Newport, Rhode Island

We had a lovely sunny and warm Saturday in Newport, Rhode Island. It seems that New England is having much the same kind of October weather as we have been having at home. We decided to forego the tours to the big mansions by the sea and just wander around in town for a couple of hours.

Newport is still mainly a vacation community and has a lot of the small town vibe with cafes and restaurants, ice cream and fudge shops as well as tourist trinkets and tee shirts. Being such a warm day, all the coffee shops were busy with locals taking advantage of the sunshine. It started to get really busy around noon, and we soon discovered why - the annual Seafood Festival was on this weekend, and we stumbled across the food truck lot during our wander around town. It certainly was popular. The festival 'grounds' included a whole area by the bay that looks to be restaurants and bars, but we couldn't see past the crush of people.

The Hurdy Gurdy man and his monkey. You can
actually donate in the monkey's cup towards
a local charity

The White Horse Tavern, the oldest operating restaurant
in the US, established in 1673

A local Bed and Breakfast

Trinity Church, which is hosting a
pumpkin patch in the park until Hallowe'en

One of the local houses - a big Hallowe'en display
for such a small garden!

St. Mary's Church. One of at least 5
good-sized churches in a small town.

Just one of the food trucks at the seafood festival. And this
was early on. As we walked back to the tender pier,
more and more people were heading in this direction.

On the tender back to the ship. Some of the cottages
on Goat Island, which creates Newport Harbour and
protects the town from Narrangasett Bay

This house is called 'Clingstone'. Wonder why. It is 
120 years old and is still used today.

A cloudless sunset over the Atlantic Ocean

Next up - Boston, Massachusetts.