Today marks our 9 month anniversary! I feel so lucky to be able to spend this time alone with Jeff. As most everyone knows, kids are great and bring lots of joy...but if mommy and daddy don't continue to court and develop their relationship no amount of kids will replace the void that can leave behind. I enjoyed getting to know Jeff better and learning more about each other. I can truly say that I love him more now than I did 9 months ago...and I expect that will only continue to grow. I love the respect and communication that have been the foundation of our relationship from the beginning. Those two qualities have carried us through moments of frustration and differences of opinions. They have been the bedrock upon which our love has been able to flourish. I only hope our kids will be able to find the same love, respect and communication in their future spouses. I truly love Jeff. I love all his flaws (that seem minor in comparison to the strengths he offers) and weaknesses. I love that he loves me in spite of mine as well. I needed this vacation. I needed to spend quality time with my husband and to remember that we're still newlyweds...even if we do have 4 kids at home! In any case, we (ok I) slept in a little before we headed to Beavertail Lighthouse on a small peninsula in RI. This was the 3rd lighthouse ever to be built on the east coast. Jeff and I walked along the rocky shoreline before walking around the lighthouse. There were several fishermen casting their lines into the waves in hopes of catching fish. It was a beautiful morning. The water seemed to glow a bright blue hue. The only sound we could hear was the waves occasionally crashing on the shoreline. I loved seeing the lighthouse shining its light. Lighthouses will always remind me of my dad. He was in the Navy as a young man and has always loved the ocean and lighthouses. I miss not living close to my parents.
After we explored the lighthouse, we headed to the Newport Mansions. These houses date back to the late 1800s - early 1900s during the Gilded Age of America. We toured two mansions owned by the Vanderbilts. These "summer cottages" were insane!!! They were HUGE and ornately decorated. It was almost gross to think of all the money that was invested in these homes when, at that time, there was still so much poverty. Jeff and I just shook our heads as we walked around listening to our audio-guided tours. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures inside the residences but you can get an idea of the grotesque amount of money that went into these houses just from the outside.
After we toured the mansions, we headed to downtown Newport to browse some of the shops and have lunch before leaving RI and heading to Cape Cod, Mass.
Once we got to Cape Cod, we headed straight for Martha's Vineyard. I loved the ferry ride out to the island. As we got closer, I could see all the big summer homes against a backdrop of fall colors. There was a lighthouse that shone brightly on our return trip. Both Jeff and I started to sing Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy as we saw the circulating light. On the island, we browsed the downtown shops and took a walk through a little neighborhood before wandering down to the coast then back to the ferry. We only spent a couple hours there before coming back to shore and heading to our hotel for the night. Only one more hotel stop...Boston!
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