We spent the weekend in Rhode Island exploring Newport and some surrounding areas.   Newport is known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions.  It was a major 18th century port city and now contains among the highest number of surviving colonial buildings of any city in the United States.  Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, wealthy southern planters began building summer "cottages" on Bellevue Avenue,  in order to escape the southern heat.  By the turn of the 20th century, many of the nations wealthiest families were summering in Newport including the Vanderbilts,  Astors and Widener families who built the largest cottages such as the Breakers and Miramar.  These "cottages" were grand gilded mansions with elaborate receiving , dining, music and ballrooms.  Interestingly enough, the mansions were not built with many guest bedrooms since the guests were expected to have cottages of their own.  Most  of these mansions have been converted to museums and academic buildings when the owners could not afford the taxes.  Some of the cottages have been purchased and converted into condominiums.

We spent the morning in Newport walking the "cliff" walk which is a 3 1/2 mile walkway open to the public.  The walk starts at First Beach and ends at Bellevue Avenue where the many of the city mansions are located. The first two thirds of the walk is easy and accessible to wheelchairs and strollers however, the southern section is very rough and rocky.  We have walked the entire trail in the past but today we stopped at the rocky section and walked back on the streets  so  we could see the front of the mansions.  Fortunately there are four major access points so you can start the walk at various points.  Under Rhode Island local law, landowners who actually own this land are not liable for any injuries if people injure themselves on this walk.  In 1975 the walk was designated as a National Recreation Trail.   It is a great walk with the ocean views on one side and the backyard of the mansions on the other.  The walk was built by the landowners themselves  with the help of public efforts in later years after the storms kept destroying the walkway.  The above photo is a view from the walkway.

Another view from our walk with one of the mansions in the distance.

One of the typical  "cottages" that we walked behind.  Many of the mansions are open for tours.

Another view from the Cliffwalk.

The Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William  K. Vanderbilt.  The cost of the house was reported to be $11 million dollars of which $7 million was spent on 500,000 cubic feet of marble.  Upon its completion Mr. Vanderbilt gave the house to his wife as a 39th birthday present.  I wonder what she got for her 40th?  In 1985, the Vanderbilts divorced, Alva married Oliver H.P. Belmont( an old family friend)  and moved down the street to Belcourt.  Divorce was rare among the elites at this time- Alva received a large financial settlement reported to be excess of $10 million (plus the house in her name).  The grounds for divorce were allegations of Vanderbilt's adultery.  In 2006, Marble House was designated a National Historic Landmark.  

In the afternoon we drove along  the  "Ocean drive".  This scenic road  is  ten miles of spectacular wide-open views of the Atlantic Ocean and miles of magnificent multi million dollar estates.  The road starts in the historic part of Newport where we had walked and then winds closer to Newports'  oceanfront and to the most elite private properties.  

We stopped the car several times to admire the views. 

One of  our stops at the end of the day was Jamestown which is located on Conanicut Island which connects mainland Rhode Island to Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay.   This is a photograph of the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge.    The bridge connects eh City of Newport and the town of Jamestown.  Jamestown is 25 miles south of Providence and was an interesting  place to drive around.

We went for a walk along the beach at the end of the day before heading back to Providence.  

The next day we headed to Portland,  Maine stopping at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.  This is where Mayflower Pilgrims landed in 1620.  We stopped at the Pilgrim Memorial State Park which is one of the most heavily visited parks(and the smallest)  in the state parks system.  Nearly one million people from all over the world come to visit "The Rock".  The structure above  was built in 1920 to house part of the rock.

During the rock's many journeys throughout the town of Plymouth, numerous  pieces were taken, bought and sold.  It is estimated that the original Rock weighed around 20,000 pounds.  Today there are pieces in Pilgrim Hall Museum as well as in the Patent building in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.   The  Superstructure to house the rock was built in 1920 so that when the rock was returned to its original site it would be at water level.  In 1774 the rock split in two when a team of oxen attempted to raise it.  The upper portion of the rock was removed and it was not until 1980 that the upper and lower chunks were reunited by cement and the date of 1620 was permanently carved into the rock.  You can see where the cementing of the rock took place.   The Rock was moved for the last time in 1921 to the Superstructure and it once again broke apart.   Plymouth Rock though battered by time, still remains a symbol of the courage of the 102 Mayflower passengers who founded New England.  

We arrived in York, Maine in late afternoon and wandered around the rocky beaches. 
 

This beautiful house in York Harbor  is now a reception hall.

We drove over to Cape Neddick in York, Maine  to watch the sunset.  When we got there we found a photography workshop led by the well known photographer Moose Peterson.  I enjoyed talking to some of the group.

Sunset at Cape Neddick.