Who Needs a Man to Travel

For those of you in the DC area, you might have heard the Bigelows trading shots at each other about places to go on vacation. Some of you may have heard stories of possible trips to Maine, Asheville or Providence. Well, after many years of waiting, I decided, why do I need my husband to travel?

So last weekend, I took a page from the book to the left and set out on my own to Providence and to Newport. I drove very early Saturday morning to avoid traffic and got to Providence just in time for Saturday brunch at Nick's on Broadway. It was a great choice because they had one of my favorite foods cassoulet--except for breakfast. I drove around the city, saw Brown and walked around the downtown area.

I happened to be in town for the "Waterfire" art installation that night. It's a big deal in Providence, but in general it is fire pits in the water that they light up. It's pretty and they play Enya music. But the real highlight was my dinner at the bar at the Capital Grille. I am told that this was the first of the chain. Unlike the DC spot, this Capital Grille was a real local hangout. The bartenders knew most of the crowd. People came and ate there once or twice a week. My bar companion gave me some great history of the Kennedys, Providence and Newport.

The next day I traveled to Newport to see the mansions. I took the cliff walk for a bit and walked around Bellevue Avenue. I now wish my last name was Vanderbilt. I think I could live that life. I had the best meal at the Mooring where I had a half order of the bag of doughnuts which is lobster, shrimp and crab fritter and the best oysters. I also took a drive on Ocean Drive and saw even more mansions. I never thought I would need an extra large house (especially since we live in 650 feet) but I guess I could learn to like it. (that was sarcasm).

Check out our twitter feed for pics of the food. Flickr has the pics of my trip.