A weekend in New England

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend! The weather was perfect for late October and the leaves were still at peak along the New England coast, unlike at home where they are well past peak. We got up early Friday morning and headed out towards Providence. We made it to Danbury, CT in time for an early lunch and then into Providence around 2:30 to check into our hotel. We were staying the first night at the Providence Harbor Radisson and were pleasantly surprised at the nice view over the bay from our room on the top floor.

The hotel was about a 30 minute walk down Historic Benefit St., across the canal and into downtown.

 After eating dinner and having afew beers we headed over to the arena for the Phish show. It was a great high energy show and we were dancing like crazy for most of it.

We had a great time and by the end of the First Tube encore i was ready to head back to the hotel after being up since 4:30 am. A perfect way to celebrate my 34th B-day.

 The next morning we got up and walked down the street for some breakfast before we checked out Newport just 40 minutes down the road. Newport was fun, we walked around checking out the shops dowtown and then we drove out to see the mansions. I was just amazed at how big some of these homes were.

And the impressive views that come with them.

 

We ended the day of sight seeing with dinner at The Clarke Cooke House on a table overlooking the harbor. Then drinks at the outdoor bar on Bowen's Warf under a full moon.

The next day it was time to leave Newport and head back home. We decided to take the long way home and drive along the coast. We made it to Mystic, CT and stopped for breakfast, then took a walk through town . Mystic is a nice little seaport and tourist destination. I'm sure its crowded in the summertime, so October was the perfect time of year to go. 

 As we were walking along the mystic river the drawbridge opened up to let some boats though.

We finished up our trip down the coast in Niantic, CT where we took a walk on the beach and witness the Amtrak flying towards NYC from Boston.

We Said goodbye to the coast and headed across Connecticut taking back roads though the small bedroom communities of NYC on our way into New York and across the Hudson River via the Bear Mountain bridge. After 13 hours of driving i was tired, but the drive was well worth the extra time.