Walking by the Bay on a Sunny Morning
It was bright and sunny this morning, so I decided to grab the camera, and go photograph a few lighthouses. The temperatures were more reasonable for the time of year, near fifty, so it was a pleasant day to wander. I started at the north end of Jamestown, where I finally recognized Conanicut Light for what it is, having been completely clueless last time I went looking for it. I figured to head over the Newport, so I drove down the east side of the island towards the Newport Bridge (as us old timers call it, despite the government renaming the Claiborne Pell Bridge). Just short of the bridge, I found a little parking/picnic area a short walk away from some spectacular views of the East Passage, including one big, honking bridge, and not one, but two big, honking aircraft carriers.
I spent some time there taking photos, then paid my toll, and headed over to the city by the sea. The first stop was Goat Island, at the north end of the harbor, which is accessible via a causeway. Goat Island Light sits at the north end, dwarfed by the enormous Hyatt hotel just a few yards south of it. I also took a shot of Rose Island Light, which is further out into the East Passage. (Rose Island is now a working vacation lighthouse. You stay at the lighthouse for a week, whilst carrying out the various chores the lighthouse keeper would have to do back in the day.)
Next up was a ride through town to the south end of the harbor, to take some shots of Ida Lewis Light. The old lighthouse sits on Lime Rock, and is named after its most famous keeper. Now it's a yacht club, but during the summer, they still light the lantern in the bay window on the second floor. (It's very much a harbor light.) It was here that the battery of my camera died, which seeing as though I hadn't charged it since I first got it, and had taken and transferred more than 250 images, is pretty good.
I kept on heading down Ocean Road to Fort Adams State Park. Fort Adams dates back to the Revolution, but is more recently famous as the location where Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival. I used to spend a lot of time in the park, because my soccer team's biggest rival, the Newport Spinnakers, played their home games on the fields there. (The fields boasted the most spectacular scenery of any fields we ever played on, so it was a terrific place to play on warm sunny days. Cold, rainy days in November were much less so, especially with the wind whipping in off the harbor. Plus, the fields had been built atop a series of WWII era concrete bunkers, so rain water never drained, turning the fields into shallow lakes. It made for some spectacular slide tackles. I was glad to just be watching the games.)
Anyway, I'd been there a lot for soccer, but had never explored the place much otherwise. It was a good day for it. One nice thing about all this is that if I tried doing all this in the spring or summer, the place would be mobbed with tourists. Nice weather in the winter gives one all the advantages with 90% fewer people getting in the way. The downside is that the fort itself isn't open for the season yet. So I contented myself by wandering around the outside of the fort along the bay for awhile. Later, as I was driving out, I drove by Eisenhower House, which had been Ike's summer White House when he was President, and is now available for weddings and parties, apparently.
I did some more driving around, getting as far down as Castle Hill, but with the camera battery dead, I started losing interest. I headed over to a BBQ joint I know in Middletown for lunch, then headed home. Nice day.
I spent some time there taking photos, then paid my toll, and headed over to the city by the sea. The first stop was Goat Island, at the north end of the harbor, which is accessible via a causeway. Goat Island Light sits at the north end, dwarfed by the enormous Hyatt hotel just a few yards south of it. I also took a shot of Rose Island Light, which is further out into the East Passage. (Rose Island is now a working vacation lighthouse. You stay at the lighthouse for a week, whilst carrying out the various chores the lighthouse keeper would have to do back in the day.)
Next up was a ride through town to the south end of the harbor, to take some shots of Ida Lewis Light. The old lighthouse sits on Lime Rock, and is named after its most famous keeper. Now it's a yacht club, but during the summer, they still light the lantern in the bay window on the second floor. (It's very much a harbor light.) It was here that the battery of my camera died, which seeing as though I hadn't charged it since I first got it, and had taken and transferred more than 250 images, is pretty good.
I kept on heading down Ocean Road to Fort Adams State Park. Fort Adams dates back to the Revolution, but is more recently famous as the location where Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival. I used to spend a lot of time in the park, because my soccer team's biggest rival, the Newport Spinnakers, played their home games on the fields there. (The fields boasted the most spectacular scenery of any fields we ever played on, so it was a terrific place to play on warm sunny days. Cold, rainy days in November were much less so, especially with the wind whipping in off the harbor. Plus, the fields had been built atop a series of WWII era concrete bunkers, so rain water never drained, turning the fields into shallow lakes. It made for some spectacular slide tackles. I was glad to just be watching the games.)
Anyway, I'd been there a lot for soccer, but had never explored the place much otherwise. It was a good day for it. One nice thing about all this is that if I tried doing all this in the spring or summer, the place would be mobbed with tourists. Nice weather in the winter gives one all the advantages with 90% fewer people getting in the way. The downside is that the fort itself isn't open for the season yet. So I contented myself by wandering around the outside of the fort along the bay for awhile. Later, as I was driving out, I drove by Eisenhower House, which had been Ike's summer White House when he was President, and is now available for weddings and parties, apparently.
I did some more driving around, getting as far down as Castle Hill, but with the camera battery dead, I started losing interest. I headed over to a BBQ joint I know in Middletown for lunch, then headed home. Nice day.