While people often believe that New England has four seasons in total year-round, I would argue that we technically only have three full-time ones, and that Spring is more of an “on-call” season. It shows up to help out when we need it every once in a while throughout April and May. Spring, especially here in Massachusetts, feels like such a small blip on the radar between Winter and Summer, where it’s consistently cold and snowing for days on end before the temperatures suddenly spike to the mid-eighties and we all start getting our air conditioners ready for battle for the next few months.
I can tell Spring has arrived, at least for a little while, by two definitive markers – we start having the first thunderstorms of the year (which we did as of yesterday!) and both daffodils and tulips, the quintessential flowers of the season, are at full bloom.
So this past weekend, when it was sunny and warm enough to walk around without a jacket or heavy sweater, I decided to follow-up on the flower blooming check-in just to be sure Spring was truly here to stay, and I headed down to Newport, Rhode Island to catch a snippet of their annual “Daffodil Days” Festival. I had done something similar last year when I stopped by Cliff Walk during a rainy day, and in 2024 when I visited Ballard Park and Blithewold for the occasion – so I wanted to try a new spot this year to mix things up a bit.
This year, I made my first stop at Miantonomi Memorial Park on Hillside Avenue, where a huge section of the park was filled with fully bloomed daffodils, framed by benches and still-bare-but-almost-there trees. Pulling up on the park was something spectacular to behold, since it looked like an endless wave of yellow I approached to find street parking. It also wasn’t particularly crowded, either – so I had plenty of time to explore and snap photos!
After the park, I headed down to the much-more-populated Bowen’s Wharf area, although I was still miraculously able to find parking for the second time during the day (and parking is free in Newport until the end of April when tourist season officially begins, so now’s the time to go!) before I went for the longest, most beautiful stroll past places like Kiel James Patrick, the Clark Cooke House, the waterfront, etc.
I did a little bit of shopping, took some more photos of some of the prettiest floral displays around the area, and closed out my early-afternoon with lunch and a banana daquiri at my beloved Wally’s Wieners, where I also caught some of the last bit of the Masters Tournament while sipping and snacking. It was such a great way to close out an already perfect day and impromptu little road trip!
This coming Friday, now that Spring is here (for now – although I can already feel Summer trying to kick down the door!) I’ll have a glimpse into my actual April/May wardrobe with one of the prettiest, pinkest dresses I picked up for the season!
’til then!
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 