Cliff Walk - Newport, RI

Hey, we finally left Massachusetts!  Going down to the cottage last weekend helped but remaining in the same area for so long makes me feel kind of caged in and the travel bug was biting big time.  I know it's all super trendy to take younger kids on international trips (Okay, sweetie.  We can go to Paris for your 8th birthday.) but I'm of the opinion that Americans do not take advantage of all there is to see here in our own country.



On Saturday, we headed down to Newport, RI for a quick outing.  Our main goal was to visit Cliff Walk, which is a 3.5 mile walkway along Newport's eastern shoreline.  Most of it is paved but there are some tricky parts over rocks, etc.  

But first, donuts.

We detoured to Allie's Donuts on our drive down.  While these were delicious, I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way and wait in line (it was out the door) again.  One woman in front of us ordered 42 donuts, which would have been fine if she'd had a list or been able to rattle off what she wanted. Um, let me see.



It was super foggy down along the water on Saturday.  There's supposed to be a beach in the background.  Okay, so a bit of "travel information" because what I found online wasn't super clear.  Cliff Walk begins near Easton's Beach.  There is a large parking lot at this beach but it costs $20 on the weekend ($10 for a weekday.)  The beach area has public restrooms and a highly rated snack bar.  If you don't want to pay $$ for parking, there are metered spots along the street.  We were able to snag one of those.  It cost $6 for 3 hours of parking.



While a bright blue sky and ocean water would have been pretty, the fog definitely added a different dimension to my photos.









After approximately one mile from the beginning of Cliff Walk, you come to Forty Steps.  This is exactly what it sounds like - 40 steps down to a viewing platform on the cliff.


 


One side of the platform is open, allowing access to several large, flat rocks.


The angle of this photo makes this look far more dangerous than it really was!

Rich took these next two photos with his phone.

Poor Anna was terrified of falling.  I think it has something to do with her hydrocephalus/shunt.  Her sense of surroundings, in general, is always a bit distorted, which is typically of SB kids.  (I know it looks like one step back and I would plunge into the ocean, but it is deceiving.)

Shortly after Forty Steps, there is a permanent structure, which houses two bathrooms.  This is fairly new and I was pleasantly surprised at how clean it was.  At this location, there is also street parking - it looked metered.







We didn't make it down to the rocky portion of the walkway - that would have been tough for Anna to do the entire thing and walk all the way back.  Obviously, Newport is famous for it's mansions.  We didn't tour any this time around because the timing wasn't right, but I've been through several a long time ago.









Because we eat at seafood places all the time, we decided to try out Brick Alley Pub after friends recommended it to us.  It was really tasty, especially the garlic bread.