Monday, April 4, 2011

Nice little Tuesday . . .

If you've never been to Newport, Rhode Island, you should totally go. The town is full of amazing coastal views and beautiful, historical homes. I've visited twice and enjoyed every second.
And, guess what . . .

If you've never been to Newport, Kentucky, you should totally go there too. Growing up just outside of Cincinnati, I don't remember crossing the Ohio River all that often, at least not until I was old enough to visit the restaurants and bars on "the Kentucky side." I'm not sure about the timeline of the changes and renewal in Newport, but the town has a lot to offer right now. As part of our Cincinnati Spring Break last week, the kids and I had a great little Tuesday in Newport, Kentucky.
Our first stop was the Newport Aquarium.
The kids waited patiently for The Penguin Parade.
I guess it was unreasonable for me to expect to see penguins waddling across the carpet, but honestly, that's what I wanted. The penguins on push carts were perhaps not worth the wait, but ah well . . .
We weren't the only spring breakers at the Aquarium last Tuesday, but my mom overheard another group saying, "We're going to head to the big penguin exhibit first and beat the crowd." So we followed that group.
We had the penguin exhibit practically to ourselves, and we all loved it. Little Bit kept waving and saying, "Hi Pen-gens, Hi Pen-gens!" Bub was doing a sort of swimming/dancing motion against the glass. Grammy later named the penguins her favorite part of the aquarium.
Having visited the penguins first, we found ourselves going against the flow (pun intended), which worked out well. We enjoyed several exhibits in a quiet, non-crowded environment until we finally met up with the flow. It got a little tough wading (another pun, I'm on a roll) through the sea (NTB) of bodies and strollers with three little ones and our own stroller, but there were plenty of cool sights.
Little Bit and especially Bub were into everything. They had an opportunity to pet sharks but could not quite bring themselves to do it. Bub did touch (for a fraction of a second) a stingray, a snail, and a starfish. Pretty pleased with himself. I thought aquarium admission was a bit steep for the size of the facility, but I will say that the boys enjoyed the experience even more than I expected them to at ages almost 3 and 5. All in all, nice little morning.
Then we had to eat. My sister LAP brought my nieces Swiper and Wookie (blog handles, not real names, in case you are concerned) and we headed to Dewey's Pizza. Back in the day, when I was a young single girl in the city, there was only one Dewey's. It was very close to where I lived, and I have fond memories of cozy dinners with girlfriends enjoying the delicious salads and pizzas. Multiple locations now, but it's still so good. Every one ate well at lunch, and the kids enjoyed watching the pizza dough makers.
And, then, wouldn't you know it, there was a guy in the square making balloon animals for tips. So we got some balloon animals. Note that Little Bit asked for a lightsaber -- still obsessed with Star Wars.
Since it was all going so well, we also stopped at the candy store. We were, after all, on vacation.
Even though it was chilly, we had to get some shots of the kids and Grammy in front of part of the Cincinnati skyline. Poor Sweet P, hanging out in the stroller by herself. I need to mention that she was good as gold for the entire outing, NTB.
And then, it was early afternoon and time to head back to Grammy's house. A morning without a single tear or meltdown where we saw cool stuff, ate good stuff, and enjoyed it all and each other.
Nice little Tuesday.
One final bonus, the cost of parking in a garage right next to the aquarium and all the shops, bars, and restaurants? Wait for it . . . $2! I pay $2 to park at the pediatricians' office in Chicago and much more most everywhere else. Woo hoo!
Have you been to either Newport? Any spring break plans this year? Please share in the comments.

10 comments:

Michelle said...

I'm so glad you posted about this! My sister is at school in Lexington, we're in Toledo so every time we drive down we keep talking about stopping for half a day to do the aquarium. Looks like a great day!

Anonymous said...

Great day with enthusiastic, happy kids. ntb m

LAP said...

Very impressed with the quality and variety of your photos. A nice little outing indeed. Glad Wookie continually sneaking sips of your diet coke didn't dampen the day for you:)

We don't really get a spring break...three days off at Easter but the latest word is that two of the three might be used as calamity day make ups. Oh well.

FYI - Not to further rock your world on the inexpensive parking, but when we arrived post preschool to meet you at Newport, it was during the hours of 11-2 which meant parking was totally free. NTB

Heather said...

Great pics, though I'm still sad that you were in Cincy and I wasn't able to meet up with you and the babies. Darn job. Darn school. Darn conflicting schedules.

ANYWAY, can you believe I have never been to Dewey's? Nope, never. Have been to the Newport Aquarium, though, and love the penguins, too.

Sounds like you had a great day, despite the chilly spring break weather we sponsored here in southwestern Ohio...

Tricia @ Take 10 With Tricia said...

Looks like you had a great time and nice to see LPR's kiddos as well - LOVE the names! I'll have to ask her about those. We love Newport. I actually went into labor with my first at that Dewey's...water broke and everything! So it has a special place in my heart. Andy and I were just considering the other Newport for an adult-only trip. Neither of us has been. I've done some research and it looks great. If you have any lodging recommendations, send them my way. Glad you got to spend some time with the family.

Stacia said...

Looks like a whale of a good time! (Sorry, couldn't resist.) We've never been to either Newport, but we've been to Paris (Texas and France). Does that count??

PS: I love that stage where the baby sits happily in her stroller, not yet mobile enough to think about walking around and not yet toddlery enough to demand freedom.

E... said...

I've been to both Newports. The RI one was on a whirlwind trip through New England with my parents when I wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind, so I have only vague recollections of the mansions, but I do remember it being a bright spot.
I much enjoy the Newport just across the river from me. I shared with you my mixed feelings about the aquarium, which match up with yours. But my kids love it, so we're on board for it as a very occasional destination.
So glad you had a lovely day with your lovely lovely family. How can you go wrong when Dewey's in in the mix?
Mostly, I'm glad I got to have a nice little Wednesday (and a great little Saturday evening!) while you were in town. Good times, for sure.

Actchy said...

I am amazed and impressed by the extensiveness of this morning. And all done in time for naps?

Wow.

Meanwhile, I was invited to go for a walk tomorrow at an area park that is no more than a ten minute drive from here, and I am still overwhelmed by the magnitude of what it will take to actually do it.

Unknown said...

Great aquarium shots - such vivid colors.

Anonymous said...

looks like you got yourself a new camera! awesome pictures! i'm going to get a new one as soon as i get motivated to research what's the best for us. do you recommend your new one? rita

 
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