Day 3 - started off in a fairly predictable fashion, although today was quite laid back, more of a family day than a destination. Jordan got us kicked off by strategically planning her 'choices'. She informed us that today was to contain 'pool, then playground, then Jeep stuff.' Unfortunately we miscalculated and got her ready for the pool a full hour before it actually opened. 4 year olds do really well with that explanation.
Here she is plotting out the day.
Instead of the pool (won't comment on a pool at a campground, this is our last RV park of the trip, might as well take advantage...), we started out at the playground. This place does not skimp, their playground is more like the set of Ninja Warrior. Jordan ultimately dominated the entire thing, but not without coercion. Here she is conquering the final obstacle.
After this, the pool. If you've ever been in a campground with a pool, you know the drill. If it opens at 10, at about 9:55 a zombie-like progression starts taking hold of the park. Everyone is meandering toward the pool, trying not to tip other campers off to their ultimate destination, like the 14 towels, swimmies, and neon foam noodles aren't a dead giveaway. Once everyone gets there, the gloves are off. All for the privilege of jumping in a pool that was about 61 degrees. You've all seen the Chevy Chase footage from Vacation, that was definitely me.
After dipping in 3 different pools in a 15 minute span, we started getting ready for a drive down to Newport, RI. One quick aside, it is one thing to hear grown adults with a thick Boston accent, but it is something else hearing kids on a playground sounding like a bad Ben Affleck character, especially when they are mouthing off to their equally accented parents. You ahhh, no you ahhhh!!!
On the way to Newport, the scenery was beautiful. Inside the Jeep, we had half the top down & Jordan was rocking her Jeep hat (can only be worn in the Jeep, and must be worn when the top is down). We decided to snap a pic, not realizing that the truck from Maximum Overdrive was imminently bearing down on her in the background.
Once we reached Newport, we realized that this is a case study in the haves vs the have nots. The entire town's tourism is built around "come see our filthy rich people, and get a $2 souvenier to commemorate it". The setting is unreal, with rock outcroppings like Scotland or Ireland, sailboats everywhere, and rolling shorelines dotted with the ultimate in one-upsmanship mansions. Here are a few, undoubtedly inhabited by the Pewterschmidts.
The coastline is ridiculous. We stopped at Brenton Point State Park to watch some waves come in and snag a few weathered rocks for our travel collection back home. Here's an amateur photographer getting 3rd degree sunburn trying to capture the moment.
Of course Jordan's playground spider-sense kicked in, and we found ourselves at one of the most picturesque prefab jungle gyms ever. I'm guessing the Newport chamber of commerce paid a little extra just to make sure poor people were chosen to build this.
(Actually a bit of Kim's research while on the drive home showed that Newport's per capita income is right around the $40k mark, considered below the national median & helping bring Rhode Island down to 17th nationally). Extra $100s will be used to stoke the fire at the Breakers Mansion tonight to rectify this situation.
We did snag a seat at the wharf and polish off an excellent seafood lunch, with this as our view, and no - that isn't Guy Fieri as first mate.
After all of this, we decided to take a little detour on the way out and stop in Jamestown, just west across a pair of bays from Newport. We reflected on the day and took in the view for a while. There are worse places to be.
As we worked our way home, we realized that our campground home base is literally 5 minutes from Gillette Stadium, home of the Patriots and the oh-so-dreamy Tom Brady. We swung by to get a glimpse of the stadium, and on the way there the oncoming lane looked like a scene out of American Graffiti. Nothing but classic cars, musclecars, bikes, etc. As we got close, we discovered that we had hit 'Cruise Night', and it took up about half of the main parking lot. Thousands of cars, bikes, and all the gearheads to go with it. If our daughter hadn't been running on fumes, I'd probably still be there. One of my all time favorite cars was front & center. This beast.
That's enough for tonight, tomorrow is a big travel day, hopefully ending up at Camden State Park in Maine, with a few stops along the way. More to follow.
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