August 10, 2008

August 10, 2008

We say good-bye to our home of the past week in Mansfield, MA and work our way southwest to Newport, RI. Newport was one of the early settlements of Rhode Island, a haven for people looking for religious freedom. Newport grew as a trading port. Its main export was rum distilled here from sugar and molasses shipped in from the West Indies. We learn that history in the Newport Historical Society Museum. We also take a tour of the Touro Synagogue National Historic Site. This is my first visit to a synagogue. It is small but quite beautiful and is the oldest synagogue in the US.

During the Revolution, the British occupied Newport forcing locals to evacuate. Newport never recovered and eventually tourism took hold. At the turn of the century, Newport was the social center of the gilded age. The ultra-rich all had summer homes here. We tour the largest, The Breakers, built by the Vanderbilts. It is a huge 128,000 square foot house, ornately decorated, overlooking the bay. The main hall and entry staircase are something else. Incredibly it was only occupied for six weeks during the summer social season. The only house we have seen bigger and more elegant is North Carolina’s Biltmore, another Vanderbilt mansion. Aimee is fascinated by the tour, not by the mansion, but by the Vanderbilt family. By the end she knows who married who, and how many kids, grandkids they had and their names. Amazing!

There are several more mansions owned by the local Preservation Society open for touring. We randomly choose the Rosecliff, a few doors down, and much tinier at only 28,000 sq. ft. You can tell this was built for efficient partying. Downstairs is one monster ballroom while upstairs has a dozen bedrooms. The ballroom starred in the opening scenes of Arnold Schwarzennegger’s movie True Lies. It is a gorgeous sunny day, so from Rosecliff we stroll along the Cliff Walk following the rocky coastline back to the Breakers parking lot and the RV. We spend the evening at an RV park on the western edge of Rhode Island.