Another Week and a Few More Pictures

Hi, dear blog readers. Well, between working, cleaning, organizing, trying to get the apartment to look like home instead of a college dorm, etc., and spending lots of time on the phone with insurance issues, Mike decided on Tuesday that I needed to get out of the house. (This was following a particularly frustrating conversation on the phone.) So, he packed up the car and off we went to explore the beaches of Newport! I have to say, although they are quite beautiful, they are COLD. On the one hand it's nice because you don't have the beach littered with people, but we both had to wear a couple of layers with rain jackets over the top.

One of the things we got to see was a lighthouse that was built in the 1870's (I think?). It was supposed to have been demolished earlier in this century because it was considered to be a hazard, but the local historic society in the early 1900's put up a fuss and the funding to keep it around. It's been renovated to some degree with necessary repairs, but the inside rooms are really cool. It has a whole history of the building of it, of the areas of the ocean outside where numerous ships had been wrecked, and a history of lighthouse buildings in general. Fun stuff!

(And no, you can't really see the baby bump beyond all the outdoor jackets and gear.)  :o)

This is the view from the lighthouse overlooking the barriers and the bay. Speaking of the bay, it's not uncommon to see a few "local" whales that stay here year-round. In the fall with the whale migrations, you can walk the beaches and see several other kinds of whales as well. The pub where we had dinner had pictures of three orcas swimming up this channel into Newport.

This is the Irish pub where Mike and I had dinner. I gotta tell ya, the food was the "real deal." I felt for a little while (with the exception of the very noisy large American family sitting next to us) that I was back in the Brittish Isles eating authentic food. The fish and chips were great!  :o)

Well, dear blog readers, time for some breakfast. Yes, it's late, but I've been on the computer for a while and it just occurred to me that I'm starving. Happy Monday, everyone!