Providence and a return to Newport

My new camera stopped working, so I cannot use pictures to help tell my story for this posting.  In some ways that may be good!  I think it will hone my writing style,as this calls for a different approach.  Friday morning, on our way to downtown Providence,we stopped at a peach orchard near where we are parked.  That was one experience I will never forget.  The peaches were so ripe they were dropping to the ground, every few minutes I would hear a loud "plop".  It was a small orchard but there were about a dozen different varieties of peaches and apples.  Before we went off to pick our peaches the owner pointed to a poster on his shed wall where we could note which kind of peaches were ripe at the present time.  He encouraged us to sample the different varieties before deciding which one to pick.  It was peach heaven for me, every peach was big and juicy!  We left with about 12 pounds of peaches.
We went into Providence primarily to tour the capital.  The statehouse overlooks the city.  A large marble dome caps the building and a gilded bronze statue, "Independent Man", stands atop the dome.  Inside are interesting relics as the original parchment charter of 1663 granted by King Charles ll, and two Civil War cannons from  the First R.I. Light Artillery.  In the State Reception Room is the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait  of George Washington.  From the capital we walked down into the city and along Waterplace Park.  Providence and Woonasquatucket Rivers pass through the downtown.
On Saturday we returned to Newport to hike the Cliff Walk with our niece Karen, her husband Paul and their two boys.  It was a breezy and warm day, but the bluffs of the walk skirt Rhode Island Sound so the breeze from the ocean kept us cool.  The trail is rough at points, and we sometimes had to do some rock scrambling.  However, it offered us some beautiful vistas of the rocky coastline, and occasionally a glimpse of the massive summer cottages hidden behind manicured hedges.  I really missed not having a camera here!  We hiked all 3 miles of the walk, but the boys were still running circles around us.  They had not tired.
Sunday  John and I returned to the orchards with Karen and Paul's two boys in tow.  We had offered to watch them for the afternoon and figured it was something they would enjoy.  The frogs in the pond entertained them for a few minutes, and they picked a small bag of fruit.  By then I had a working camera.