Ocean State, Tall Ships & Ft Adams

It is amazing what you learn at the Laundromat!  The girls and I carried our 2 bags of dirty laundry, soap and bounce sheets 4 blocks to Micki’s Laundromat.  While we were waiting for our clothes to tumble dry, I picked up a local penny saver.  I especially enjoyed the “did you know?” highlights throughout.  I learned that Rhode Island has more than 100 beaches and it’s shoreline runs for 400 miles.  That’s why it’s called the Ocean State.

This past weekend a dozen tall ships from around the world were here in Newport Harbor for the Tall Ship Festival.  They were docked along the waterfront for tours aboard.  As we strolled along the numerous restaurants and boutiques along one of the many wharfs, we saw a sign that read “crew wanted” on one of the tall ships.  We asked the girls who wanted to go the South Pacific as crew and Maggie said “what?, where??”  Kate and Olivia enthusiastically said yes and then promptly asked, “What’s that?”  We got a good chuckle out of that one.  On the way back to our boat, Olivia says, “I really want to work on that boat!”

Craig took the girls to see the tall ships, climb aboard and be a part of history.  They went aboard HMS Bounty, which was used in the Pirates of the Caribbean 2 movie.  So cool!!   There was even someone dressed up like Jack Sparrow.

 On Monday, the ships all set sail on a parade around the Narragansett Bay.  We took a seat in front of Ft. Adams overlooking the water.  

Hangin' out on the stone wall waiting for the ships

Newport Bridge and a plethora of boats and tall ships

HMS Bounty under sail

Many other beautiful boats not under sail

 After the parade sailed us by, we took a guided tour of Ft. Adams.  It was obvious that our guide was very passionate about history.  We had a fact filled tour of the fort built in 1857 for a sea invasion that never came.

Inside the fort - 4 acres 

captured from inside the fort through the stone wall gate