Walk
Something that had been recommended to me by a coworker was to do the Cliff Walk in Newport so that I could see some of the island’s famous mansions from the water. I figured I would walk part of it and then head to breakfast, but once I got to where I thought I would end the walk, I kept going. Before I knew it, I had walked the entire Cliff Walk from start to finish, which was about 3.5 miles, sometimes literally scrambling over rocks. And then I walked down Bellevue Avenue, where many of Newport’s mansions are found. Overall, I did more than 26,000 steps that day, and I loved it.
Visiting the International Tennis Hall of Fame
I grew up in a family of tennis lovers, so naturally I knew I had to check out the International Tennis Hall of Fame while in Newport. I really enjoyed it, especially the interactive elements, and I found it to be the perfect rainy day activity (though on a sunny day, you can see people playing outside on the museum’s tennis courts). Going through the exhibit made me even more determined to one day make it to the Australian Open, which is my last Grand Slam. We’ll get there one day!
Sunset Drinks at Gurney’s
After two days of cloudy/rainy weather, the sun came out one afternoon and I knew immediately that I had to get back outside. After trying to decide between the Newport Vineyards and Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina, I picked the latter since I was able to get a last-minute reservation in their lounge and fire pit. Gurney’s is on Goat Island, which is just over the bridge from Newport, and it was the perfect setting to, once again, sit in the sun with a glass of sparkling wine. Oh, and the sunset was once again stunning! See proof below.
Mimosa and Lighthouse Morning Cruise
Since I loved my sunset sail so much, I knew I had to get back out on the water before I left Newport. This time, I booked a mimosa and lighthouse cruise with Cruise Newport, and it was so much fun. A completely different vibe than the sunset sail, this was more energetic and informative with music, a super engaging tour guide and free-flowing mimosas. It was the perfect way to end my time in Newport.
Tacos and Ranch Water in Providence
I’ll be honest, I did multiple things in Providence both before and after my time in Newport, but it mostly felt strange because it was such a ghost town with many business and colleges closed. In fact, it was a little too quiet for me when I walked around. That said, my last meal in Rhode Island was at Xaco Taco in Providence, where it was certainly not a ghost town and for good reason: the tacos are damn good. Also, what’s Ranch Water, you ask? A pretty fabulous combination of 1800 coconut tequila, pineapple mint aqua fresca and coconut water. I was a little nervous to try it but it was refreshingly amazing on yet another sunny day in Rhode Island.
Thank you, Rhode Island, for the much needed travel break! I’ll be back.
