sehnsucht

i came across this graphic the other day, and said - YES! that's what i'm feeling!

the most frequently pinned topic for me lately, during my nightly scrolls through pinterest, is travel. places where i want to go and things i want to see, places we are tentatively planning trips to in the After. i like having something to look forward to, but without knowing when, exactly, the After will be, more often than not i find my nostalgia wandering back to places we've been and wishing to be there again.

sehnsucht, man. it's a legit thing.

foremost in my mind right now is our trip to newport, rhode island, for two reasons: one, i'm craving the eastern coastline and water views of my favorite places in new england, but two, we went three years ago over labor day weekend. the anniversary of being away has brought it back into my memory bank. especially after two years of not going anywhere.

in the Before times, marc traveled a lot for work. he always has, since we got married. while the kids were little, it was a serious bone of contention around here, but as they got older and we were able to take advantage more of frequent flier miles and hotel points, the travel had its upside.

newport was just such an upside.

marc was working in connecticut for the week, and knowing we had just dropped off our firstborn for his first year at college and i was feeling pretty blue, and our last born was about to start school the following week, he suggested we fly out to meet him for the long weekend. we tossed around the idea of heading to new york city, or cape cod, or maine, and then i said ... what about newport? we love checking states off the list, and neither of us had ever been to rhode island.

so newport it was.

elizabeth and i flew out on friday, he picked us up at the airport, and we headed to mystic, connecticut. we found a little, quick spot for lunch, googled "what to do in mystic, connecticut," and soon found ourselves at the mystic aquarium, with about two hours to spare before closing. it was just enough time to see every animal, watch a seal show, and hang out with some birds.

a quick yummy dinner, and then we drove the rest of the way to newport.

where we found ourselves in a hotel that looked like an inside-out sailboat.

and it was really nice to have marc back.

saturday, we crammed in as much newport as we could. because it was labor day weekend, the place was packed. we did manage to grab a table at the black pearl for some of their famous clam chowder for lunch.

after that, we decided to get away from the action and head to the cliff walk. i would very much like to return someday, in the off season, and see so much more. the cliff walk and "cottages," alone, would take days to go through, and i want to see them all.

on this trip, i convinced my people to go through one cottage with me, and we picked doris duke's family home, rough point. the history is fascinating, and i wish i could remember it all, but here's a link, if you want to learn more.

the kitchen! i was dying. it was so. good. i can't think of anything i want more in life than to be able to look out a window and see water. i totally could have been a kitchen maid at this house, and been very happy.

after a long day of walking and exploring, we had a most amazing tapas dinner, filled our stomachs, and crashed into bed back at the hotel.

sunday, marc and elizabeth got to do their picks, since rough point had been mine: the newport car museum, and time at the beach.

can you tell how much elizabeth loved this place?

but then ... beach! and at the beach, overlooking the ocean: my literal, actual, dream house.

we found her happy place. 

newport was just gorgeous. if you are a new england/history/old architecture nerd like me, i highly recommend a visit. i need to go back when i have time to just drive up and down each street, along the coast, taking it all in.

we ended the day watching the kites fly and sun set over brenton point state park.

and that was it. monday, we drove back to hartford and flew home to get ready for the new work week and school year.

these little random escapes fill the sehnsucht bucket, and i am so ready for the world to be a safe place to explore again. it hasn't bothered us to be home, per se, but we are very ready to stop having life on pause. there are so many more adventures to be had.

(full album here, if you need more pictures of doris duke's house or old cars ...)

 

Comments

[Carmelita Young]

Oh how this resonates with me today! I just got off the phone with my son who is also going stir crazy...and we were talking about how much we miss travel. Going anywhere! The pandemic has not been good for the love of travel!

I think tomorrow my boyfriend and I will just take a drive no destination to get out of the house! It is getting to us again.

We did 5 months of a road trip in 2017 all over the Country....we are so glad we did the trip when we did...it was truly a dream come true...no agenda and no time limit. It was bliss! We had both retired and our landlords wanted to sell their house, so everything went into storage and before we decided where to live, we took the road trip! It was cheaper staying in Holiday Inn Express across the Country and seeing new places than it ever was living where we were!

I hope it is soon that you get to go back to RI, I would love to go back to Salem Mass again but this time with girl friends who love all the cheesy places!

[Lisa]

Oh this sounds like the perfect trip.
For as long as I lived on the East Coast, I never got to visit either place sadly.
A few years ago, we took a trip to Newport...Oregon. It was lovely. I got to see
the Pacific for the first time in my life. We visited the aquarium which I was just
as close to a happy place as I can get. We saw sea lions and a whale with her
baby. We ate at Mo's for their famous clam chowder. In that trip we made our
way up to Seattle and went to Pike Place Market.
I am longing, craving for a trip out that way again.
Thank your for sharing your trip and for a new word to explain how I feel.