Ladies & Gentlemen: The Newport Weekend Wrap up

Hey, so we're back as promised after the long weekend. I was pretty damn tired last night and didn't feel like typing. Combine that with having to be at work early this morning and all you got was a couple of paragraphs. That's ok, since you get what you pay for here at the Ross Press Release. Now, a more detailed version of the weekend wrap up, and some other random comments for your reading pleasure.

As mentioned, we took a long weekend to Newport, R.I. and it was quite enjoyable. Not sure how we came up with the idea to go to Newport, but my guess is that it was between my harping on going somewhere in New England since we're significantly closer than we ever were bef0re, and also my Dad mentioning to me how great Newport is and that we had to visit. (Dad had a 6 month stint in Newport about 35 years ago during his Navy days.) So we put the trip together (Thank you to my Jessica for being out travel planner!) and got Abby and Eric to buy in on the idea. We took off on Friday morning, but not before we had to wait for the delivery of my chairs. See, when I moved a couple weeks ago, my parents realized the day after that they didn't remember seeing 2 of my chairs make it into the new apartment. Sure enough, I called the moving company and they had been left in the truck. Since it was their screw up, they would deliver it at my convenience. Of course, you tell them to be at your place at 10am on Friday, and they don't show up until 11:15am. Way to go, delivery man Fred, who had no idea how to get to my apartment. This is all besides the point and completely irrelevant.

We took off for Rhode Island, and the first thing you notice is that when traveling about 100 miles on I-95 North all the way across Connecticut, that it isn't very exciting. Other than a few spots around Bridgeport and New Haven, the scenery was pretty dull and you don't see a whole hell of a lot. It wasn't any more exciting once we crossed the border into R.I. but as we approached Newport, then we had a nice view of the Naragansett Bay, and all of the sailboats, yachts, and so on. Let me tell you, this place is high society.

The place we stayed at, the Seaview Inn was a quaint motel about one step below a Bed & Breakfast. The amazing thing was that I think the girls who cleaned up the rooms were also the ones who helped out with the nice breakfast buffet each morning. Either way, their English wasn't too good and just looked at you when you asked a question and responded with Immigrant smile. By the way, two thumbs up to the breakfast, which was one notch about your typical continental breakfast and gave us a good start to the day. If you ever go to Newport, I'd recommend this place (which is actually in Middletown, the next town over, but only a 5 minute ride from downtown Newport). Ask for Sam....he wears a short-sleeved, striped button-d0wn shirt and bermuda shorts and works at the front desk. We're not sure if his name is Sam or not, but that's what we called him all weekend.

Since Newport is, as I like to call it, "high society", all of the famous families back in the day, used to head up there from New York City during the summer time. So they all had mansions, with one of the most famous being "The Breakers", which was the summer home to the Vanderbilt family. Never seen anything like it. Bath tubs made out of marble. Gold and silver on the walls and ceilings. Famous artists and sculptors coming from Europe just to decorate the house. It was ridiculous. And imagine the crazy parties they must have had in that place. Tour guide Bill did a nice job, although his schpiel sounded a little scripted at times.

I know I sound like a tourism plug for Newport, but I gotta be honest, this is a cool place. Especially if you like seafood. In the words of Barry Melrose, "Oh Baby!" Fried Clams and Scallops at Flo's Clam Shack (no luck in finding Flo though). Baked Stuffed Shrimp and Lobster Bisque at the Red Parrot Restaurant. Seafood Linguine at the Clarke Cooke House. Clam "Chowdah" at basically every place we went. Oh man, I was in heaven. I even tried Jessica's sushi! (...Overrated) When you eat seafood in a town like this, it raises the bar for all others. I didn't even get any allergic reactions (Editor's note: for those of you who have heard my escargot story, you understand the reference).

I made it through the weekend only getting slightly sunburned. I am a pale and pasty son of a bitch, and no matter how much sun block I put on, I always manage to miss a spot and get red. Without a doubt, my shoulders and upper chest took the beating of the sun, but it could have been a lot worse, because we were outside a lot. I'm not used to what we call "the outdoors" since I usually sit in the damn office for 10 hours per day. I sometimes forget what the sun looks like or does. The weather was gorgeous, and so we took advantage of the beach (Go to Second Beach for better water and First Beach for better sand - that's Abby's new mantra), tossed the frisbee with Eric near the motel, walked the Cliff Walk (where the ocean meets the land at 30-50 foot cliffs) and even took a bike ride. It may have been the first time I've been on a bike since I've had a driver's license. The old saying is true, "It's like riding a bike" and I didn't forget nor fall off.

Downtown is very cool. If you ever go, check out Thames Street and America's Cup Avenue where all of the shops/restaurants/wharfs are. Lots of people walking around, crazy shops to check out, and of course, the food - which I've already gushed over. Overall, Newport gets the famous Ross seal of approval, for providing a great weekend. If anyone thinks about making a trip up there, talk to me, as I am now the expert.

Other news: NFL is underway after the opening preseason game in Tokyo, and the Hall of Fame game this evening in Canton, Ohio! I am very excited for football, as we have reached the point in time during the summer when I begin to care less about the Phillies. They have disappointed me once again, and so I turn my attention towards the beloved E-A-G-L-E-S! First preseason game is next Monday, 8/15 on ESPN at the Steelers - boos go out to Andy F. and Julie. Good news from Eagles training camp: Brian Westbrook showed up. Bad news: TO has groin problems. Good news & Bad news: Todd "Alligator Arms" Pinkston is out for the year and we can throw a young receiver in the mix who will go over the middle and take some hits. I don't wish the guy any harm, but you can't be a wide receiver in the NFL and not have the least bit of toughness in you. Come on, guy, show some "intestinal fortitude". I heart football.

Weekly Laguna Beach Rant: Talan is a manwhore who is going after 2 chicks at once: Taylor, his best friend since 6th grade who is really sweet and they get along sooooo well; and Kristin, the brat who kept saying "Talan, we have to hang out more" about 10 times in the last 5 minutes of the episode. Can't to see how this mess unfolds. So LC takes Stephen and those other 2 characters who didn't really factor into the segment, to Rosarito, Mexico for her birthday. Well, LC was loaded the entire time and basically falling on Stephen the entire time as well. And how about the sexual tension between those two? It's so thick you can cut it with a butter knife. My favorite part: After they come back on that last night in Mexico, and Stephen puts the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the hotel room door and slams it with authority as they go to commercial. Priceless. Again, my name is Ross, I am 23 years old, and I love teenage dramas on MTV.

Hey, I found this picture of pregnant Britney. I'm not sure I can come up with a comment worthy enough for this picture. (Picture courtesy of Stereogum)

That's it for tonight. Enjoy the week and if you are one of my "bored at work so I read Ross' blog to keep me entertained" people, then leave a comment or two while you're at it. It's the least you could do for this site. Thank you.