My birthday celebration and our fun family trip to Newport, RI was Hubby’s way to speak my love language of adventures and family quality time. We decided to plan a day trip to a place that we have not explored yet as a family and Rhode Island was the choice. The Spring like weather that day was the perfect excuse for our family adventures.

A 2-hour drive to The Classic Coast of Rhode Island with nine vibrant and historic towns all sharing some seriously prime New England coastline is everything our family was ready to experience. Newport was our destination of choice for my birthday celebration and our fun family trip to Newport, RI.

Fascinating history lingers behind every corner in Newport and our family couldn’t wait to travel back in time at the Breakers. We excitedly got a Winter Passport tickets to visit 3 Newport Mansions: the Breakers, the Elms and the Marble House. However, we only had enough time to visit the Breakers and it was exactly what our day trip called for.

The Breakers is the grandest of Newport’s summer “cottages” and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family’s social and financial preeminence in turn-of-the-century America. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) established the family fortune in steamships and later in the New York Central Railroad, which was a pivotal development in the industrial growth of the nation during the late 19th century.

In 1893, after the original wooden house burnt down, Richard Morris Hunt directed an international team of craftsmen and artisans to construct the 70-room Italian Renaissance-style palazzo in its place, inspired by the 16th century palaces of Genoa and Turin.

The Vanderbilts had seven children. Their youngest daughter, Gladys, who married Count Laszlo Szechenyi of Hungary, inherited the house on her mother’s death in 1934. An ardent supporter of The Preservation Society of Newport County, she opened The Breakers in 1948 to raise funds for the Society. In 1972, the Preservation Society purchased the house from her heirs. Today, the house is designated a National Historic Landmark.

Once we arrived at the mansion, we were given headphones for an audio tour and our girls took pride in following the history behind each room and how the Vanderbilt family lived. We took a moment by the water to reflect and talk with our girls about all we saw ad learned.

Since it was getting closer to dinner time, I remember my sister visiting Newport last year and raving about a seafood place in town. We took the 10 minutes drive to Flo’s Clam Shack. Flo’s Clam Shack was founded in 1936 when a Massachusetts man suggested that clams may taste good fried instead of only steamed, raw on the half shell or chopped in chowda the way New Englanders were used to.

Flo’s has consistently offered fresh, tender, sweet, plump clams and a variety of seafood lightly dusted in a batter and fried just right. Flo’s insists on serving only the finest and freshest seafood at all times and we came ready for our taste buds to be awed by the Rhode Island restaurant featured on the Travel Show, Food Network “Best Street Eats”, and “Best Thing I Ever Ate”.

Hubby and the girls ordered the Fry and Chips while I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth in the Fried Campeche Shrimp. Everything tasted so good as we happily shared and I know I overate but again it was my birthday celebration and our fun family trip to Newport, RI! After that deliciousness of feast, it was time to walk all those fried fish and shrimp around downtown Newport.

Hubby knows my love for Kilwin’s Ice Cream so when we spotted one downtown Newport, we knew that it was the perfect way to end my birthday celebration and our fun family trip to Newport, RI. The girls enjoyed the Superman ice cream while Hubby and I delighted ourselves to the New Orleans Praline Pecan flavor. I had to get their coconut clustered chocolates for a treat to go.

We enjoyed Newport’s enchanting 3.5-mile Cliff Walk on the way back and it was the perfect place for panoramic ocean views, crashing waves and the perfect amount of sea breeze on one side and stunning, century-old, Gilded Age mansions on the other.

Driving over the Clairborne Pell/Newport Bridge and the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge and overlooking classic Colonial architecture and breathtaking New England landscapes, we knew it would not be too long before we come back to the Classic Coast. It’s that feeling of being away yet connected; switched off yet inspired; engaged yet refreshed. There’s really no word for it, but we can’t wait to experience it all over again next time we visit the Classic Coast.