"You should have been in the Navy"

.....that is what I said to R on our way to church last Sunday in Newport, RI as we drove past the Marina (at the Naval Station) for the 6th, or 8th, or 10th time that weekend and saw all of the sailboats and other boats at the docks, with the wind blowing and white caps out on the water.  At moments like that one (and there were several over the weekend) I missed our family sailboat so much.

R and I were supposed to go to Boston for the weekend.  His Dad was going to be in town for his monthly visit while out here for work.  Since there was no home football game and R didn't have any concerts either, R's dad had volunteered to watch the kids for the weekend so that we could get away.  When the Air Force Base in Boston called on Wednesday to tell us that due to some work that was going to take place over the weekend, the Inn would have limited hot water and no heat, we decided to change our plans.  We had considered Newport before but had yet to go, so we called the Inn at the Newport Naval Station, found out they had vacancies for the weekend, and changed plans.  We sure were glad we did.

We arrived late Friday evening and awoke Saturday morning to beautiful weather.  After some quick grocery shopping (there was a small kitchenette in our room) we headed out to visit The Breakers.  There are 10 historical mansions to visit in Newport but we chose to just see one on this visit.  The Breakers was built as a summer cottage by Cornelius Vanderbilt II (Grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt).  Smaller than the Biltmore mansion (built by his brother) it is much more extravagant inside, a true representation of the Gilded Age...very ornate with lots of gold leafing.  It is 70 rooms decorated in the Italian Renaissance Style.  It took only 2 years to build because many of the rooms were actually built in a shop in France, disassembled, and then shipped here to be reassembled.  We couldn't take pictures inside but I was able to take some pictures from the 2nd floor balcony.

Here are pictures we took outside.

On our next visit to Newport we plan to visit Marble House, built by William Vanderbuilt, brother to Cornelius who built The Breakers.

After visiting The Breakers we drove up to Providence to visit the museum at the Rhode Island School of Design.

On the way we drove over a tall bridge that let us look down on some of the water near the Naval Station.  A ton of small sailboats were out sailing what appeared to be a course in the water.  I tried to get a picture but with no place to pull over and the bridge in the way, this was the best I could do.

I wish there were pull out places on the bridge because it really is the best place to get an overall picture of the area and all the many boats sailing around.  Made me homesick for "Daddy's Toy".

I couldn't take pictures inside the Museum in Providence but we enjoyed seeing many interesting pieces.   We saw some student work as well as works of famous artists.  We saw furniture and textiles too.  It was a fun place to visit.

We did some quick research and found a great hole in the wall type/not fancy fish market and restaurant near Newport, where we could eat dinner.  The food at Anthony's was delicious.  We ate too much but it was so hard not to.  We wanted to try all of our favorites (clam chowder, calamari, and the Fisherman's Platter - breaded and fried cod, clams, shrimp and scallops.)  Everything was so fresh it was actually juicy and I don't think I've ever had such juicy shrimp, calamari, or clams before.  (Thinking about it right now is making me hungry.)

Sunday we were off to church and then back to the Inn for an afternoon nap before we ventured out to one of the Newport Beaches and the Cliff Walk.  The sun was setting as we walked so the light was some what challenging to picture taking, but it was a beautiful walk along the cliffs and the ocean.

We didn't even scratch the surface of all there is to do in Newport.  We will definitely be going back.  We're considering making this an annual fall trip.  One thing we didn't do this time is go sailing and that will definitely have to be part of the tradition.  Especially since there is the opportunity to sail on an America's Cup Yacht and that would be a dream come true for me.  (I've always wanted to sail on a racing yacht.)

Old Cemeteries, A Concert in the Burbs and a Concert in the City

Playing catch up...

In August, back when Mom and Dad were here, we took a quick day trip to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.  A friend had been there and said what a cool cemetery it was so we decided to go.  The kids opted to skip out on the trip (C regretted it later...she thought it was just going to be a bunch of headstones but then when she saw the pictures, she wished she had gone too.)

We only walked around about 1/4 of the cemetery and then hit the highlights of the rest.  Here is some of what we saw.  (Photos courtesy of Mom. I forgot my camera.)

Some famous people are buried here.
 William and John D. Rockefeller along with other family members.

Walter Chrysler

 

Andrew Carnegie

 

And also Washington Irving, who wrote the Headless Horseman. 

The Old Dutch Church of such storied fame is in the corner of the cemetery and we visited it too.  It is still in use.  Notice the historical marker.

 

Less than a week later, we traveled up to the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park to watch R and the band play a concert on the lawn.  It was a beautiful night and a wonderful concert.

 

 

The next night we changed the scenery and traveled to Brooklyn/Coney Island for another type of concert....Huey Lewis and the News on the 30th Anniversary Tour of their "Sports" album.  R saw them on tour with this album 30 years ago.  It was a great concert and much more family friendly than when R saw them before.  It was outside with beautiful weather.  We sat in our lawn chairs and had a great time.  We wish we had pictures but you weren't allowed to take cameras (although we saw people with some.)  The funniest quote of the night  was from C when the band came out on the stage and she said, "He's old!"  Made me laugh.  ("L"...just like when we saw Frankie Avalon on T.V.)

Our kids know all the songs since we love listening to this music in the car and while we are cleaning the house.  Two ladies sitting behind us were quite entertained by P and C who were dancing and singing their little hearts out.

A Sunday Evening at Trophy Point

One of my favorite things about living here at WP is the summer Sunday evening concerts at the outdoor amphitheater.  We've been attending them for 11 years now, walking the 1.5 miles from our house to Trophy Point.  When we first moved here, C was too little to walk the whole way so I pushed her in the stroller and B and I walked.  Then she got bigger and she and B would ride their scooters while I, very pregnant, walked down and back.  Then it was P's turn for the stroller, and then P's turn to learn to ride her scooter.  Last summer, I had to speed walk, trying to keep up with all of them on scooters.  This summer, B, the big teenager, has decided he would rather walk then ride his scooter.  This last week, I made the girls walk too because a whole huge group of us were walking to the concert.

We walked down there last Sunday to watch R and the WP Steel Band perform.  Usually, we sit on the grassy hill with a beautiful view over the amphitheater shell, and up the river.  This time, we sat on the front row of the bleachers so that we would have a better view of R.

It was a wonderful concert of great music and fun times with family and friends.

When P and her friend got cold, they shared Grandpa B's jacket and used some great teamwork, taking turns holding the bowl, so that they could still eat popcorn.

It was a fun night.

A Special Baptism

All Baptisms are special but this one was extra special because we've been talking about it for over 8 years.

Shortly after I found out that I was pregnant with P, we did the math and realized that B would be 16 when this new baby would be 8.  When P was born, and many times over the last 8 years, we have been able to talk to both B and P about how, if P wanted him to, B would be able to baptizer her.

As I stood at the door to the font and watched B tenderly help his little sister in to the font, it was hard to keep the tears from my eyes.  As a mother, these are the moments that we live for.  Here was my youngest, choosing to be baptized and beginning her journey of covenants with Heavenly Father, that will lead her to the temple and back to Heavenly Father one day.  And her was my 16 year old teenage son, who I don't always see with an eternal perspective, using his priesthood to baptize his little sister.  As he stood in the font, tenderly performing that ordinance, it was a joy to see the man in the boy.

It was also such a blessing to have both sets of grandparents in attendance as well as one aunt and uncle.

P had lots of friends come out and support her, including one of her favorite people, who she asked to give a talk,

and her best friend and our neighbor.

Congratulations P.  We are proud of you and the wonderful young women you are.