Hi there! If you missed the previous posts you can catch up with part one here, or part two here!

Day 5  Hyannis – Newport – Providence Airport

The last morning of our trip we woke to find the Cape had been blanketed in fog. Luckily it lifted before we commenced on our journey to Newport, Rhode Island. As we were catching an evening flight from Providence we thought it would be a good idea to travel to Newport, as it is only 18 miles from the airport.

Parking in Newport was relatively easy, we had no problems finding a space before we headed into the town to explore. Newport is built around a beautiful harbor, and there are plenty of tourist shops selling seaside and coastal memorabilia.

In fact it was in just one of those shops that we got told off by the shopkeeper. Admittedly I had done very little research on Newport, really only using it as a stopping place en-route to the airport. On hearing this the shopkeeper advised me that at the very least we had to do ‘Ocean Drive’, or we would quite simply have no concept of where we had been!

Thoroughly chastened, but with our interest spiked, we hot-footed it back to the car and set the Sat Nav for Ocean drive. And the lady in the shop – she was absolutely right!

First we drove down a tree lined street which homed more mansions than I have ever seen! Apparently some of them are open to visitors, but sadly we didn’t have time to stop and visit or take photos!

On following the road we found some fabulous scenery.

The 10 mile drive could take as little or as long as you please. We stopped for a comfort break at Brenton State Park.

I loved this stretch of the road. Looking out onto the Atlantic, I guess it reminded me a bit of the fabulous coastal roads we have in Northern Ireland. This was something I had expected to find in Cape Cod, and I was disappointed that didn’t seem to be the case.

We also stopped off in Fort Adams State Park. This park is home to an old Fort which was used by the U.S. Army / U.S. Navy. Again, we didn’t have time to explore but it looked interesting, and even without entry to the Fort, the views of Newport Harbor from the park are stunning.

All in all, we had a Simply Grand day. I definitely feel like we did a whistle-stop tour of Newport and it very much could be a destination in it’s own right.

We were sad to say goodbye to American soils. We caught our overnight flight from Providence back to Belfast International Airport and Granny was delighted to return the kids into our care.

I do so hope to return some day.