Photo: Steph and Marine with Mother's Day and Dad's Birthday presents

We slipped our mooring at Stonington at 0615h and proceeded to Newport in cool but calm conditions, arriving at Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina, where we enjoyed excellent hospitality on the southward leg, and were warmly greeted again.

Once we were alongside, we opened presents, had lunch, and then went ashore to enjoy the "Cliff Walk", a fabulous seaside stroll past the opulent summer mansions of American high society of the early twentieth century, such as the Astors and Vanderbilts, many of which are now museums and open to the public (for a fee). For a while we thought we had switched continents, as many of these quaint little summer cottages look like they came straight from the chateaux of the Loire Valley.

Feeling decidedly lower class after our promenade, we cheered ourselves up with a swim and hot shower at the hotel, and then Judy and I went out for a rare dinner date while the girls stayed onboard.

The weather is supposed to get blustery again, so it looks as though we will hole up here for a few days, and there are worse places than Newport to sit out bad weather!