New England Road Trip Day 1: Newport, Rhode Island

It was finally time for our New England road trip! Driving up from NYC, we stopped for lunch at Matunuck Oyster Bar. Make reservations ahead of time, as spots fill up. I loved the outdoor seating— the cool weather and salty breeze was perfect. This adorable and classy oyster bar restaurant borders a little outcropping of Potter Pond and if you snag a waterfront table you may catch views of an oyster boat making a delivery of their catch of salty morsels. We got the oyster sampler- four each of three different varieties of oysters with a range of size and sweetness. All were clean, succulent, savory and not fishy. We also had two styles of clam chowder— the Rhode Island style (clear seafood clam broth) and the New England style (the heavier creamier (a bit too dense for my taste but others loved it) variety). The rest of our lunch included clams with linguine (delivered a very true clam flavor, almost briney but enjoyable), seared scallops with togarashi seasoning, and seared tuna. We were starting off this New England Road Trip (or “NERT,” as I liked to refer to it as) right.

After lunch, we continued our drive up to Newport, RI. Our first stop was Easton Beach– my first time on a New England beach! More specifically, this was my first time on a beach (in the contiguous 48) outside of the lovely beach of Galveston, TX. Easton Beach was wonderful— clean, soft, buttery (I know this is not a term typically used to describe a beach, but go with me here), and utterly peaceful. At the recommendation of my friend and RI native, we enjoyed a Del’s frozen lemonade and frozen watermelon, which were surprisingly refreshing and not too sweet! I preferred the lemon, but would re-order on both. Now, back to the beach. The sand was fine, soft, and other than the occasional shell, absolutely pristine. Based on recent comments online, I was expecting the sights and stink of red seaweed to muck up our experience, but seems like we just missed the red tide. It was perfect! It was so nice to walk around barefoot with no socks, shoes, or pavement. Maybe we were there at low tide, but I was amazed at how far the shallow area of shore extended outwards — you could walk out 15 feet and still not get wet above your knees. We spent hours meandering along the shoreline pointing out little fish, finding pretty shells, and being mesmerized and calmed by the ripples of outgoing and incoming waves lapping up and rolling horizontally across the sand, an inch of warm water rushing gently over my feet.

Then, I dropped my phone into the ocean.

What a way to “unplug,” right?

The little phone mishap was not going to dampen Day #1 of the long-awaited NERT. After getting our fill of the beach, we continued on to the Cliffwalk, a public access walkway along Newport’s eastern shoreline that offers views of the ocean cliffs to the east and the historic mansions to the west.

Midday heat brought with it the midday sleepies, and the decision was made to leave the Cliffwalk in search of refreshments. Our next destination was downtown Newport along Thames Street. Here, we indulged in gigantic scoops of ice cream from Kilwin’s before making our way north to Bannister’s Wharf to ogle at the gigantic shiny yachts of the uber rich.

The last daylight hours of NERT Day #1 were spent catching the sunset at Brenton State Park. I was hopeful for kites, but none were flying today. No matter, the sky didn’t need kites to be picturesque. The sky was on fire. It was like we were descending into a volcano, and as the surrounding earth and ocean below darkened, the sky above got more and more violently and ferociously…enflamed. Maybe I’m just not used to grandiose oceanfront sunsets, but I have to say this was one wonderful view. The NERT was off to a great start.