State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Part I

The title is the official name of our smallest state of the union (by area), and during the last weekend of July, Tom, Andrea and I traveled into the heart of New England to visit two dear friends, Kellie and Albert.  Kellie was already in Rhode Island, spending two months of her summer with her boyfriend Albert, a long-time Rhode Island resident.

We started our tour on Friday at Fort Adams.  Immediately to the north of the base lies on Brenton Cove and Newport Harbor, which was beautifully decorated with motorboats, sailboats, and other sea-worthy vessels.  Just a bit west and no more than 3 miles south is the Atlantic Ocean.  Needless to say, Fort Adams served as an important naval base and controls the largest seaway into the state.  Another interesting history note: Fort Adams is said to be near impenetrable because of its network of tunnel mazes that allow or discouraged people to enter or leave the fort.  When under a lock-down, these passages would be the only way to access the military base, and the soldiers that duty there would have to be trained to navigate the caverns without getting lost.  After some lunch and goofing off, we went to the beach!

Brenton Cove 

Children in these miniature sailboats are learning the basics of boating.

In 1799 a gun fortress was constructed.  Plans were started in 1864 for Fort Adams.
Construction was completed in 1857.  Fort Adams was continuously garrisoned
from 1842 to 1950.  It was the location for Civil War troops training,
also troops for the Spanish War, World War 1 and World War 2.

Despite its "red tide," Easton Beach in Newport City is probably the most traveled beach facility in all of Rhode Island.  When you get there, it's not hard to see why.  The beach is large and has a number of attractions and restaurants nearby, including a few uppity-snobby beach lounges.  However, when we arrived late Friday afternoon, there were relatively few people there.  And that was nice, so we took the time to frolic and play in the water.

Chasing after the destructive seagulls

What is this?

On either side of the bay, there are beautiful houses and mansions.

The figurehead of her own ship, thank-you-very-much.

Found this "Kentucky Derby" treasure floating in the waves.

The 'gulls had their way with Tom's bag.

After washing the sand from our toes, we took the long journey back to Hope, RI where we finally meet up with Albert, had dinner, played games and told stories.  A classic end to an exciting day.