Newport, Rhode Island

There are lots of restored homes, churches, buildings, yachts and other stuff in this town. It is really beautiful and everything looks really old but very nice and restored. I think they call themselves "the playground of the rich and famous". We went on a tour here called "The Breakers and Cliff Walk". The Breakers is a mansion that was built by the Vanderbilt's in 1890 something. As far as I could tell, after the generation that built it passed on, the family could not afford to keep it up and they donated it to the historical society. We also saw Trinity church where George Washington worshiped 3 times and the church where John F. Kennedy and Jackie got married.

This is the "Cliff Walk". It was very pretty, but we wanted to go much farther. They only let us walk less than a mile. We decided that we are not "get on the bus and go for a tour people".

We will not be doing any more cruises. Everyone should do Alaska, but I can't recommend the Caribbean or this cruise. We wish we had gone to Maine and stayed there 2 weeks. On the other hand, if we had done that, we would have never gone to NYC, which we enjoyed very much. But I'm not taking it back. No more cruises for me. Everything on the ship is lovely, but tour buses do not do it for us.

Tons and tons of yachts and sailboats in the harbor. America's Cup used to be here, I think some tour guide told us.

The Newport Bridge and Goat's Island. Yes, I think there are goats there.

Here and also in Acadia, the ship cannot dock in the harbor. You have to go ashore in tenders. (The little boat) Takes a lot of time to get 3,000 people off that ship in those little boats. And then...they have to get them all back on!

This is the Atlantic Ocean behind The Breakers. There was a hurricane coming in so these guys were catching some big ones.

And, the long awaited Vanderbilt's mansion. They gave you little ipods and you listened to it while you walked through the house. It was very interesting to me to hear about their lives and see their stuff.

Salve Regina University is next door. It began as a Nursing School for nuns, but is a co- educational university now. They still have Florence's (Nightingale) lamp in their seal, though.
My resident expert said the 4 gold bars are for the 4 gospels.

This is the "wedding tree" on campus. I guess it was named that after the nuns left.

And more of the cliff walk.