The Rhode Trip
The first Thanksgiving we were living in DC, we drove up to New York City for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Last year my parents flew out here from Oklahoma and spent Thanksgiving with us. This year, no one was planning to visit, and I thought it would be nice to stay home. A couple weeks before Thanksgiving, I bought all the things I needed to make the Thanksgiving meal: a ham, potatoes, green beans (and other ingredients for our beloved green bean casserole), cranberry sauce.
Then Harvey asked whether I'd be interested in driving up to Rhode Island for Thanksgiving. He'd done some research and learned about Newport and thought it might be a fun road trip for our family since the kids had a couple days off of school and we weren't committed to being anywhere or with anyone else. After some thought, I agreed that we should take the trip, an opportunity to see a new place and make new memories. So we had our Thanksgiving meal at home on Tuesday, November 22, and we left for Rhode Island Wednesday afternoon.
Now that our new little one is in the picture, traveling becomes a little tricky again. We have a whole set of baby paraphernalia to haul along, and we have to plan around nap time. There's also the X factor of how a one-year-old will fare during the car ride: will he sleep (yes, please!) or fuss (please no!)? He actually did really well, other than the fact that he had a major blowout shortly before we arrived at the hotel (around midnight), so our first task upon arrival was not getting the kids to bed but cleaning up the disgusting, smelly mess on him and his clothes and the car seat.
The morning of Thanksgiving we had breakfast in the hotel and watched some of the Macy's Parade together, and Harvey took the kids swimming (one of their favorite things about staying in hotels, second only to the included all-you-can-eat breakfast). Around 1:00 p.m., we drove to the restaurant where Harvey had made a reservation for our Thanksgiving meal, a buffet of turkey and dressing, prime rib, fish, vegetables, potatoes, and many other delicious options. We stuffed ourselves and had a lovely time in East Greenwich, RI.
At this point we weren't too far from Plymouth, Massachusetts, so we decided to make the drive to see Plymouth Rock. It was getting dark when we arrived, but it was still fun to see the monument and be there on Thanksgiving. We walked around a bit in Plymouth and then headed back to our hotel.
The next day we drove to Newport, a charming coastal city with an interesting history.
At the turn of the century, several wealthy families (including the Vanderbilts) built sprawling, ostentatious mansions (their "summer cottages") along Newport's rocky coast. Once slated for demolition, the mansions were rescued by the local preservation society, which restored them and opened them to the public as museums. We ordered tickets for a three-mansion tour, so we toured two on Friday (The Breakers and Marble House) and one on Saturday (The Elms).
The era in which these mansions were built is called the Gilded Age because of the flamboyant displays of wealth that hid the suffering of many immigrants and the poor. Looking around these mansions, we saw clearly that the builders spared no expense, using materials like gold, marble, and leather extensively throughout the rooms. It was beautiful, but overwhelming.
As a bonus, the mansions were decked out for Christmas, with gorgeous trees, wreaths, flowers, and garlands. Stunning.
The only problem was that no strollers were allowed in the mansions, so Harvey had to carry the baby around everywhere. He did pretty well, but it's just one of those challenges you face with a one-year-old; there's no way we could have let him walk around on his own!
Other highlights of the Rhode Island trip were seaside strolls, a boat ride to see the harbor seals, and a Christmas boat parade.
Rhode Island was a lovely place to spend our Thanksgiving. It was exactly what I imagine when I think of New England: coastal, cold, cloudy, quaint (much like Maine, which we visited a few years ago). A Thanksgiving at home would have been quiet and simple, but I'm thankful Harvey got it in his head to take a road trip (or "Rhode" trip!) this year instead.
Then Harvey asked whether I'd be interested in driving up to Rhode Island for Thanksgiving. He'd done some research and learned about Newport and thought it might be a fun road trip for our family since the kids had a couple days off of school and we weren't committed to being anywhere or with anyone else. After some thought, I agreed that we should take the trip, an opportunity to see a new place and make new memories. So we had our Thanksgiving meal at home on Tuesday, November 22, and we left for Rhode Island Wednesday afternoon.
Now that our new little one is in the picture, traveling becomes a little tricky again. We have a whole set of baby paraphernalia to haul along, and we have to plan around nap time. There's also the X factor of how a one-year-old will fare during the car ride: will he sleep (yes, please!) or fuss (please no!)? He actually did really well, other than the fact that he had a major blowout shortly before we arrived at the hotel (around midnight), so our first task upon arrival was not getting the kids to bed but cleaning up the disgusting, smelly mess on him and his clothes and the car seat.
The morning of Thanksgiving we had breakfast in the hotel and watched some of the Macy's Parade together, and Harvey took the kids swimming (one of their favorite things about staying in hotels, second only to the included all-you-can-eat breakfast). Around 1:00 p.m., we drove to the restaurant where Harvey had made a reservation for our Thanksgiving meal, a buffet of turkey and dressing, prime rib, fish, vegetables, potatoes, and many other delicious options. We stuffed ourselves and had a lovely time in East Greenwich, RI.
At this point we weren't too far from Plymouth, Massachusetts, so we decided to make the drive to see Plymouth Rock. It was getting dark when we arrived, but it was still fun to see the monument and be there on Thanksgiving. We walked around a bit in Plymouth and then headed back to our hotel.
The next day we drove to Newport, a charming coastal city with an interesting history.
At the turn of the century, several wealthy families (including the Vanderbilts) built sprawling, ostentatious mansions (their "summer cottages") along Newport's rocky coast. Once slated for demolition, the mansions were rescued by the local preservation society, which restored them and opened them to the public as museums. We ordered tickets for a three-mansion tour, so we toured two on Friday (The Breakers and Marble House) and one on Saturday (The Elms).
The era in which these mansions were built is called the Gilded Age because of the flamboyant displays of wealth that hid the suffering of many immigrants and the poor. Looking around these mansions, we saw clearly that the builders spared no expense, using materials like gold, marble, and leather extensively throughout the rooms. It was beautiful, but overwhelming.
The Breakers
Marble House
The Elms
One of the great things about the tour was the individual handheld audio sets with earphones; our kids seemed to really enjoy navigating the mansions as they listened to their personal tour guides (except when Gracie wandered off and then couldn't find the rest of us, yikes!).
As a bonus, the mansions were decked out for Christmas, with gorgeous trees, wreaths, flowers, and garlands. Stunning.
The only problem was that no strollers were allowed in the mansions, so Harvey had to carry the baby around everywhere. He did pretty well, but it's just one of those challenges you face with a one-year-old; there's no way we could have let him walk around on his own!
Other highlights of the Rhode Island trip were seaside strolls, a boat ride to see the harbor seals, and a Christmas boat parade.
Rhode Island was a lovely place to spend our Thanksgiving. It was exactly what I imagine when I think of New England: coastal, cold, cloudy, quaint (much like Maine, which we visited a few years ago). A Thanksgiving at home would have been quiet and simple, but I'm thankful Harvey got it in his head to take a road trip (or "Rhode" trip!) this year instead.
Comments
Post a Comment