The Sister Trip

I’ve just returned from five days in Newport, RI with my sister. We spend a lot of time together during the year, but we like to get away once a year to do some exploring outside our own town. It’s not always far-flung (last year we spent a weekend in Staunton, VA) but it’s always fun and we enjoy meeting the locals and discovering all the things that make a town unique.

It’s not too hard to fall in love with Newport. My timing was perfect, as I just finished watching all available seasons of The Gilded Age. My sister was not so up on her gilded age history but loved the mansions, nonetheless. As pop culture fans, we were eagerly spotting familiar rooms and locations featured in The Great Gatsby and other movies and shows. We imagined holding our own society balls. What would we wear? Who would we invite? It was all so decadent. We had a fancy afternoon tea and enjoyed a foot soak and massage after walking around all day.

But not all moments were as glamorous, as you can see from this “lovely” photo. We opted for a boat tour out into the harbor to spot some seals. It’s February. It was COLD. And windy. But there they were. Sunbathing luxuriously on a large rock (although it was quite cloudy and misty outside). The seals were adorable, girthy, and frankly showing off quite a bit. At one point four or five turned their sweet faces right at us. One decided to showcase her swimming style. One on her back regarded us with mild curiosity. We heard that most of them are female with only a male or two here or there. As we slowly circled their rock in our little boat, they just seemed to enjoy their relaxation before they had to slip into the water for more food (apprarently they need to eat a lot each day to keep that blubbery, weather-perfect physique). It was fabulous.

We also ate all the delicious offerings, watched the olympics with increasing fervor, and connected. It’s nice because we never run out of things to say. Sometimes taking ourselves out of our regular environment is just what we need to learn even more about each other. It was terrific. I highly recommend a sibling trip if you’ve got some.