• Home
  • Home Tours
    • Home Tour – Current House
      • Paint Colors & Sources
      • Full House Tour
      • front porch
      • Entryway
      • living room
      • kitchen
      • Dining Area
      • playroom
      • nursery
      • bonus room / loft
      • basement
      • deck
    • Home Tour – First House
      • Full House Tour
      • front porch
      • entryway
      • kitchen
      • home office
      • living room
      • dining room
      • great room
      • nursery
      • master bedroom
      • master bathroom
      • guest bedroom
      • guest bathroom
      • laundry room
      • pantry
      • Closets
      • outdoor
  • Lifestyle
    • organization
    • gardening
    • hair & beauty
    • christmas
    • travel
    • tips and tricks
    • stories
    • party
    • Gift Ideas
    • wedding anniversary gift ideas
    • debt free
    • blogging
    • photography
    • personal
    • podcast
  • baby
    • pregnancy
    • baby & kid organization
    • nursery
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Travel Tips
    • Favorite Products
    • child safety
    • Holiday
  • Projects
    • Home Decor
    • organization
    • outdoor
    • furniture
    • christmas
    • holiday
    • wreaths
    • printables
    • sewing
    • wedding
    • car series
  • recipes
    • desserts
    • appetizer
    • meals
    • holiday foods
    • drink
    • kid
  • Shop
    • Amazon Storefront
    • Affiliate Links
    • Shop My House
    • Shop My Closet
    • Shop Gift Guides
    • Shop Baby & Kid
    • Shop Toys
    • Shop My Favorites
    • Shop Holiday
  • About
    • Meet Chelsea
    • FAQ
    • Advertise
    • Press
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Two Twenty One

A Quick Trip to New England

1 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Last month, Brad, Owen, and I headed to New England for a 4-day, 3-night trip. Not only was I excited to see and spend time with family members, I was also pumped to check Massachusetts and Rhode Island off my “States I’ve Visited” list.

Why Massachusetts and Rhode Island? Well, Brad’s maternal grandma, Nana aka Shirley, grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. She met Brad’s grandpa, Jimbo aka Jim, while he was stationed there in the navy. So, a group of us family members traveled to New England with Nana and Jimbo to see where Nana grew up and where Nana and Jimbo lived during their time in Rhode Island before Jimbo brought his bride back to Indiana to live.

We stayed with extended family in Rehoboth, Massachusetts during our visit, which was great. We debated staying in a hotel because we didn’t want to inconvenience anyone, but it worked out perfectly in that we could put Owen to bed and then visit with family– something we wouldn’t have been able to do had we stayed in a hotel.

We flew out of Indianapolis around 8AM on Friday morning and landed at Boston Logan around 10AM. After grabbing our checked bag, getting our rental car, we headed toward Rehoboth. Nana, Jimbo, Brad’s aunt, cousin and her husband had arrived the day before so we met up with them.

That afternoon we walked across the street to meet the alpacas, which are quite friendly and always down for a selfies, and to check out the reservoir.

That night was pretty low-key. We grilled out, Owen went skinny dipping in the kiddie pool in the backyard, and then we headed to The Ice Cream Barn in Swansea, MA for some amazing ice cream.

 On Saturday, we headed into Providence to see some Nana and Jimbo landmarks.

 Like Nana’s childhood home (her unit was upstairs on the left).

Exploring Nana’s old neighborhood.

Where Nana and Jimbo lived together for a while.

Aren’t they the cutest?

While Owen was taking a nap that afternoon, Brad and I headed back into Providence to hit up Federal Hill, which has some amazing Italian restaurants and markets.

We ended up splitting a caprese salad (omgsogood, I still have dreams about it), ravioli, and gelato.

After we ate, we walked around the area and stopped in some stores.

That night, we had a seafood cookout at a family member’s house.

For dessert, we had picked up a 4-layer chocolate cake and apple pie from Gregg’s. Holy cow. Both were beyond delicious. So delicious that I ate a little of each for breakfast the next morning. #vacation

Seriously, the world’s tallest apple pie.

After dinner, we headed to WaterFire in downtown Providence. They set roughly 100 small bonfires on top of the river surface. And along the river route there’s performers, like the public caresser– people paid some guy to caress their heads, faces, and shoulders. I’m not kidding. But there are other performers like mimes– who won’t touch you. There’s also food vendors and artisans selling their creations. WaterFire is a cool thing to experience.

The next day we ventured down to Newport, RI to see some of the amazing mansions. We ended up touring The Breakers, which was the summer cottage of the Vanderbilts.

Man, to be loaded in the Gilded Age when there wasn’t income tax, amIright?

Lots of understated decor in this summer cottage.

I wish we had more time to tour the other mansions. Or to even walk around the area and look at the gorgeous private homes.

The next day, we headed to Edaville Family Theme Park in Carver, MA. They have an entire section dedicated to Thomas the Train called Thomas Land so we knew Owen would love it.

We started out riding the big Thomas that circles the entire park. I saw my very first in-person cranberry bog while on the train ride.

Thomas Land has about 10 rides, and Owen only rode one of them. He actually fought us in an attempt to vacate the ride. The kid loves watching rides, but actually going on them is another story. However, Owen LOVED the Tidmouth Sheds attraction. He spent a good 15 minutes walking around and talking to all the trains. Percy was his favorite. We stayed for one of the Cran-tastic Cranberry Jubilee live show at the Tidmouth Sheds, which Owen enjoyed and actively participated in.

ThomasLand even has an air-conditioned, indoor play area called Sodor Play Zone, but I was afraid if we took Owen in there we’d never be able to leave. Because that kind of happened their gift shop, which is awesome. Owen happily played with the display train tables for half an hour. We finally had to lure him out with the promise of fruit snacks so we could leave on time.

After spending a few hours at Edaville, it was time for us to head back to Rehoboth, pack up our stuff, and head to the airport for our flight home.

While it was quick, it was a fun trip to see where Nana grew up and where Jimbo and she spent some years together early on in their marriage. It was also great spending time with family. It’s definitely a trip we’ll always remember.

Shout out to Edaville Family Theme Park for providing us with some free passes.

Filed Under: travel

Never miss a post from Two Twenty One!

Get the latest DIY projects, organization ideas, tips & tricks and more delivered to your inbox!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
« Autumn Leaves Printable
House Update – Part One »

Comments

  1. Ashley says

    October 3, 2017 at 12:11 PM

    I’ve never been out East – it looks so pretty. Thanks for sharing all the lovely pictures. Question – have you found aviators that block a decent amount of sun? I’ve always loved aviators, but the ones I have were kind of a joke when it came to actual eye protection. Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  2. Ava says

    October 4, 2017 at 1:15 AM

    I have never seen such beautiful place. It is just amazing :* I definitely want to visit this place.

    Reply
  3. Erica says

    October 13, 2017 at 11:31 AM

    I live in Cranston, RI!! Glad you enjoyed your trip and I love reading all your posts!!

    Reply
  4. proxy free list says

    October 13, 2017 at 5:33 PM

    Hi,I read your blog named “Twitter” like every week.Your writing style is witty, keep it up! And you can look our website about proxy free list.

    Reply
  5. Lisa says

    October 27, 2017 at 11:43 AM

    I am from RI and loved this post!! You truly sampled our best 😉 .

    Reply
  6. Diana says

    December 15, 2017 at 9:15 AM

    I love your blog! So honest and real. I live in MA and I have a recommendation next time you are RI, check out the Duck and Bunny restaurant. Since you are a foodie, I think you might like it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Never miss a post from Two Twenty One!

Get the latest DIY projects, organization ideas, tips & tricks and more delivered to your inbox!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers’ own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

Two Twenty One is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Blog Policy

© Two Twenty One, 2011-2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author is strictly prohibited.

Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · glam theme by Restored 316 · Design by Stephanie Jones

Copyright © 2023 · Glam Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

1 shares