Newport

Newport, R.I. once the summer home of the famous and wealthy. We took a bus tour this afternoon that drove along the Ten Mile Ocean Drive, just to see how the other side lives. We’ll give a few examples. There was a bachelor’s mansion of 36 rooms that only had one bedroom. He quartered his horses on the main floor. The Marble Mansion was built in 1890 for 11 million dollars. It is all marble, different marbles from around the world. Imagine what it would cost to build that house today. Another property cost five million for the ground and five and one half million to build the home. Many of the homes are used for July and August only, summer cottages. Some of the servant’s quarters are larger than most homes. Some of the children’s playhouses are larger than most homes. Lots of acres and grounds that often went down to the sea, or to the edge of the cliffs.

We had a pub lunch and walked around town for a couple of hours and headed back to the ship.

Tomorrow is a busy day. New York City and lots planned. We are really hoping for a sunny day so that we can take the Staten Island ferry and take pictures of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline from the ferry. We’ll give a report afterwards.

John and Colleen