A few weekends ago, we had finally set a date for our [Kelly, Debbie and myself] 30th birthday weekend away. It should be noted our birthdays are all in February and March. It has taken this long to get everyone’s schedules together. Just before the trip Kelly had to back out due to having contracted the swine flu. We only had a few more weeks left in the year, so we opted to go ahead with the day trip.

To add to the chaos of the weekend, we were also being deluged by tropical storm Ida. Our plans were to visit Newport, RI; shop on Thames St, eat at the Red Parrot and then head out to the cliff walk and mansions. We managed to keep our plans with several puddles, umbrellas and rain drop dodging runs.

The food at the Red Parrot was very delicious and we spent quite a while just catching up. Then we ventured back on to Thames and did some fudge shopping and Christmas gift shopping. We browsed through the GAP and the General Store. We decided to try to see at least one of the mansions before we headed to dinner. Turns out they have really short hours and high costs. It was $18.00 a ticket and we got 45 minutes in the mansion before they closed at 5pm. We visited the Breakers which Craig and I hadn’t been to in a very long time. They had some Christmas decorations out but not the full regalia as it will be this week.

If you’ve never been to Newport, RI and have never seen the mansions, it’s worth the cost and trip. They are amazing. To create these today would be nearly impossible, the raw materials would be too expensive, even for the Bill Gates of the world. The land is is beautiful and the views are amazing.

After the mansions, we tried to see if the ocean was visible enough for photos, but it got dark so quickly. We even went out along the Ocean Drive but it was just dark and foggy. The group had filled up on fudge and jelly bellies from earlier so we headed back into town and then back home.

I’m hoping Craig and I will get over there again before Christmas to see Marble House decorated for Christmas.

Tuesday was spent indoors dodging the rain. It torrentially poured many times during the day. We tried to use the internet, but due to the heavy low clouds the satellite wasn’t getting through.

I read, I knitted, I napped.

The weather this past June has been like living in Seattle. Ironically I just finished all four of the Twilight novels and Forks, WA weather sounded a bit cozy with all the gray days. Having now lived a month of primarily rainy days, I don’t think I could do it.

We took it easy Sunday and had breakfast together. Then headed out to see where some friends of my inlaws live, on the next peninsula over. Next stop was the grocery store to stock up on food and wine. We picked up 5 bottles of wine.

Lunch was at Joshy’s Place, which is a local favorite. It’s a road side stand that makes lobster and clam rolls and just about anything else you can grill up. We had to eat intermittently with the sprinkles of rain.

Afternoon naps were in order. I read, Craig slept, Marty read, Kerry and Kathy worked out. Later we played a game of Scrabble. I almost won, but Kathy made a big come back and kicked all our butts with a triple word score.

In the evening we had a BBQ and then cranked the tunes. My inlaws recently downloaded ABBA’s Gold album, and Kathy just started dancing. Kerry was dancing with her, and Craig and I kept the tunes coming. We had Prince, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Bee Gees and more going. There were some memorable photos.