Newport cottages

I ventured to Newport today, one last time to visit the historic mansions since my membership expires next week. I can't believe I have been in the northeast for over a year. My mother gifted this membership to me, as our trip together to the mansions last year was the first. I have visited about seven times since then, especially when I have other out-of-towners with me. The beauty and craftsmanship of these homes is not something you see every day, and it leaves me in awe every time.

Today, I finished out the guided tour my mother and I bailed on last year (Chateau-sur-mer), and it was good. (My mother prefers to go at her own pace, hence our early departure.) I think the beginnings of tours are usually slow and dry, but as the docent got going, she really had a sense of humor, and she knew everything about every single thing in that house. Down to the tight white gloves the butlers loathed to wear in the 1960s, and to the different types of wood used for carving. Her knowledge on this topic stemmed from her father having been in the building business, and it was especially interesting to me. She has been working there for 26 years (she was about 80 years old). 

After that, I drove the "scenic route" down Bellevue Avenue, home to many of the grandiose mansions in Newport, and I kept going. I circled all the way around the coastline, and suddenly became aware of all the modern-day estates dotting the waterline, overlooking the cliffs, or trying their best to be obscured by the enormous glacial boulders scattered along the coast. I was amazed.

Even with so many mansions razed after the end of the Gilded Age era, seemingly in admonishment for the duality of extreme lavishness that existed alongside insufficiency for so many, the size of these built structures that stand today are symbolic of a certain eminence. I began to wonder, a century down the road, will these abodes be the next added to the list of historically preserved Newport homes?

Acadia National Park in April

Last week was National Park Week. I got a jump on this with my trip to Acadia National Park the week before. Even though all national parks were free for the weekend, Acadia is free until the start of May. It's still essentially winter up there. In fact, the park opened for the season the second day we were there, and we got there 40 minutes after they opened the gate. I think I was the first person to put a donation in the box, too!

We were in luck the first day they opened because the weather was decent enough that they were also able to open the Park Loop Road, about 27 miles of paved road that circles the largest portion of land, popular with cyclists in the summer. We had planned to ride it as well, but it rained... a lot. We still decided to hike through it, until we got to the top of Cadillac Mountain, 1528 ft, the highest point in the park.

boyfriend searching out cairns/bright colors are a good choice

 It was windy, and getting foggier as we ascended. Luckily, there were cairns to follow, otherwise we might have gone around in circles. We reached what we thought was the top. All we know is we launched ourselves up over large flat boulder, and immediately felt gale-force wind from the other direction that nearly knocked us over, and we both automatically went into a crouching position. We stayed up there maybe 10 seconds before deciding to head back down. (The only other time I felt wind that strong was when I was clinging to the side of an abandoned house while experiencing near-tornadic conditions while on a bike ride.)

Around the Park Loop Road, we came across a beautiful architectural example of a European hunting lodge. It must be mentioned that John D. Rockefeller was one of the key individuals responsible for the creation of Acadia National Park. He donated 11,000 acres of his property and this gatehouse (1932), as it actually is, was commissioned by him to serve as a barrier to automobiles entering the park. Encouraging non-motor traffic, he developed a vast system of carriage roads during the first part of the 20th century that are well-maintained even today. This foresight, and the preservation measures that have come since that time, are factors that make this park easily accessible without a car, across the whole island.

So, back to our adventure. The day after we toured the Loop, it snowed. We were thinking, "But, it was 60 degrees and sunny when we got here!"

Then, by mid-morning, it started clearing. I love to watch this over the ocean, because it's completely blue on one side, and just grey as the clouds on the other. Here is where we drove down to Northeast Harbor, a very quintessential coastal Maine town. After reading that Martha Stewart lived somewhere around here, I was joking that we should be able to find her house. Even though we weren't far from it, it turns out she lives on 63 acres, assuredly hidden away from any curious tourists.

Despite the weather, we enjoyed the seaside cliffs I had always seen in photos, the forests of evergreen, aspen, and birch, and the lack of tourists. It was almost as if we had the park to ourselves. The park staff even told us this is the best time of year to come. However, I would still love the chance to be there at peak season!

day trip to Newport

Last year, one of the first sure signs of spring on Cape Cod was the crocus blooms. This year, I found the same. They are everywhere, much like the daffodils will be in a few weeks. I discovered a nice little patch of them out by the wood pile this afternoon.

The pup apparently found these springtime blooms before I had, as I noticed one of her many holes-to-China was nearby. Her humans are about to make their way back to the Cape in a few days, just in time for the tolerable weather. They have still requested the heat be turned up to 70 in their part of the house.

Being with the dog for the past three months has been very enjoyable, although I will sure be glad to be able to get away for a few days and not have to worry about what to do with her. The other day I realized I had been on the Cape for nearly all of winter, save for a few trips up to Boston. That was quite a hibernation by my standards-- almost as if I had turned into one of these homebody New Englanders! So to celebrate the start of spring, I took a day trip to Newport, RI to visit the mansions. I never tire of visiting these lovely historic homes with their formidable architecture.

It was busier than I expected (tour groups already??) although it was a beautiful Saturday. I know some people may not enjoy listening to a "guided" audio tour, but the stories told are fascinating to me. Life at that time in these houses was so different from what we know today, and it's just fun to imagine what it would have been like.

The beach was hopping as well with dry suit-clad surfers and stand-up paddle boarders.

I stopped for lunch at the same restaurant shown to me by the hostel owner I had stayed with back in November, Anthony's, and enjoyed a salmon burger. The restaurant was actually featured on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives a few years ago. It's definitely a local place, and I do love to escape the tourists...

Next week's adventure: Acadia National Park in Maine. It's been on my list of places to see for quite a while!