Early Dinner on a Perfect September Afternoon and the QE2 too!!!!!

We packed up our cooler, tossed two chairs and vintage folding tables in the back of the van and took off for an early dinner this past Wednesday. The air was clear and the sky was blue, blue, blue! We stopped for a fresh loaf of ciabatta bread and left the mainland behind us as we crossed Narragansett Bay over the bridge to Jamestown. We decided to go to Fort Wetherill a state park that has glorious views of the Atlantic and Narragansett Bay. We meandered about looking for a spot to eat our supper. We came upon a group artists painting a beautiful scene of an inlet. This is a beautiful spot and you can see why it is a favorite scene to be painted. There were artists everywhere doing their thing. All were very talented and it was fun to look at their work.

What a lovely view...great to paint and great for photographers!We found a spot to set up on top of the rocks above the artists on the other side of the inlet. We brought our cooler packed with all the ingredients for a cobb salad...lettuce, tomatoes, applewood smoked bacon, hard cooked eggs, roasted chicken breast, and a vinaigrette with avocado. Keeping the avocado in the dressing prevented the oxidation that occurs when avocado is exposed to air for an extended period of time.

We put our salads together, lit a candle and sat back with our fresh ciabatta bread and simply watched the view and enjoyed our supper...how good is this?!
This is the sign at the entrance of the park. This park was actually a World War I and II coastal defense site, once named Fort Dumpling and sits upon 100 foot high granite cliffs offering spectacular views of Newport Harbor. According to the RIDEM website "the park consists of 61.5 acres, it was formally acquired by the State of Rhode Island in 1972. Known for its spectacular view of Newport Harbor and the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, Fort Wetherill has been a popular sight for viewing the numerous Tall Ship Events and America’s Cup Races.
The spectacular setting of Fort Wetherill has made the site strategically important for more than 200 years. During the American Revolution colonists built an earthworks battery here for control of the east passage, but lost the position to the British during the occupation of Newport. " Visit the website for more interesting facts.

As we sat enjoying the view sailboats passed gracefully by.

A very large power boat whisking across the water surrounded by sails.

My favorite boat...a picnic boat crossed in front of us..we could see a large crowd aboard.
As we were sitting there...we heard the familiar sound of a cruise ship blast...we figured a cruise boat was in and probably dropped passengers off for the day in Newport. Much to our surprise a little while later the QE2 appeared before us.
There she was the Queen Elizabeth 2...slowing making her way out of the harbor to the Atlantic being guided by tugs.
You can see passengers lining the decks...they had to be awestruck by the beauty of our wonderful state.
We went back down to the place where the artists were earlier on and just caught this view of the QE2 leaving...WHAT A SIGHT!!!!!
We had a wonderful afternoon...hope you have an opportunity to spend a little time like this every once in awhile...very good for the soul.

Elizabeth