The second half of our September New England road trip started with two nights in Newport, R.I. A thunderstorm followed us from Boston to Newport, so when we arrived we were tired of driving!
We enjoyed a late dinner that night at Rheas’ Inn & Restaurant which we really enjoyed. We just happened upon this place which was perfect after a long day. It was warm and cozy and had great food. If I were to return to the Newport area, I’d definitely consider staying at the Inn here. For dinner, Tim had pasta, while I had the freshly baked sole that was topped with Ritz crackers. I didn’t know breading fish in Ritz crackers was a New England thing! I may have to try this at home sometime. After dinner, it was to bed, as we had a jam-packed day planned ahead.
The next day we got up early to do Newport’s famed Cliff Walk. The beautiful architectural history of Newport’s gilded age along the beautiful and rocky Newport shoreline was quite fascinating.
After that, we drove the Ocean Road through more historic mansions of Newport. Next up it was time to explore the downtown/waterfront area. We also had booked a sunset cruise that evening on the Rum Runner II.
While it was overcast most of the day, the sun finally decided to pop out while we were on our cruise. The cruise was the perfect way to end our day in Newport. After the cruise, we enjoyed dinner at The Wharf, where we had seafood chowder and fresh oysters.
I definitely had my fill of seafood on this trip. I never get tired of it!
The next day we were off to Mystic, CT and our final New England state! We had to stop for lunch at Mystic Pizza, of course.
The pizza was OK, but Mystic, CT was super cute. We strolled downtown before the start of our trek home and stay in Hershey, PA. No trip to Hershey is complete without a stop at Hershey’s Chocolate World. What a crazy place! Now that I have been there once, I don’t think I’ll ever need to go back! So many people!
On the second day of our drive back home we stopped at House on Falling Water.
The hike to the Frank Lloyd Wright house near Mill Run, PA, and the view was amazing! We had lunch amongst the trees at the cafeteria on the grounds before making our way back on the Pennsylvania Turnpike (which I never need to drive on again!) and to Cinncinati, OH. After two days of driving, we needed a break, so had a pit stop in Louisville, KY, where we toured some of its famed distilleries and made another stop the next day in Columbus, Ind. If you love mid-century architecture, Columbus, Ind. is the place for you! The small city is a unique place for noted Modern architecture and public art. Definitely a place I’d return if I were ever in that area again.
After this, it was time to head home. Remember what I said about not driving too much? Well, yeah, we did that on our last day of the trip. Road construction and two-lane highways slowed us down quite a bit. We were on the road for nearly 14 hours. But finally made it back to Lincoln, NE with good memories, maple syrup, cider, chocolate and bourbon to enjoy throughout the fall.
A Writing, Daydreaming Fool 
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