My Newport Story

I felt that for a while, I lived a life from one postcard to another.

In 2017, I was blessed to live for a short while in Newport, Rhode Island. Being Asian, I longed to experience the old America and European feels, as opposed to what Los Angeles and San Francisco had to offer.

I found this experience in Newport.

The Naval War College was a school like no other. Set atop a hill by the ocean with a beautiful view of Pell Bridge, it was living a postcard dream. The bridge itself greeted me in many ways every morning. There were days when it was all misty. There were days where sailboats dotted its face. There were days when it seemed Newport was burning bridges because of the glorious hues of sunsets. Seagulls at the Officer's Club were my usual companions when I choose to stare at Pell for a while.

To me, old America means an encounter with the very American local produce like apples and pumpkins, berries and peaches. These edibles are ones I did not grow up with! Local farms near Newport provided me a chance to rejoice in the graceful harvest of farming. The story of Johnny Appleseed which I only read in books as a child came to life for me.

Wildflowers are a childhood dream. I remain delirious about picking wildflowers from a meadow and bringing them with me to find their home in a vase. Blue violets, daffodils, thistles, dogwoods and dandelions! The very versatile aster is also a wildflower here, which we purchase expensively in our city! I loved finding daffodils bloom by the doorstep when winter bade goodbye. I remember how the bright daffodils announced spring at the roundabout nearest to Pell Bridge. And even in its winter, it was heaven for me to forage the dried blooms all around me.

Bellevue Avenue was more than the Vanderbilt mansions to me. It was history and heritage, comfort and convenience. I found quaint cafes to fill my hungry days. I feasted on the lavish senses of how the Vanderbilts lived their fortunes. I ran free on the cobble stoned paths, through the liberating trails of cliff walk.

Art in Newport is plentiful. As beauty and aesthetics were a normal nature of Newport life, it was not surprising to find easy access to art houses and exhibits, especially as RISD is nearby. Pierre Cardin’s fashion exhibit at The Rosecliff was an extensive display of its haute couture and legendary fashion pieces. I was lucky to be there in its exhibit duration.

Perhaps, Newport’s appeal to me goes beyond its touristy nature. Being so close to the ocean, having access to forest trails, holding elements and icons seemingly frozen in time, living richly in nature’s treasures in a slower and quieter backdrop, unashamed of having a penchant for the beautiful things in life in a non-brazen manner —— these are the things that I remember most about my life in Newport.

Am I glad I will be back in Newport this fall.