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Wednesday 13th September 2017

Another day and another hotel move

I don’t actually mind moving around a lot but I know it’s not for everyone. Today we were off to Newport and would be ticking off another two states. We checked out around 08:30 and drove to Home Sweet Home Doughnut Shoppe. Lots of lovely donuts and pastries here – Mark had a cinnamon roll and I had a maple frosted both with a French vanilla coffee. Total cost was $8.04.


Unfortunately, my donut also tasted of cinnamon, which I hate so Mark had this one too Before leaving I got a strawberry, cream cheese croissant which was lovely.

From here we drove to Mystic in Connecticut, which took just over 2 hours. I’d read online that there isn’t much to see in Connecticut, which is why we didn’t stop over but Mystic was one place that was recommended. We parked in the parking lot opposite Mystic Seaport, as it was free.



We wandered over to the seaport but decided not to get tickets to enter, as they’re quite pricey and we wouldn’t be stopping for too long. You can still get a nice view of the area though without getting tickets. We also had a look in the souvenir shop, which had lots of lovely gifts and sweets.


Next, we took a 10 min walk into the main part of town, walking alongside the water and getting lovely views along the way.


We had a little look around the town, walking up and down the main street. I took some photos of the Bascule bridge and we went in to Mystic Sweet Shop.


After this we made our way back to the car. Overall, I really liked Mystic and would have happily stayed here. There are literally so many lovely towns in New England, it’s hard to choose a favourite. We drove a little further down the road to Five Guys for lunch. We both just had burgers and chips, which were just as good as usual. I also had a still mixed berry minute maid juice from here, which I’d never tried before but it was really good. Total cost was $20.16.


We continued to Newport in Rhode Island, where we would be staying tonight. The drive was just over an hour and we arrived at 14:30.


We stayed at the Newport Bay Club & hotel, which is in a lovely, historic building. We had such a lovely room too, it had a separate room with a seating area, kitchen and dining table.


We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Newport. It was very busy, I believe the Newport Boat Show was happening while we were there. First up was Bowen’s Wharf, a pier with lots of shops and dining. It’s a nice area to walk or sit and people watch. We then walked in the opposite direction along Thames St. Again, lots of lovely looking shops and restaurants. We had a look in a couple of the souvenir and candy shops before stopping for a drink in O’Brien’s.


On our way, back to the hotel, we walked down another pier where there was an amazing apartment block and some very fancy yachts.


After chilling out in the hotel for a while, we made our way out for dinner. We walked down the road to the Smoke House. I really liked the style of this restaurant, it was almost like a beach bar would be. Mark got a Boston Larger to drink and I got a lovely fresh lemonade. To eat Mark had a burger with fried egg and I had a chicken burger on a chive biscuit bun. Mine was so nice, I’d never had a biscuit bun before but it was lovely. Highly recommend this place! Total cost was $42.00 plus tip.


After this is was back to the hotel, to sit on the lovely sofa and watch a bit of TV

Next: Day 14 - Cliff Walk, Ocean Drive & Arriving in Cape Cod

Another lovely day - everywhere seems so picturesque!

Breakfast looks delicious- though I am a cinnamon fan!

There are some serious boats around too!

Another great day! Were you happy that you chose Newport over Mystic to stay?

We are planning to catch a train from New York to Providence (chose to stop there as there is a Cheesecake Factory overlooking the State Capitol building and it is within walking distance from the station and a car rental place!)

So I was planning to make Providence our 'pit stop' to say we'd been to Rhode Island, and then we were going to drive to Mystic to overnight there (again to tick another state off the list, but also to have a slice of pizza in Mystic pizza from the Julia Roberts movie game!)

Your photos of both states look nice - almost as if there isn't a wrong choice? Would you agree?

Another great day!

It really is so scenic, beautiful views everywhere we went.

It must be nice to own one of those boats The apartments here were pretty pricey too - there was an estate agents at the end of the pier so we had a little nosey!

Definitely agree with you - there isn't a wrong choice, they're both lovely seaside towns. Your route makes sense, so I wouldn't worry about missing out on Newport. I'm sure Providence has plenty to offer as well and you can't go wrong with a cheesecake factory. Mystic was quieter but still plenty to see/do.

It certainly was