Newport!!! The other Sailing Capital.

We LOVE Newport!

Attention all you DoD ID card holders! This place gets 9 of 10 stars. It’s Annapolis on steroids.

1. Traveling through New England, mooring balls have ranged from $40 - $70/night. Here at the NAVSTA Marina they are charging $32/night and $175/month! For that you get a clean, nice shower, free laundry (2 sets of w&d), free Wi-Fi (more on that later), mail delivery (the autopilot is back), and friendly staff. For rent they have kayaks, Shields, and Rhodes 19s. We took a ball for a month. 
   
2. Coming ashore, the Officers’ Club is across the street, for meals, $2 beers, beautiful sunsets, and live music. 
   
3.  Commissary, NEX, NFCU, and hospital are a short bike ride away.  

   

   Our new grocery hauling "trailer."

4. Naval War College Museum is up the hill; a wonderful, thorough history of the Navy in Newport. 

   

   US Naval War College

5. Just out the gate is a shopping center with grocery, diner, Five Guys, Subway, TJMaxx, Walmart, and Italian Restaurant.  The U-Haul (for LPG refills) is a stone’s throw away.  
   
6. A 6 min bike ride away is the Storm Brewery and Thomas Tew Rum Distillery! We need to visit again. 

   

   Thomas Tew Rum

   

   Newport Storm Brewery
7. Nearby is a HUGE West Marine, Home Depot, and Radio Shack. 
8. The Naval Academy is here. (Well, it was re-located here during the civil war.)
   
   
9. The city bus stops at the shopping center for a ride into downtown Newport. It was a 10 min bike ride for us. Mansions, Cliff Walk, shopping, IYRS (Int’l Yacht Restoration School) and the Schooner Coronet,  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Ft. Adams, the NYYC, the wharfs, Easton beach, ferry to Jamestown, historic sites, original pre-revolutionary homes and buildings, museums, great bars and restaurants, – it’s all here.

   

   Brick Alley Pub (Thank you, Todd.)

The only problem is internet access. We have a Wi-Fi booster and can receive a very strong signal at the boat but apparently our router and the marina Wi-Fi server won’t talk to each other.  While there is free Wi-Fi, we have to sit at the marina office to get online. We didn’t realize how much we use the internet until we didn’t have it. Jo misses the news and I really want to check the wx. She tells me I should also be updating the blog.