New England 2013: Rhode Island

It’s official!  We have now been to 49 states.  Somehow when we visited New England for our belated honeymoon 43 years ago, we missed Rhode Island. 

 Today we wandered around Newport looking at the summer mansions of the millionaires in 1900.  I cannot imagine the wealth in this rocky ocean cliff town back then.  The Vanderbilt’s Breakers was a summer cottage of 70 rooms with an enormous ballroom overlooking the ocean crashing on the rocks, gilt and platinum wall covering panels, 40 servants, and 20 bathrooms at a time when most houses in the US didn’t have any.  Cornelius’s hobby was building opulent, state of the art homes to dazzle the wealthiest people in the country.

View of the back from the Cliff Walk.

 

At The Breakers yardmen use a lawn mower that cuts an 11 foot swath. 

We also toured Rosecliff, Tessie Oelrichs’ neuveau riche fantasy house.  She was determined to make hers the best party house Newport had seen.  When the Gilded Age faded, she missed the social life, lost touch with reality, and wandered about her house talking to imaginary party guests. 

The Cliff Walk is 3 ½ miles of paved path along the ocean cliff below the mansions.  Billed as a walk through their front yards, in reality most of them had impenetrable hedges to protect their privacy.  It was a lovely ocean side walk though.

We camped two night here, paying more than we probably have paid anywhere to camp.  Nice nature walk in the park.