Mansions and Minced Clams in Newport R I

We are in Newport, Rhode Island; a town where half the wealthy in 1900 built homes. These weren't their real homes you understand; just their summer cottages. Little places where they could get away and entertain each other.

If you look closely at the top of the gate you'll see a stylized C and V. That stood for Cornelius Vanderbilt, and this is the gate to The Breakers.

This is the second home the Vanderbilt family had here. The first Breakers was wooden and burnt to the ground, so this was built of stone.

A detail on the front of the house

The lawn would be filled with tables for outdoor parties.

The blue just in front of the hedge is hydrangea, a wildly popular flower here.

The massive front entry.

This home was built in only two years, an amazing feat when you consider it's size. The Breakers is much smaller than The Biltmore, another Vanderbilt home, but it's still nothing to sneeze at.

The interior, which you're not allowed to photograph of course, is every bit as ornate as you can imagine. One wall is decorated with silver leaf. After realizing the wall never tarnished recent testing proved the "silver" was platinum.

A detail of a lamp post.

Cornelius Vanderbilt only spent one summer here.

The next year he had a stroke and three years later he died.

I thought there were six or seven palatial estates in Newport, but there are dozens! Most of them pale by comparison to the Breakers, but they're still fantastic. Other Vanderbilts built here, as did the Astors and Firestones. The heiress Doris Duke had a home here.

They're still being built today, or you can purchase a ready-made slightly used estate. I found one at slightly over $17,000,000 by Googling Newport Real Estate.

Historic Old Newport - where people go to get away from the crowded cities.

I guess they sail in and sail out, because parking lots are more crowded than the harbor.

Flo's Clam Shack has been destroyed by hurricanes SIX times since opening in 1937.

It's been featured on the Food Network, obviously not for the decor.

Flo's is famous for clam cakes, which I thought would be like crab cakes made with minced clams. But NO!! It's kinda like a clam fritter. I guess it's an acquired taste.

Our lobster shaped beeper.

I love a classy joint!

Across the bay, and a world away, from The Breakers.

The Town of Amesbury, Massachusetts

"The Town of Amesbury, Massachusetts" is the name of a beautiful little town close to where we're camped. Note that it's not "Amesbury, Massachusetts", no matter what the map says.

See how the street meanders through the town?

This is fairly typical of the towns in this part of Massachusetts.

These villages began in the 1600's, and the paths then are the streets now; twisted and narrow. We have had problems sight-seeing with our big truck. It just can't conform to a space made for a horse and buggy.

Brick sidewalks - scenic yet tricky.

This isn't a tourist town, but a residential community.

It's loaded with lovely old homes, but since I've loaded the blog with photos of other lovely old homes I've spared you this time.

"The Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank."

Wouldn't you like to know the story about the name?

There's also an "Institution of Savings" in Salisbury.

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Driving here is a real adventure.

I would strongly recommend that anyone attempting an auto tour in this area to bring a G P S system.

Streets aren't marked well or at all, and can change names when intersected.

Street grids aren't square, but triangular or odd shaped with any number of sides.

One side of a divided street might have a traffic circle while the other side is straight.

There are many, many historic buildings here; and of course the streets bend around them.

John points out that the first road followed the jagged shore line, and each successive street followed the same pattern.

I think that's probably true, but I also think they got in the ale a lot.

Salem Massachusetts

Witches are big business in Salem.

This is a line of people who've already bought their tickets and are waiting to get in.

The gift shop; as far as I got in the crush; was three deep at the counter.

If it's this busy in July I can't imagine what October 31st is like.

They had a fabulous witch's cap that I'd have bought for Halloween decor if I still had a house to decorate!

Why does a Psychic Faire have to advertise?

I thought "readings" were illegal everywhere.

How many places can you wear a t-shirt with a witch on it?

What are the classes for?

All of the above?

Is 'mediumship' a word?

Wouldn't you kind of like to sit in on a workshop just to see if you could keep a straight face?

Aura photos?

Just the other day I was thinking "Where could I get custom fangs today?"

Heck, I thought it was a lost art.

In a serious vein (get it - get it) there are some profoundly strange people wandering around the streets here and I don't think all of them are tourists.

Goodbye Bangor

We've spent 9 days here in Bangor, and we've both really enjoyed it.

The weather has been great for us, but the natives have suffered the last few days with record-breaking heat. It was 100* in Portland two days ago. We're almost 100 miles north and it was a little cooler here, but the humidity seems so low it wasn't bad. Many of the homes here aren't air conditioned, and the TV weatherman described in detail how he got a window unit. The average high this time of year is 79*.

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We did stay 2 days longer than we originally planned, and are leaving tomorrow for Massachusetts. John has left the trip planning/camp reservations to me since we retired, and our next stop is just inside the state line in Salisbury. We'll be a few miles off I-95 and close enough to the ocean that it shouldn't be too hot. We'll be 30 or so miles from Salem and Marblehead, so we can day trip down. We'll also be able to use commuter rail service if Boston sounds appealing. Plymouth and Cape Cod (and the crowds) don't sound manageable in the big truck so we'll write them off for now.

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Like many RV parks, the laundromat here at the campground has a leave a book/ take a book library. People also leave their magazines for others, and look at what caught my eye.

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Yes, it says "Garden & Gun".

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Whaaaa???

I was bewildered by the concept!

I simply could NOT imagine the target demographic of this publication

Finally it came to me.

It's me and John!

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And now for something really different.....

Blueberry soda pop.

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It's not bad at all.

In fact it was surprisingly good.

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They also have blueberry beer here, but no one was brave enough to try it.

Baa Ha Baa

Bar Harbor is a tourist town on Mount Desert Island.

This photo was taken early in the day, just as the shops began to open.

I had to get there early to find a parking space.

By noon you would have a difficult time walking down the sidewalk,

The streets are filled with shops and restaurants.

You can barely see the bay at the bottom of the street.

Ice cream must be extremely important to people in Maine.

There are soooo many places to buy it.

Do all these places stay open all winter, or do they make enough money during the short summer to survive?

Jack's Jewelry has two locations on the same block.

The big draw is tourmaline, a gem stone mined in Maine.

The stone can be several different colors, but they are usually pink or green.

Some stones are pink on one side and green on the other; earning the name "watermelon".

I tried to like it, but couldn't.

When this tour ship leaves the bay they raise the sails.

This harbor has a little bit of everything moored in it.

Nice yacht, huh?

At low tide the water recedes enough to walk out to Bar Island.

There are dozens of people out there.

Geddy's Bar, the place to stop in after a hard day at the shore.

I have to admit that I've been disappointed by the lack of accents in Maine.

Most of the sales people in the shops aren't from Maine,

but are here for the summer season's mild temperatures.

Our pilot yesterday was from Massachusetts, and our neighbors

in RV parks are on vacation like us.

Baa Ha Baa does have accents, but I suspect they lay it on thick for the tourists.

Yesterday we stopped at a classic car sales lot and spent some time talking to the owner about our love of older automobiles.

He commented on his low inventory of "kaz".

Down East

Leaving Bangor and driving toward the coast is known as "going Down East".

We took off this morning to investigate Mount Desert Island, where Bar Harbor is located.

The island has 6,000 year round residents, but in tourist season the day population can raise to 1,000,000.

We found out earlier this week that the traffic is horrible here, so we opted for an easier way to look around.

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There are several flight seeing companies, so it was easy to find one ready to go.

We were tempted by the bi-plane but decided on a more traditional carrier.

Our pilot, Randy.

This is definitely the way to go.

Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the island, and if you climb to the top at dawn you'll be one of the first people in America to see the sun rise.

This is Bar Harbor. It is currently mid-tide.

See the pale line between the bay and the island at right? At low tide it's possible to walk or drive to the island. At high tide the water is 8 ft deep.

This is Rock Island.

The lighthouse, managed by the Coast Guard.

A beach on the south side of the island.

This is Seal Harbor, THE high rent district.

If you want waterfront property you buy an existing home and tear it down.

An island you can lease.

Bass Harbor Lighthouse

Lobster boats.

See the white dots?

They're the buoys attached to the lobster traps, and there's thousands of them.

This island is owned by the Rockefeller family.

They raised cattle here until a few years ago.

Have I mentioned the flowers in New England?

I never thought about putting vining plants in a hanging basket, but I will from now on.

A BBQ and lobster pound (restaurant).

Buoys for lobster traps at a souvenir shop.

Bu your own trap for $30

A Down East native.

These people really are kind of wooden.