Day Eight - July 25

Today, we moved on from the Boston area to Long Island. Along the way we stopped in Rhode Island and Connecticut. A friend who lived in Rhode Island said we should try to do the Cliff Walk in Newport, so we set our GPS, and in an hour and a half we were at Easton's Beach, Newport, Rhode Island.

We gave the kids a choice of hanging out at Easton's Beach, where we parked, or going with Mom and Dad on the Cliff Walk, which began at the western end of the beach. Faith and Stephen opted for the beach, while Andrew opted for the Cliff Walk. (I think he was envisioning climbing the cliffs, rather than walking along looking at the mansions.)

Although the day was a rare sunny day on our trip, the beach experience was not really great due to the red seaweed/red tide that made a mess out of swimming. Stephen and Faith walked along the beach, decided it was too gross and sat in the car listening to their iPods while waiting for us to return.

The Cliff Walk, on the other hand, was very interesting, both for the beautiful mansions on one side and the crashing surf and natural beauty on the other side of the oceanside sidewalk. Andrew did get to indulge in climbing, both on the rocks down to the ocean and the old trees along the path. He also took over the camera, chasing a mink that we saw on the rocks down by the sea to capture some video. After this he decided to make a "relaxation video" using the footage he took of the crashing surf. The Cliff Walk was another place that satisifed many different tastes, from the action-oriented teen to the sedate culture of his elders! The natural beauty and man-made elegance of Newport was definitely a good choice for traveling with teens!

From Newport, RI we continued on another hour and a quarter to New London, Connecticut, where we had booked a Cross Sound Ferry to Orient Point, Long Island. This was another new experience for the kids, who had never been on a vehicle ferry. They spent the time alternately below deck working on a crossword puzzle with Mom and playing "I'm the King of the World!" at the bow of the ship. Taking the ferry was a beautiful way to travel after too many hours crammed into a Toyota Highlander. We ended our day of travel to Long Island, NY with dinner at the Riverhead "Lobster Roll" Restaurant and checked into our Holiday Inn Express.