Rhode Island

The weekend after our trip to Vermont we were invited to join our friends the Leishman's on a road trip to Rhode Island where Taylor was participating in a marathon in Newport. Rhode Island was on our bucketlist of things to do before we leave the East coast so of course we were up for it. I had been pretty sick and almost cancelled the trip but decided that if worse came to worse I could just sleep in the back of the van while traveling and hang out at the hotel if I wasn't feeling up to doing anything. I just knew if we didn't take this chance to go now we probably wouldn't have the time or opportunity to go again. So after dragging myself to packing our belongings, loading the kids in the car, picking up Chad and after an awful 6 hour trip, which was supposed to be 4, our hotel bed was a pleasant sight and the best thing that had happened to me all day. We woke in the morning and got ready to see if we could find Taylor in his race and cheer him on. I learned a bit about marathons and how they work and how you qualify and I think the biggest thing I learned after seeing Taylor finish was I should never touch a marathon as long as I live! Really, what is fun about running for 4 hours or more and barely walking when you are done?! Ha ha, I think I'm just saying that to make myself feel better cause I'm pretty sure I could never do it. Kuddos to Taylor for training for so long and finishing it. Hmmm, maybe Kaycee might be able to talk me into it some day, but don't hold your breath! Tee Hee!

After the marathon we checked out Newport a little and then got something to eat. We then headed back to the hotel to have some naps and regroup which was very much needed for everyone. Afterwards we decided to walk on a pathway called "Cliff Walk" along the coast and check out some of the famed gilded age mansions. Holy Moly! They were absolutely huge and never in my life have I seen anything like them. It started to get dark so we decided to pack it in and make sure that we took a tour of one of the mansions the next day. We picked "The Breakers" mansion. It is the grandest of the Newport mansions. This summer retreat for the Vanderbilt family was a 70-room Italian Renaissance-style house, completed in 1895. Sits on a 13-acre estate overlooking a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean, where the waves crashing on the rocks below gave the house its name. The only pictures we have are of the outside as picture taking inside was strongly prohibited. All I know is that I absolutley loved it! I couldn't get over that this was just their summer home. Oh, and the children's playhouse was so ridiculous because it really could have been someone's home. We were so intrigued that as soon as we got home Chad wanted to find out more about the Vanderbilt family and the history of Newport. Rhode Island was amazing. I loved how it was surrounded by the ocean and it was so breathtaking and charming. I informed Chad that if he was to tell me that he was going to move our family to Rhode Island so he could set up practice there, I'd drop everything and leave immediately. I loved it that much! Too bad he's taking the wrong boards. The boards he is taking doesn't include the east coast to practice dentistry. Yeah, not really sure why we did that. After our mansion tour we decided to take one last drive along the coast in Newport and then head home. It was a really fun trip and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it even more if I had been feeling better.