Homeward Bound

I'm back in Monterey.  Having been home only ten days since August 13, even I was glad to return to my condo for awhile.  I broke up the return trip, staying with friends in Newport Rhode Island for a few days.  Hard to believe this pic was taken only a week ago today, but it was...Cindy and I had a beautiful drive back to Rome, and had time to detour to Porto San Stefano, on the coast just a couple hours north of the capital.  It's probably very busy in the summer, but on a warm weekday in mid October it was very quiet, and very nice.  We spent a bit of time sipping wine at the waterside bar visible on the other side of the bay.  Could have stayed here a long time.

A forest of antennas and satellite dishes in Porto San Stefano.  By the way, the town is only about ten miles from the island of Giglio, where the Costa Concordia met its demise and remains, awaiting towing and scrapping after being righted several weeks ago.  San Stefano is the ferry terminal for trips to Giglio.

Back in the US, I went to Newport and had a nice visit with my friend Rhonda and her mom Rosalie.  Rhonda and I went hiking in a nearby bird sanctuary and found some nice fall colors.  The leaves are done in northern Vermont but are just rounding into form in Rhode Island.

Blow this pic up to see the gnarly, lichen encrusted branches.

The forest floor near Newport.

A mosaic of leaves and branches.  Last weekend brought fine weather. There's no better place to be in the autumn than New England.

A vintage house in Newport, circa 1700, nicely restored.  The town is brand new compared to Rome but has still been prominent for a long while.

The bridge to Newport from Jamestown, a quiet but elegant village on the island just to the west, in Narragansett Bay.

We stopped at the Seafood festival in Newport this past Sunday.  The previous Sunday I'd been at the Chestnut festival in the mountains of Italy...two different worlds, but both very pleasant.

Multicolored maples.

The Newport fire station, serving the city since 1895.