On Friday, we traveled in cloudy weather, arriving to a very busy city. We hit La Luna for dinner and recommend this restaurant for its attention to detail in individually prepared dishes. A perfect start.
Perfect habitats have been recreated, allowing sea life to thrive. Penguins are so cute, but none were named Mambo... you know, of "Happy Feet" fame and our pooch's namesake! Even jellies look appealing, when they're not threatening to sting.
Exotic, colorful fish from all over the world redefine G-d's palette. Hey, I know that guy who seems to be in the humongous fishbowl! The California sea lions put on a fabulous show, bringing lots of laughter and cheers from the crowd. They'll even identify letters and shapes, if there's a fishy meal involved! After a few hours of wandering full circle, we headed back to the belugas for another fun photo shoot.
Afterwards, it was off to Mystic's famous drawbridge. We'd kind of guffawed at the fact that it's considered a tourist attraction. But we're here to tell you that the intrigue level is high. So much to see in such a beautiful setting.
By now, it was somewhere between lunch and dinnertime, so we chose the S & P Oyster Company for "linner". It's next to the bridge; we sat outside in spectacular gardens overlooking the Mystic River. Another great choice, Joe enjoyed warm lobster salad. For me, it was amazingly prepared cod, served on a bed of spinach and topped with an outstanding lemony oil and shredded arugula. I must duplicate that dish.
A hop across the bridge brought us to nice shops, decorated both for Hallowe'en and breast cancer month. Pink punkins have enormous appeal! Then, it was back to the other side of the bridge, where we chatted with a local firefighter who was cleaning a very special craft, after its return from duty elsewhere. Brian will be quite interested to know that the MARINE 1 travels as far as our New York harbor, if it is needed. It's just a year old and has already paid for itself in lives saved.
Before returning to the hotel, we stopped at McQuade's, a local market famous for its big-city quality, excellent bakery and attached restaurant. We chose this 'n' that for snacks and headed back to the hotel. A fabulous day.
While we were gone, hotel staff had switched us to a fourth-floor room. Ah, very pretty and much more peaceful than our Friday room on the first floor in the senior citizens' caravan wing. Good Lord, if ever you need to choose between rowdy college students or seniors, choose the former. Sure, Joe and I qualify as sc's and maybe we're in denial. But doors start slammin' at 5:30 a.m. and loud criss-cross hallway conversations soon thereafter. Jeesh. Cut us a break, folks. We know you've earned your rights, but others are up and coming, eh? I digress...
My waking thoughts on Sunday morning were beluga-related. Our validated tickets allowed for re-entry; this is a fabulous deal. You know where this is going, yes? So, after a hotel-comped, noise-related breakfast, we headed again to the whales. Much to our surprise, we were just in time to see them being fed, examined and trained. WHAT A THRILL! We watched for an hour, in awe of their gentle responses to trainers' commands. Honestly, I can't wait to see them again. But we said our au revoirs and left for the day, to explore great towns and beaches.
Shana had suggested that we take a ride towards Westerly, her hometown. It is just across the Pawcatuck River, the first town in Rhode Island. We happened upon a seemingly never-ending Columbus Day parade, so we hung around for a while, though celebrations for this particular holiday disturb me. We had lunch on the river, at Bridge. Yum. Another great dining experience. Time was zipping on by, though, so we bailed on the festivities to go find Watch Hill Beach. Shana promised we'd fall in love... and we did.
Watch Hill is a rather unusual beach area. There is a private parking lot next to a long row of what turned out to be cabanas. Yes, that's right - cabanas built on the dunes and facing the ocean. To the right of the lot is a gorgeous cove, surrounded by houses with the most spectacular views. We happened upon a plein-air artist named Barbara Lussier. She was highly enthusiastic to share her love of the harbor and shore, encouraging us to walk to "the point" and be sure to climb the dunes for the most spectacular views. We did just that, and in addition, wandered down to the shoreline. Lordy. Words cannot capture the exquisite beauty of the coastal views, but Barbara's paintings sure can. Mother Nature assists her with light-shows such as the one we witnessed when Old Sol broke through the clouds.
Barbara had told us to be sure to look back towards town from the dunes, to see the magnificent and ginormous Victorian Beach House.
It felt delicious to walk barefoot through East coast sand on a mid-October day, only to be rewarded with such views! When we returned from our hike, we went by car to explore the landmark mansion a bit further. Just incredible to witness, with every angle capture-worthy.
This entire area is alive and hoppin', proving that with the proper attractions and gorgeous beaches, tourism is not extinct, at all. We'd intended to travel on to Narragansett Beach, about another forty minutes or so from Watch Hill. But time had pretty much run out, in terms of making it during daylight hours, so we opted for an ice cream cone with the vow to return soon.
We chose the Boathouse for a late dinner. It was good, but not up to the standards we'd become used to at other places. There are scores of fabulous restaurants to choose from and the food-service bar is set quite high.
Upon returning to the hotel, I met a woman from California. She was with a large group of folks who'd flown to Boston from SoCal. They were touring by bus just to see New England's colorful foliage, something they don't witness at home. This made us appreciate our next day's drive home, even more. But before closing...
I'd be remiss were I not to mention the congeniality of the proud New Englanders we were fortunate enough to meet. They know they've something special in their surroundings. They treat tourists like gold. They are anxious to share what they love. They are courteous in representing all establishments... well, at least the ones we visited. Seriously. They aim to please.
We listened to the Elvis station on Sirius, on the way home. A gorgeous song called "Suppose" played. As impossible as it seems, we'd never heard it before. I share it with you here. It's perfect testimony to Joe's and my appreciation of all things beautiful, through our "together hearts and eyes"... such a meaningful discovery for our 47th wedding anniversary, tomorrow.
Giving thanks.
♡
