Newport Things: Roger Williams Park Zoo:

On Sunday we headed to Providence to spend the morning at the Zoo! 

We were on the fence about going since we will be back down in Jax soon and will take full advantage of the Jacksonville Zoo while we are there. But we ultimately decided it would still be fun to see the Zoo up here as we probably never will again. I am so glad we made the trip as it was a super fun day with my family and we scored this amazing tour guide upon entrance...

She made sure we did and saw Every. Single. Thing. on the map! 

First stop... The Butterfly Garden!

 There was even a "Backyard" area with a ton of kids activities that Charli loved!

Next stop... Camel Ride!
This was definitely the highlight of our visit and I have to say I was just as excited as Charli since I have never ridden a Camel either. Charli didn't even want me to go on it, "I do it all by myself Mommy" she exclaimed. I told her I had to go on it because when you ride Camels you have to have a "Mommy Seat Belt"... It worked and she proceeded to tell everyone that "Camels have Mommy seat belts"... ha! 

We really had a fun day seeing all kinds of animals until our hearts were content!

Another "Newport Thing" checked off the list! 

Newport Things: Mystic, Connecticut

We had heard some really good things about Mystic, Connecticut, so on Friday morning we decided to make the short hour drive for a fun day trip with some friends. I am so glad we did, as Mystic was such an awesome time! 

We started with the Aquarium which was a lot of fun for Charli. I have to say, we have been very spoiled with the Aquariums that have been at every place we have lived; In Monterey we had passes to the Monterey Bay Aquarium which is one of the best in the country, and we went more times than I can count. Even in Charleston we had the South Carolina Aquarium which we visited several times. It wasn't as big as Monterey's but it was almost just as good. So with our fine taste of Aquariums I thought the Mystic Aquarium was just OK. It was much different than the others we have been to, as most of Mystic's attractions were actually outside, making it feel more like a Sea World/Zoo/Aquarium. None the less we still had a really great time and enjoyed every bit of it! 

We spent a lot of time watching the Beluga Whales, which I feel was probably the main attraction. Charli absolutely loved them and could have sat there all day, and hearing her say "Bay-wuga Whale" was pretty much the most adorable thing ever and never got old! 

We were able to make a Sea Lion Show which was pretty neat, and that along with the Penguins were probably the next two favorites on our list!

 Other little things we did were play in the Science Area, feed the stingrays, see the jellyfish, and drive bumper boats.

Crew also had a blast at his second Aquarium visit (you can see his first Here!) and I would say he had the best seat in the house! 

After the Aquarium we walked around Mystic Village and then headed into Historic Mystic Seaport which was another adorable little "Coastal Downtown" area. 

 We finished our little trip with a perfect picnic style dinner at the cutest little hole in the wall restaurant, right on the water. It started to get pretty windy and chilly towards the end but still a great way to end our day!