Newport, RI. Venture Bound One Year On The Boat Days 40-46

Newport! Newport! Newport! What can I say? We call it Annapolis on steroids. I just love this place. It has great marinas, restaurants galore, shopping, mansions, museums, parks, scenery and sailing of course. I think there is a bit of a rivalry between Annapolis and Newport on which one is truly the Sailing Capital on the East Coast. Hmm…..I am not a sailer and I think I will keep my opinions to myself.

Our time was fun and relaxing. The view of the harbor is just amazing. Boats from dinghys to 200’ yachts to amazing racing sailboats of all sizes. We rode Mini Venture around several times to check them all out. Some of them looked even bigger than they are especially when you are only 2 feet off the water looking up. We watched sailboat races out in the harbor and under the Claiborne Pell/Newport Bridge. It was quite a site. We drove passed the Naval War College Museum on Coaster Harbor Island. I would like to take a tour of that next time we are in Newport.

When we arrived we saw a large ship that was carrying yachts for delivery. I have never seen that before. It was amazing to see them unload the yachts into the water.

Where did we stay? Newport Harbor Marina and Hotel. The location is at the base of Bowen’s Wharf which is filled with restaurants, shopping, bars, live music, marinas with tour boats, ice cream stores and more. If you have been keeping up with our one year adventure blogs, you will know we always eat well. Either in restaurants or on the boat. My scale can vouch for that!! HA!

Here are few that we tried. Some new and some familiar. FORTY 1° NORTH Was our first stop after taking a tour of the harbor on the skiff. They have a large covered deck with a big bar, high top and low top tables over looking the harbor. The seafood is fabulous and the bartenders are quite the mixologists. We have been there 3-4 times and we have never been disappointed.

We met a guy in Montauk and he recommend a few places we had never tried. Mother’s Pizzeria was one. What a cute place. It has indoor and outdoor seating with a relaxing feeling. The brick oven pizza is right there when you enter. Their pizzas are fantastico! Cook perfectly with the perfect amount of toppings. They may have had the most flavorful margarita pizza I have ever had. They basic house red wine was a perfect match. The caesar salad was tasty and refreshing and the thai chili wings were crispy. We enjoyed it so much, we went twice. The second restaurant that was recommended was Mama Louisa. An authentic Italian cuisine. Another hit!! It’s going back to old world. It’s an old house with a charming atmosphere. When we read the menu we wanted it all but decided to share a few things. We ordered the Caprese al pesto to start. Then followed by the Spaghetti Corbanara and the Picante di Vitello (Veal Scalloppine). The chef was so kind to actually split both items but serve them together on each our plate. IT WAS AMAZING! I say, “GO!”

And the last one I am going to write about is 22 Bowen’s Wine Bar and Grill. Oh my….THE BEST FILET! It was seasoned and cooked “parfaitment!” I am not a big steak eater. I enjoy one, one or twice a year. I could still smell and taste the filet the next morning. The restaurant has a bar inside, dark like all steak houses are but they also have tables and a large bar outside on the docks. So, it offers an option on seating which is very nice. FORTY ONE DEGREES may have been our first stop in the past but, I think, 22 B will be our first stop next time.

Not everything is always great. We had an “oops” during our last skiff ride. We lost the steering cable. Fortunately we were right near The Lobster Shack and a nice gentleman offered to tow us back to our boat. No harm. No one was hurt. We weren’t able to fix the cable while in Newport. We had to wait until we got o Falmouth, MA. A few days away.

Keith joined Planet Fitness for $25 a month and that allows him to go to any location while we are traveling. Pretty good deal. We worked out, played golf at Newport National Golf Club, shopped, rode our e-bikes, had a visit from a friend who was vacationing in Newport from Charleston, NC. What a treat. Always good to see her! The golf course was gorgeous.

We did an adventure and headed to Wakefield, RI. I found a Glass Blowing studio. The Glass Station. They offered a class for us to make our own glass ornaments. It was fun but I would have loved to have had more hands on. But, do to safety reasons they only allowed to handle so much. We were able to turn the heated, melted glass, tap it into the color of choice, turn the handle in the oven then blow to expand the glass. If you like to do artistic things and like to use your hands this was a good experience.. We saw our finished ornaments but being that we are on a boat we had to have them shipped to our home because we could not pick them up the next day. We will see them in October.

I attempted to tour some historical homes throughout the neighborhood but none of them were open. Even though the websites said they were. Disappointing. Maybe next time.

Our final must do was to head over to The Castle Hill Inn for a cocktail on their LAWN to enjoy the view. It’s a spectacular view. Beautiful rocks going into the ocean with boats coming and going and the sun shinning. Aah! So relaxing. If you go to Newport head over there. You will love it.