Massachusetts Coast Trip, Day 4 - Andey's Interstate Road Trips

Massachusetts Coast Trip - Day 4 (Friday, May 23, 2008)
- Newport Mansions -

I got up at 6 AM, ate some cereal and quietly left the house. I then drove my rented Toyota Yaris out of town, heading south to Rhode Island. The freeway turned into smaller streets as I approached Newport. I felt a little lost arriving in the town but I continued south and soon found the mansion area. Not knowing about parking at The Breakers, I parked on the Salve Regina University campus, which had almost empty lots by their mansions turned school facilities.

I arrived at The Breakers just before it opened to the public, waiting with a few others at the large gate. When it opened, I bought tickets then waited for the tour to start. Our group got led into an elegant entrance parlor first, where our guide introduced the place and its history when the Vanderbilts lived there. Soon, we entered the Great Hall, where we admired the detailed, opulant workmanship and continued through other large, elegant rooms.

So much artful detail went every part of every grand room. On the second floor, we passed through the bedrooms and an open-air loggia facing the ocean. Only here did the guide allow us to take photographs. We continued back inside by the Great Hall staircase, where the guide continued the story, then descended and exited back through the entrance. I then walked south to my car and drove to the parking lot for Marble House.

After the entrance booth, I stepped inside and received an audio tour kit. The tour started at the entrance and detailed the decorations and architecture with more in depth information provided upon entering codes on the audio device. Some rooms I passed had their own theme, such as the lively Gold Room and the somber Gothic Room. I saw plenty of French style furniture in the dining room and in the upstairs bedrooms.

After returning the audio equipment, I headed outside to the ocean side of the house to look at the view and the Japanese style tea house. I could see part of the Cliff Walk below. I would do that next, so I returned to the car and drove to the start of the trail at Easton's Beach. Due to time-limited parking there, I decided instead to park at the second access point on Narraganset Avenue. I ate a Clif Bar before starting on the path.

At the start, I went down a bunch of steps just to get close to the water. I went right back up to continue the walk on the smooth, paved path. Soon, I encountered views of houses on the right, though sometimes the path lay too low to get a good look at a place. First I encountered Ochre Point and Vineland mansion that belong to Salve Regina University, then saw The Breakers again before reaching the Ruggles Avenue access point.

I continued past big private homes then saw Beechwood Mansion and then Marble House next door with a different angle on the Japanese tea house. The path then tunneled under the tea house and became rockier. Another tunnel led me to more uneven land and a view of a couple other mansions like Rough Point before I ended my coastal walk at Ledge Street. I then walked the roads back to my car, passing the street side of the mansions.

I decided I did not have enough time to see Touro Synagoge, so instead went for the self-guided audio tour of The Elms. After parking, I glimpsed the garden before finding the front door. I got my audio kit there and then made my way through the rooms, going up a large stairacase to upper rooms at one point. I found the place impressive, but a bit less so than the others I toured. The tour finished in the utilitarian kitchen, where I exited out to the garden.

First, I headed for the stables but found the big doors closed. At least it had steps I could climb for a bit of a garden view. I then walked among the statues and trimmed hedges, especially enjoying the Sunken Garden with its serpentine mounds. When I covered everything, I returned to the car for a scenic drive along Newport's long coastline, where I saw plenty more luxury residences. Then, I took the long drive back to Boston to drop off the rental car at Enterprise.

With long transfers, it took me quite a while to return to Dorchester on the T. Linda and Rosa picked me up from Fields Corner and we went to Ann Hong for a delicious Vietnamese seven course beef dinner. We went back to the house and soon two new house guests arrived, Nag and Duchy. We all hung out until late just chatting. The couple understandably got the bedroom for the night while I slept on an airbed in the living room.