Newport, Rhode Island ~ Day 1

Doug and I left Atlanta on a Wednesday and flew up to Newport. We dropped Briana off with my parents, and she had her own amazing vacation.

After not being able to find a parking space at the Atlanta airport (lots were completely full) and having to shift gears and head to a Park n Fly to take a shuttle (grrrr - luckily we gave ourselves plenty of time), we arrived at the airport. Once we got there, I really needed a drink. Doug took me to the Delta Sky Club so I could take a breath. After a glass of wine and a light lunch, I felt better...

We decided to live it up and go first class on our trip...

Flying into Newport was just beautiful...

So many sailboats...

We had to walk across this sky bridge to get from the main airport to the rental car area...

We got our rental car and then we were on our way to the hotel...

The Pell Newport Bridge to get to Newport was huge...

Finally in Newport...

Now before I get into all the hotel stuff, I have to explain why we went to Rhode Island. Honestly, Rhode Island was never on my radar of a place I wanted to visit. I didn't know anything about it. I had always known I wanted to go to Napa Valley for my 15th. But, I had no idea what to do for the 20th. Doug and I talked about going out of the country (London), but with all the anxiety I had experienced just a few months before, I knew I wasn't ready for it. 

Doug did a internet search under "most romantic hotels in the US" and the Chanler popped up. He went to the website and immediately knew it is where he wanted to take me. The bad news, it was booked for the dates we needed. So, we gave up on the idea and started slowly looking elsewhere. I don't know what made Doug look again a few weeks later, but he did. And miraculously, a room opened up. We have no idea why. And it was a room we knew we would love to stay in, so we grabbed it. It was totally meant to be.

I'm sure there are some people that are probably confused as to why we didn't go to a warmer climate and lie on a beach somewhere, but this is the place that appealed to us the most. And I'm so glad this is the place we picked. It was perfect. Beyond perfect. The weather was beautiful, the views were amazing and the people were so very nice.

And we got to pretend we were rich people for a few days. :)

So this is what we drove up to...

The lobby...

Sparkling wine when we arrived...

Up the stairs to the second floor where our room was...

Love this painting...

The foyer area outside our room...

We were in the English Tudor suite - it overlooked the front of the hotel/garden area...

Our key and some macaroons were waiting for us...

And balloons as well...

The room was amazing...

Once we got settled in our room, we started getting hungry. We ate at the hotel in the restaurant that evening ~ The Spiced Pear.

Another beautiful painting in the restaurant...

The restaurant...

Our view that evening...

Below is a photo of our waiter Maurice. (I actually snapped this photo the last night of our trip.) Maurice waited on us several times during the trip, and he was warm, funny and attentive. He made every dinner very enjoyable. I can't say enough good things about him...

My first Rhode Island meal and first lobster roll of the visit - delish...

Lemon panna cotta - scrumptious (Maurice's recommendation)...

I had to use the restroom during dinner. Oh my gosh - I seriously had to take pictures of it! Don't laugh! It was so pretty! You'd think I'd never been anywhere before...

After dinner, Doug and I walked outside for just a few minutes...

The night was beautiful, but it was so cold. It was the coldest night of our visit (thank goodness). It warmed up a bit after that.

The moon was beautiful every evening...

Since we arrived late afternoon, we hadn't had a chance to really explore the hotel grounds. That happened the next day. Oh my gosh - it was so gorgeous.

Day 2 of our trip - coming soon...