crossrhodes

Don left the campsite early to pick up fresh live lobsters from a fisherman (lobsterman?) on Sakonnet Point. We also stopped at a farm stand for the sweetest native corn I’ve ever tasted!

After the boys propped up the tent for shade, we set up for a lobster boil tailgate party in the back of the van. The seagulls had their eyes on the food. One of them stood right above me while I rolled the corn cobs in a pan of melted butter.

My BIL is right: seafood tastes better eating on the beach! There’s something about getting downright dirty with lobster juice and then washing your hands in the ocean that makes one feel in tune with nature. Now that’s my kind of nature-loving… lobsters and “chowdah” on the beach!

The kids had a blast, too! I’m glad we took Jezz. Gave me and Don a sense of what its like to have more than one child. And I like even numbers; 2 boys, 2 girls.

The boys built a fire at dusk while my sister and I reminisced of our bonfires with family and friends on the beaches of California. We missed Kuya Toots and his guitar =) The radio was nice but it wasn’t the same. We were carefree teenagers then. It will never be the same. Even so, bonfires, moonlight, crashing waves, and salty air still evoke romance… only now with our husbands.

I got a tip from a prior local (thanks, Michial and Troy!) to wander out of Newport over the Sakonnet Bridge. (The locals always know best!) The drive down Route 77 was beautiful and classic New England; shingled Capes and stone walls on rolling meadows.

We stopped at Commons Lunch (a local hangout) for a taste of Johnny Cakes, a Rhode Island specialty. Unfortunately, they were no longer serving it so late in the day, but we found some later at a diner in Newport. Instead, Don ordered the Baked Scrod and I tried the Codfish Cakes. One can never have enough seafood as we’ve had on this trip! The fish cakes don’t look like much but they were full of savory bits of cod and just the right fish to filler ratio. The staff was noticeably friendly, too.

After dinner, we went off the beaten path. This is how we roll. Don likes to drive around to see what’s out there, and eventually finds the highway again. Sometimes we find an interesting place, sometimes we don’t. This time, we came upon a jewel of a beach that we wouldn’t have found had he not wandered. It was already late in the evening and the fog was thick, but we were bound and determined to return the next day… with lobsters for the tailgate party and firewood for the bon fire.

DESTINATION: Maine

There’s no way I’m driving all the way up to Maine without stopping for lobster at one of Gourmet magazine’s top 10 seafood shacks in America! The Clam Shack on the bridge in Kennebunkport, Maine was worth the trip!

Don ordered a whole lobster dinner and spent his “lunch hour” picking meat from the shell. I came for the famous lobster roll, stuffed with succulent morsels of meat already picked from a 1-lb. lobster. When asked to choose between butter or mayo, opt for the traditional mayo dressing. It complements the buttery roll and savory lobster meat.

The real reason for our side trip to Maine was to meet James’ first cousins on his biological mother’s side. He hasn’t seen them in over a decade! He was still a toddler then and has little to no memory of them. But his older cousins remember him. They also remember Don being taller =) It was a great reunion. And now I know what James could look like with wider shoulders and a massive tattoo!

Thank you for hosting us, Wayne! I hope you enjoy the pictures. We’re now convinced we need a vacation home and big boy water toys on a waterfront property! That was too much fun!

Aristocrats of the Gilded Age built “summer cottages” all along the shore line. We chose to visit Astor’s Beechwood, one of the more modest of these mansions, because they had a theatre company dressed as residents of the mansion in the 1920’s who also doubled as tour guides.

Following the mansion, we drove to the shack - Flo’s Clam Shack & Raw Bar - a local eatery on the edge of Easton’s Beach. We had our first taste of Rhode Island’s clam “chowdah” — a thinner, brothy version of the familiar thick and creamy chowder.

After all the deep fried seafood, we attempted to dilate our arteries via a light stroll on the Cliff Walk. It was so hot and humid, we turned around halfway thru the trail.

Back in an air conditioned car, we finished our coastal sight seeing via the Ten Mile Drive. It was beautiful scenery, but second only to Northern California’s 17 Mile Drive… at least, in my opinion.

After dinner, we headed back to the campsite for a quiet evening. James went back to reading the last Harry Potter book. And Jezz danced the Hula and Tahitian at sunset.

DESTINATION: New England

12 AM: Left home at midnight to avoid driving in the rain.

1:30 AM: McDonald’s for midnight snack.

3 AM: Parked in a Connecticut rest area and slept in the RV for a few hours.

9:30 AM: McDonald’s for breakfast.

12 PM: Arrived in Newport, RI. Had trouble with the electric hookup at the campsite. I began to fret that we may actually have to rough it without an air conditioner and hair dryer *grin*

5 PM: Electric is working. Famished, we went to dinner at an Olive Garden wanna be and incidentally found a satellite office of Don’s employer. (This becomes relevant information towards the end of our vacation when we consider the possibility of moving to this beautiful corner of the country.)

6 PM: With no Internet connection at the campsite, the kids and I were forced to read. Can’t remember the last time I read a book for leisure. We bought books for each of us and spent the rest of the night reading quietly in bed. Ahhh, silence is golden… that is, until Don turned on the TV.