"Never let the fear of rain, keep you from exploring on the weekends." (sorry not sorry for the knockoff quote from my favorite movie)
Rain in the forecast all weekend? Ya, don't care. I move to New Hampshire tomorrow, so that means I will be moving further North. Further from all the southern New England states and sites I haven't seen yet! So of course I will still make the road trips after I move to NH, but today is the last day that I will be an hour closer to all said states and sites South of me. Insert Rhode Island road trip here.
By now, you can probably guess my go-to first move...Google Maps. I love it because 1) there are usually reviews and 2) there are usually pictures! Let's face it, I'm not trying to drive 2 hours to see something ugly. After some quick research, I settled on Castle Hill Lighthouse in Newport, RI. So, as per spontaneous Shawna...I left my place to hit the road probably like 15 minutes after getting out of bed. I HAD checked the weather this time and saw there was an hour break from the rain from 12-1pm supposedly so I wanted to plan to arrive then.
I get there...or so I think. Still not sure where I went haha. I park in the parking lot I had researched, and the lighthouse was apparently "a half minute walk" from there as per my google maps reviews. I immediately see signs that say "Private Property" and "No Trespassing". This concerned me, but you know, I just drove two hours for a lighthouse. So I avoided the signs, but kept walking on a trail that would hopefully loop me around the private property toward the beach. WRONG.
So at this point I am definitely out of any area that is marked with "Private Property," but I still don't see a lighthouse. I'm beginning to think this lighthouse is hidden on the private property, so I give that idea up and keep walking along on a small street at this point with a killer view. I peep a little pull off for cars to park with a short concrete ledge leading to the beach. It seemed like an invitation...so I went.
Views. Were. Breathtaking. Pictures do not do it justice! (probably because I am an amateur). After getting wet from the rain...yes, it had been raining this whole time, and also slipping on a mossy rock to then soak my left leg and foot in the water, it was time to head back to my car. Which meant heading back to the parking lot that may or may not have been "Private Property."
Yep, on my walk back...someone hopped out of a vehicle and said, "I didn't know we had any dogs on this property" *insert speed walk here with Shawna's ability to ignore small talk* Luckily I was only 45 seconds from my car. I hopped in, drove away, and never looked back!
I wasn't ready to leave RI yet! So, from an earlier research of things to do in Rhode Island, I remembered there was something else in Newport I wanted to see. The Cliff Walk. It's actually very well known and very popular. It is an incredible coastline path! It is totally free and totally dog friendly! So this is a must for anyone traveling to Newport! I hung out there about 45 minutes, only completing a portion of the path. During my trek though, I passed MASSIVE mansions. Like crazy insane mansions. Imagine the number of dogs they could house, haha! But this is where my excitement ends, with the two hour trip back. I had to get back to start packing up for the move to NH! Stay tuned for my future weekend endeavors!
Shawna +Rusty
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