Famous for its Gilded Age mansions, Newport offers visitors a chance to see what living was like in the late 1800’s high society. I couldn’t wait to tour the abundance of lavish estates until I realized that my dear husband (DH) and teen daughters don’t share the same enthusiasm for home and garden tours. Fortunately, Newport offers a wide array of other options including the Cliff Walk, sailing excursions and many restaurants.

We traveled to Rhode Island last summer mainly because Southwest offered ridiculously low airfares to Boston. Because we decided to visit different areas of the state, we made our home base in Fall River, MA. Only about 20 miles away from Newport and Providence, the location was ideal (and less expensive) than staying in either city.

We spent our first day driving around some of Boston’s universities: Tufts, Harvard and Boston College followed by an evening with my relatives in Providence. We devoted our second day to explore Newport and arrived around 9 am. (more…)