Boats, Bikinis, Brown!

My fruit, granola, and yogurt bowl. Cute, cheap, delicious!

It was strange to wake up today and not have to stress about being at a college on time. Strange in a really awesome way. Though the girls were a couple minutes late coming down stairs, we had nowhere in particular to be, except for breakfast. We ate at the same cafe as yesterday, only this time bringing Mr. Crosby, Mrs. Kaplan, and the guys along. After having a small breakfast there, we decided to drive over to the mall, to buy some 'essentials' (for me, nail polish, some earrings, etc.). Thankfully, no one got lost in the 4-floor mall, so we were on our way to Newport right on time.

The Newport marina

Newport was a really pretty place, with lots of classy people having lunch. Though it took a while for us to find the pier, walking up and down Bannister’s Wharf was an experience within itself. After we found our boat, the Rum Runner II, I climbed aboard with my Ben and Jerry’s ice cream in hand. The Atlantic Ocean was absolutely beautiful. Honestly, it was pretty similar to the 

Pacific (water will be water), but the color was more green, and the temperature warmer. The ride took us all over the bay, where we got to see the set up to the huge boat race that starts from Newport. It was pretty weird to see million dollar boats all floating on the bay, waiting for their one use, while knowing that one of those boats could pay for many a student’s education. I think that where I’m from gave me different standards and values than a lot of people who were born into money. That’s a really interesting perspective that I think I’ll have to keep in mind while meeting the people at Brown, who will most likely be pretty well off.

My future 'summer cottage'

The Breakers Mansion, built by the Vanderbilts, is an incredibly intimidating structure. Once you get inside, the huge rooms with ornate walls, ceilings, and furniture can be stared at for hours. After taking APUSH, I should probably be enraged about the obcene amounts of money spent on this mansion, and not health care, worker benefits, or child poverty, but to be entirely truthful, I am just even more motivated to make so much money that building a house like the Breakers would be imaginable.

The beach!

After the Breakers, we hopped on over to a beach. It was rocky, windy, and smelly, so we continued hopping until we found a gorgeous one, similar to Santa Cruz’s. The beach had lots of people, including lifeguards, which is always a good sign. We didn’t stay for very long, but I did get to put my feet in the water. The sand on the East Coast, apparently is very soft, fine, and loves to stick to your wet feet like there’s no tomorrow. I had to spend more than a couple minutes trying to make sure I wouldn’t track too much sand into the rental car.

Dinner was a bittersweet experience tonight. My buffalo chicken sandwich from Anthony’s Seafood was amazing, but as you can probably infer from the title, the restaurant specialized in shellfish, which I am very much allergic to. What everyone else ate, though, looked and smelled delicious, and I even chanced a couple bites of Nick’s New England clam chowder. I’m dealing with the aftermath now, but a small outbreak of hives is no obstacle to a bite of heaven.

Today was fun, but I’m even more excited for the next couple weeks. Tomorrow we’re headed to the orientation, and moving into the dorms at Brown, and then on Monday, our class starts. These last few days, I have learned so much about the application process, and the philosophies of Ivy League schools, and now I get to discover macroeconomics. I could not be more excited to get to meet my new roommate, and I really hope we get along. All of this will be an adventure that I’ll never forget.