A Toast for Christine

Happy Birthday, my friend.

Beware of "friends" bearing videocameras.

Meandering Musings from Newport

I have to go out on a limb and say that I'm stuck on

what my blog entry should be today.

(Salve Regina Campus, Newport, R.I.)

Really -- I'm teetering on the edge here!
(private beach near Castle Hill Lighthouse)

I'm out to sea,

(off the Cliff Walk)

stuck between a rock and a hard place,

fighting an uphill battle to figure out what I should write.
(Forty Steps, Cliff Walk -- or the Great Wall of China?)

MMM. Maybe now that I've stepped in it,

I should go down another path and let the pictures speak for themselves?

I'm going to take a shot here,

say that I'm on fire,

and that I'm "lichen" how this entry turned out.

Enough monkeying around, back to work!

(Hurdy Gurdy statue by Kay Worden)

Look Up and Behold the Signs!

How about this for my beach cottage?

I loved the door/sign for The Rhino Bar and Grille, but the website scares me a little.

It looks like a real zoo!

We had a whale of a good time on the pier!
You can't read it, but the Music Hall is over 115 years old. I liked the juxtaposition of this one. I saw it out of the corner of my eye down a quaint alley.
If you've been drinking, can you make a safe deposit?

Fancy places have fancy brass plaques,

and poems.

Want to look at my etchings? Or, my pictures of rock etchings?

More with the fancy ...

You need luck to walk back up the forty steps.

Colonial signage

Weathered the Storms of HistoryHow appropriate for the weekend.

Sunrise, Sunset

Newport, R.I.

Private Beaches near Castle Hill Inn and Lighthouse

Moon at first Sunlight

Worshipping the Sun

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Rays of Hospitality
Castle Hill Inn

Castle Hill Lighthouse
Skies Afire
Framing the End of Day

Saturday, March 21, 2009

La Mer

Newport, R.I.

Near Castle Hill Lighthouse.

Saturday afternoon, March 21, 2009

aka a "happy place!"

Not bad for a little Nikon camera ... I forgot that it took video. Plus, I had no idea what I was shooting because of the sun flares, the wind and my hair in my face, and me trying not to slip on the rocks. It needs editing, but I'm not that advanced.

The Amazing Adventures of the Shushing Librarian Part 2

Hey there. The Shushing Librarian again, here to tell you about my recent Amazing Adventures. Thanks to Auntie Nettie's dear friend Christine, I got to come along as part of a "girl's weekend" trip to Newport R.I. I was very excited, as it was the first time I'd been part of "girl's weekend" and the first time I'd been to Newport.

I was a little hungover from my "trip" the night before, but luckily I got to sleep on the car ride up there from New York. I wanted to drive, but the girls thought it was a bad idea for some reason!

We met up with the girls at the Red Parrot Restaurant. The menu is HUGE and I don't mean literally compared to me. Luckily Auntie Nettie and I had figured out what we wanted before we arrived.I needed to hydrate after the night before. I thought I should at least start with water.

(I had such good intentions ...)

I snitched some of the mussels from the other girls.

Do you think they noticed?

I got to dive into this gigantic bowl of seafood salad. Scallops, shrimp, crab, and veggies, all tossed into a fried tortilla shell. Every salad should come in a fried tortilla shell in my humble opinion.

So yummy!

Enough with the water. Where is my Diet Coke? Ah, there it is!

After lunch we all strolled along the commercial district in Newport. We stopped by Bannister's Wharf where I had to be the information professional and read the brochure.

Hey! Someone had to weigh down the expedition.

After some retail therapy and shoe shopping, we decided to head to our accommodations at the Castle Hill Inn & Resort. We were a bit early, so we partook in the lovely high tea. I had a "cuppa" and some scones and jam.

I thought about picking this guy up for a fling, but after examining the goods, I think he would have been just a bit too much for me.

This guy on the other hand ... is just the kind of teddy bear I like!

We spent the rest of the afternoon running around on the beach and exploring the grounds. I believe that there were some ritualistic bonding activities around sunset. I was sworn to secrecy on those rites, so I won't mention them here. I will say though, that there was some barking at the sun ...

The rest of the evening's bonding activities occurred in our p.j.s, in front of a fire, with food, and more beverages. Sadly, I did NOT learn my lesson from the night before.

(Again, let me assure Auntie Nettie's parental units and friends, I -- the Shushing Librarian was imbibing, NOT your darling A.N.!)

Fiesta time!

I got in my cups again,

AND I mixed my liquors.

The desserts were also very very lovely.

At some point in the evening, I passed out in the bathroom.

I had to take a jacuzzi bath to feel "human" again.

I thought I better call it a night at that point, so crawled into a huge king-sized four-poster bed and was out like a light to the accompaniment of the waves crashing on the shore.

I woke up at the crack of dawn and took in the sunrise on the private porch,

and then went for a walk down at the shore.

My boots were just a might bit big, which made things problematic.

After my morning constitutional and when all of the girls were finally ready, we went back up to the Inn for brunch. I got my own chair and everything!

Sadly, this wasn't a mimosa! I thought it was ...

This is apple juice. Really. It is!I ate the WHOLE thing.

After brunch I wanted to take a canoe ride, but no one would join me.

Instead we headed out for a perambulation down the famous Cliff Walk, where we worked off breakfast before thinking about heading back to New York.

I had a great time this weekend, but I'm afraid that I may have dug myself a hole with all the partying. I may have to hide out a bit ... (maybe in my new hidey-hole?)

until everyone forgets about the whole jail incident!

SHHHHH. Don't tell anyone!

What happens in Newport ... stays in Newport!