As I lay in bed trying to fall asleep last night, I found myself thinking about what my answer would have been had the tables been reversed and someone had asked me my memorable food moment.

While there are many, some probably better forgotten, one of the strongest is from my trip to Newport. That trip holds a special place in my heart for a lot of reasons – it’s one of the few trips I’ve taken in my life by myself, existing solely on my own agenda. I woke up when I wanted to wake up, ate what I wanted to eat when I wanted to eat it, and went wherever I wanted, all without having to consult somebody else or alter my desires to accommodate someone or something.

The night I arrived, I found a spot near the harbor to park and just wandered the streets with a cup of coffee, stopping to marvel at the old buildings and the view of the harbor. The weather was sublime, and the smell of the salt air reminded me so much of home. And while I wanted to linger, I was also eager to see it all.

After walking around town for a few hours, I found a little bakery/deli where I grabbed a loaf of baguette and a small wedge of Comté. From a wine shop, I grabbed a bottle of Newport Vineyards’ Table White, and headed back to my hotel which was located on the beach.

I took my little ‘picnic,” my camera, a journal and a pencil out to the beach with me to enjoy the view looking up at all the mansions on the hill. The beach has always been a place of utter calm for me, and this night was no exception. I sat there till long after the sun went down, totally at peace.

While the food was nothing particularly all that extravagant or special, that moment was. It had been SO long since I’d been alone with my thoughts. I had arrived in Newport tired and stressed, with so much weighing on my mind and in my heart. In that few hours, over a glass of wine and a sunset, I was a calm I hadn’t been in a very long time.

I haven’t tried that wine since – it’s almost like I’m afraid that if I tasted it again, it wouldn’t live up to my memory of it, and the disappointment I would then feel would somehow taint my memory of that experience. Maybe it’s better this way…

It amazes me that so many years later, the thought of that night can still evoke so much joy for me.