Saturday was a beautiful day and I knew we had rain coming on Sunday, so I really wanted to get out and do something different. The problem was, Bill had to take the dog in to have his eye checked out and they were crowded so we got a late start. The good thing is that it is summer and the days are longer. The bad, getting a late start meant no parking at the regular spots. I just checked my maps and looked for some side roads and found one that looked good. It had a church on one side and a faculty parking area on the other, but school is over so we were able to park there.
I have lived in Rhode Island all my life and have never walked along the cliff walk in Newport. I finally got to and it was the perfect day to go, sunny with a nice breeze. The path starts at the beach and ends at another beach 3.5 miles down. We weren't able to do the whole walk, but close to 5 miles. The further end was rougher with cliffs and Bean was not doing too well with the spaced rock paths, he kept falling in the cracks. Maybe if he payed attention to where he was going instead of trying to head to the water or people walking by, he might have walked better;)
The path follows the coastline, nice walkways for the most part and a lot has been rebuilt since the storms that destroyed a lot of the trail.
All along the shore are beautiful homes or should I say mansions. Some are out in open areas, but most were either hidden by tall fences or plant growth.
Can you imagine owning the home with this gazebo, I would be out there, all day. Bean was more interested in who was coming, of course he got lots of attention from passerbys.
In two areas you go through a tunnel, one was long and dark, Bean was a bit weary of that one but this one was unique and shorter. I would like to go back and do the entire walk, you just can't beat the scenery on both sides. The walk and parking is free, but they do have trolley service, so you can always park your car in town and visit places by trolley.
After our walk we drove along Ocean Drive, it goes past all the mansions and old homes and follows the coastline. We found a fishing area to stop and enjoy and let Bean have some fun in the water. I think this will be a future paddling place.
The next stop was Fort Getty. The coast was a popular place to defend the country and easy access by the ships. Another great thing about getting a late start is, by the time we got here, people were leaving, so we were able to get a front parking space.
This is the start of the walk, a lot of people come down and just sit on the lawns and docks and enjoy the day. They were also setting up a wedding while we were there.
We walked along the path, following the old fort. It is a large fort and has a large inner space, as well.
We walked to the end and instead of going around the fort, inland, we came back along the water. It was just too beautiful and cool next to the water. Everyone was enjoying the water, even though the fog was rolling in. This is another thing you can do for free, they do charge if you want to take a tour of the fort, but the park itself is free for use. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
