Rhode Island escape!

Well, we did it, we managed to 'escape' from the grind and stresses of daily life for 3 1/2 days in Newport, Rhode Island! It may not seem like much to most of you, but it meant the world to us! We haven't felt like we had the freedom to go anywhere since so much has been happening with my Dad lately. He's been in such bad shape, but now that Hospice is helping to care for him, we felt we could get away for some rest. They actually told us to go relax for a few days. It felt really good!!!

So...we headed to Rhode Island since the kids have never been there. It was no big glamourous vacation, but the fact that we got family time alone without any calls or interruptions was huge to us. The only call I got was in the car on the way home on Wednesday from the nursing home - they simply called to update me on how Dad was doing.

Believe it or not, one of the best parts of our vacation was the hotel room. The hotel itself (Quality Inn) was OK, but because we had a huge deluxe suite, the room more than made up for it. The room is generally a $300. per night room, but we got it for LESS than half!!! How? HSLDA. We are members of the Homeschool Legal Defance Association, and they have perks for their members. Once I found out about it, I called the hotel and told them of this perk. The desk clerk was a riot! She not only gave us that perk, but she gave us the AAA discount among other things 'simply because we homeschool' our children!!! Wow! Here are photos of our room...

After you walk in the door, to your right is a kitchen (where I'm standing to take the photo) and to the left is a dining room. Beyond the kids is the living room. Beyond that is the bathroom and the huge bedroom.


Here's the bedroom with 2 king size beds! There was a TV, a desk, overstuffed chairs and other tables in that room, along with a huge closet!


Here are the boys at the dining room playing a game.


Here is Lionel on one of the sofa beds. There were 2 pull-out sofas in the living room! Do ya think he still loves stuffed animals? Shh, don't tell anyone, he'd be embarrassed!


Sweet-Pea enjoyed the jacuzzi tub - it was like a swimming pool to her!


OK, enough about the hotel room...

We did visit the mansions, but were disappointed that the tours now are all done by audio machines (headphones and recorders) rather than a live tour guide. It totally takes away from the fun of it all, especially when going as a family! We ended up taking off our headphones and just walked around sharing what we liked about the homes. We did buy the DVD that shows all the homes and talks in detail about them, so that will be fun to watch at home someday. We still had a total blast seeing the gorgeous homes!!!

Here are the kids in front of Marble House.


The back of the house was beautiful with all the hydrangeas! They were everywhere!!!


"Welcome to my humble abode!"........dream on Lionel!


Sweet-Pea posing beside the gorgeous flowers!


Here's a taste of Edward's sense of humor. (NO, he's not picking his nose, he's contemplating...trying to look like an old Victorian portrait.) Gotta love him! Somehow though the sun glasses don't fit.


After the mansions we headed to Johnson & Wales Univ. to see where Edward went to school. He was in the same class as Emeril Lagase back in the 70's. It was nice to see where he went to school, especially for the kids. After that we went out to dinner then headed back to the hotel to relax.

The next day we decided to visit the Roger Williams Zoo, but in all honesty, we were HIGHLY disappointed in it. As far as Zoo's go, this one is at the bottom of my list. There were hardly any animals, and the ones that were there you had to search for in most areas. It was also hot, crowded and not very appealing as far as looks go. The crowds were mostly very large groups of children (from summer programs and camps) or young mothers with their babies and kids running around....literally! They were out of control and very pushy (both the kids and the mothers!) It was total chaos in many areas which took away from the fun. We did manage to get a few good photos though...



Sweet-Pea and Lionel admiring the little bull cows that were in the farm area.


No, the dog isn't real. ha ha


The gift shop was great, but the butterflies kept attacking Lionel!


Posing beside a pretty waterfall.


After the zoo, we headed back to the beach in Newport before dinner. The views were very pretty and the weather was perfect!!




Sweet-Pea had a total blast running in the water.


There was an abundance of seaweed this day. You can see it in the waves...it's brown. Lionel didn't mind though. He loved dodging the waves.


We left the next morning after breakfast. The kids were sad to leave and I don't blame them one bit! We all had so much fun together. But...Cody was waiting to be picked up from the Doggie spa he was staying at, and we needed to get back to reality....so, we headed for home.

Today I'm getting all our school books in order. We start school first thing on Monday morning and I'm so excited!! Getting back to a schedule will be great since we all function much better with one. I'm almost ready, and it feels so good to be getting a head start on school this year. After missing so many days last year due to my Dad's health, we are preparing for the worst this year - just in case! Lionel will be in 9th grade and Sweet-Pea in 2nd, so we have our work cut out for us!!

That's all for now. Have a super day!