This is the life

Friday, May 28 - Now, this is vacation. Waking up with the sun rising over the ocean, and a morning walk on the beach.

A little r-and-r before heading into Boston.

Plymouth. Home of The Rock.

Thursday, May 27 - We were very fortunate that Charlie was at his summer house on the ocean in Plymouth, and even happier that he asked us to stay for the night. So great to have wine and cheese on the porch looking at the ocean while the sun set.

We couldn't make a stop in Plymouth, aka "America's Hometown", without visiting its namesake rock on our way to get some dinner. The rock itself is a little sad and lonely. It's a rock in a cage with a Roman-style gazebo built over it. And with strangely groomed sand surrounding it. But it's part of the foundation of American history, and must be seen.

Hello Massachusetts

Thursday, May 27 - Finally. We got one.

Newport

Thursday, May 27 - You can see why Newport is considered America's first and one of its most favorite resorts. Too bad that we were only there for two hours.

After passing through town, we took the

scenic Ocean Drive on our way to get a quick peek of the famous mansions. We wanted to at least see The Breakers, built by Cornelius Vanderbilt. We didn't have time to take the tour, and you needed a ticket to get on the grounds, but Sandy told the nice guard at the gate our predicament, and he allowed us in in order to go to the gift shop. While we only saw the service rooms in the basement where the store is, we're ready to move in.

Quick tour of Providence

Thursday, May 27 - Before heading out of town, we wanted to do a quick tour of the city. We started off with a late breakfast/early lunch at Tazza, a couple of blocks from the Hotel Providence (photo left). Our server was Sarah, and she recommended a few places for us to go in Maine, including Peaks Island in Portand. Thanks, Sarah! We'll report back.

We took a swing around the Rhode Island Statehouse, and then drove up to College Hill to take a quick look at Brown University. This trip is starting to become a college tour of the Northeast. The architecture in College Hill is really beautiful, so we got out to take a walk down Benefit Street, which according to our guidebook, "has one of the most impressive collections of the colonial and federal style homes in America." Sandy liked the yellow house

Welcome to Providence

Wednesday, May 26 - Three states in one day. Not bad for the first day, but also not that hard either, since we are in the Northeast. It's a little different to have our destinations so close together, after spending so much time driving out west for the past two road trips.

Unfortunately, because things are so compact, we also weren't paying close enough attention, and didn't have the camera ready to get the sign for entering Rhode Island on I-95. And heavy traffic on the I-95 corridor isn't very condusive to slowing town and pulling over to take pictures of signs...

We are staying at the Hotel Providence, which is in an old building right in the heart of the narrow streets of the historic downtown, with interesting architecture and old signs.

Mystic Pizza

Wednesday, May 26 - Yes, we did it. We ate at Mystic Pizza. The ultimate tourist destination in this tourist destination. But, we're tourists, so what the heck. It really is a real place, and was even before the 1988 movie. The pizza and pizza wraps are actually great.

It's a cute little town right on the water, and as we were admiring it's famous drawbridge, there was suddenly a flash rainstorm while the sun was still out. There was a rainbow as the rain let up, which Sandy thought was a great way to start the road trip.

We've decided that the word of the day is "Bascule," which is both the name and type of drawbridge which connects the two sides of Mystic's downtown across the river. Bascule is French for "seesaw."

After dinner, after it cleared up, there was this amazing cloud which was reflecting on the Mystic River.