Ken did some work outside while I did my devotions. We left at 9:45 and drove into Newport and parked at The Breakers to walk part of the Cliff Walk. It was a beautiful sunny warm day with temperatures near 80. There was a nice breeze so it was a gorgeous day for this walk along the coastline. We probably walked about 2 miles and it was a delightful stroll.
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| It is a very scenic and beautiful walk! |
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| Rather impressive, don't you think??? |
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| You did get to some unpaved areas. |
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| You can see several of the buildings on this campus from the Cliff Walk. I appreciate that several of the buildings on their campus are the old mansions that would have been destroyed. |
We left there and drove to tour the Rosecliff Mansion. This was another audio tour that was very well done. The staircase was amazing, but you didn't get to tour most of the home because it is available for renting for special occasions. It was probably my least favorite of the 5 that we toured, but the view from the back was amazing.
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| The Rosecliff which had beautiful gardens! |
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| For me, one of the most impressive parts of the house - the regal stairway outlined by a heart. Many weddings take place at the Rosecliff! |
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| The entrance hall |
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| The ballroom |
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| Quite a view from the back patio! |
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| So many tapestries in these homes! |
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| The drawing room, that was mostly used by the men! |
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| The Dining Room, which is not really furnished because it is used for receptions, meeting, etc.! |
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| A staircase fit for a queen or princess! |
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| The beautiful gardens |
Back to the car for the short drive to our 5th and final mansion tour, The Marble House. Again, it was another audio tour and this was probably one of the most lavish with tons and tons of marble everywhere. It was another property owned by the Vanderbilts and they certainly didn't have any problem being extravagant during the Gilded Age. You were able to see many rooms in this home and it left you almost breathless.
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| The Marble House built by the Vanderbilts! |
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| I wonder how the house got its name???? Marble everywhere! |
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| The lights and moldings were amazing! |
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| So much gold leaf and marble in the formal dining room! |
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| In the corner of the Dining Room ceiling! |
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| The Japanese Tea Building and Garden was built when the Mansion was built! Today they serve tea, sandwiches and salads! |
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| This is the Gothic Room where Mrs. Vanderbilt displayed her extensive Gothic Art Collection! |
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| Can you believe this chandelier complete with cherubs! |
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| This walls in the sitting room were 24 carat gold. A bit over the top for me! |
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| Quite a fireplace mantel! |
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| Mr. Vanderbilt's BR! |
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| Mrs. Vanderbilt's BR was fit for a queen and that is exactly what she wanted it to look like! The drapes were beautiful and the valences had so much gold leaf! |
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| Quite a fancy bed! |
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| Another amazing fireplace! |
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| Their daughter's bedroom and she had no say in the furnishings, not even the decorative pieces. |
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| The guest room! |
Just a few interesting facts I learned at The Marble House today. The amount of time most of these folks actually lived there each year was about 6 to 8 weeks. During that time the family was "expected" to have many parties and at least 2 of them were supposed to have 400 guests. So, they "budgeted" about $500,000. for entertaining in the late 1800's and the early 1900's, which is equivalent to about 12 million today. The ladies also were expected to have new gowns for all the parties they attended, which was about 275 outfits including hats, gloves, jewelry, shoes, wraps, etc. Can you imagine???? The Gilded Age was from 1865 to 1914 and ended when Federal Income Tax started.
By the time we left The Marble House it was 2:00 and we were hungry. So we drove to a downtown Harbor Area where we ate our packed lunch sitting on a bench overlooking all the boats.
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| Another great view for eating a picnic lunch! |
While there I talked to Cindy who is RVing on Jekyll Island, GA. Fortunately they are not in the path of Hurricane Michael, but they are going to have very strong winds this evening and overnight with gust as high as 55 mph. Hopefully they won't have any damage.
On the drive back to the CG I talked to my friend, Jackie, whose son and his family are in Pensacola, FL on the Panhandle. They decided not to evacuate and we are praying that they will be safe and not have any major damage.
Once back to the CG, Ken and I started the fun process of getting ready to head home early tomorrow morning. But before we started, we "staged" Wilbur and did a video inside and outside to share with my parents. Dad recently commented to John that he has never seen any of our motorhomes, so both of us decided to do a video for him. Looking forward to sharing it with Mom and Dad when we return.
Then the work began of putting things away outside, unhooking somethings, and then packing up things inside and loading them into the CRV. That makes it so much easier for unloading when we get back to Lititz. We will spend tomorrow night at Hershey Preserve so Ken can backwash the tanks and then winterize before we leave for Florida after Thanksgiving. It will give me the opportunity to really houseclean the inside in preparation for our winter in Florida. We plan to be in Lititz by lunchtime on Friday.
We showered and then ate dinner while watching the Evening News. Did dishes and played 2 rounds of Hand and Foot with Ken winning. I downloaded photos and worked on this blog.
I did hear from Jackie, the her son, Dustin, and his family in Pensacola felt very little from Hurricane Michael. It really "skirted" around them. They felt extremely fortunate and were in the process of removing the boards from their windows.
I also talked to my mother and she and dad are just fine. They are anxious for us to get back home so we can all get together.
We headed to bed around 9:15 and plan to be on our way by 7 tomorrow morning. What a great time we have had here in Newport, RI. We have been Celebrating Life Daily this entire trip!
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