Next stop ... Newport!

It is always good to see Newport! 

One thing that is a constant in all of the photos in Newport, is laughter.  We always laugh here.  And this, our third visit, was no exception to this tradition.

The biggest difference is that we have never been here in daylight.  And to be be honest we arrived in the city well past lights out, but we went right to our hotel and got some much needed rest.

This was the start of a big day for us ... Today would be our last day on the road.  And to be honest, we were pretty giddy about it. 

And so it was that we headed over to see our friends, and do a photo op with them.  There were familiar faces, and new as well. 

This is a volunteer station, with a lot of heart.  They always make us welcome.  As I recall, last year there were handcuffs involved ... but you'll have to go back in the archives to find out about that story.  ( ;

We met a new friend this time, we call her "Sparkles" ... and she was definitely a bright personality.  Bubbly and outgoing, and yet shy.  She was the low person on the pole, so she was the designated shirt donator.  She turned a bright red, and offered a protest. 

We assured her that she would be completely draped, and if you look closely you can tell she had an undershirt on for the shirt swap.  She was a lady, all the way, and we want to make sure no one thinks any less.  Well done, Sparkles!

This is also the home of the troll that so taunted our first mascot, SHertz Forda Troops.  We'll be sure to share the photos with him when next we visit the Fort Lewis Army Museum where he lives.

There is another coincidence we learned about on the tour, turns out that Newport, Oregon and Newport, Rhode Island have similar ... If not, identical bridges.  We found out from the patch that was on SHertz' coat.  One of the Providence firefighters thought their Newport had a new patch.  Go figure ...  Looks like we'll have to go there to find out more about this bridge, and get a different Newport patch.  Hmmm ... we have said that the 6th year tour would be the "Seeing Double" tour.  Might have a couple stops figured out.  ( ;

Next time we visit, we need to plan an activity with this group, we can only imagine the fun we could have.  And yeah, we're up for that jetty check!

Thanks Newport!  As always, you rock!

( ;

lj & the road crew

And with that we were off, up the Oregon Caost, thru Depoe Bay and Lincoln, headed for our last stop.