Saturday we started the day at the Tangier Outlets (which were right next to our hotel) to indulge HM and her insatiable need to shop. She still is saddened her mother missed that shopping gene. She was allowed to pick three stores to visit out of the 80+ there. She made the most of it.
The rest of the day was spent at the beach club with Neal, Peggy, the kids plus two special guest stars, Robert Grossman and his wife, Erica. Robert was one of (and still is) Neal's best friends growing up. He lived right down the street from him. Needless to say, we all reminisced of our good times together and how we would play until dark exploring woods, basements, etc. with no parents hanging out with us. How times have changed.
We enjoyed the Atlantic a bit more this day, staying close to shore. I even ventured in but the water is bloody cold.
That evening, we had a FEAST at home. Neal & Peggy made sure no one left the table hungry.
The cousins had a marvelous time and it just reminded the parents we all need to see each other more often.
Sunday morning we awoke early to drive to Orient Point and catch our ferry to Connecticut. We drove through beautiful country to get there, past many farms & vineyards as this is Long Island's wine country. We grabbed a REAL New York bagel along the way from a deli in Mattituck and the girls kept saying, "this is so much better than Einstein's." Made me laugh.
We arrived at the ferry early and were fortunate they were able to squeeze us on an earlier ship. We even met a sweet 11-week puppy on the boat, Savannah. We all got our doggie fix.
The ride is really short, just over an hour. So by 10:30am we were in CT. After a false start and arguing with Lee, our GPS man, we headed to Mystic for a short visit. The town was busy with tourists so when I used my Urban Spoon app on the IPHONE to find a spot to eat and "Five Guys" popped up, we took the easy route out. We all love Five Guys. We stopped at a small art fair and then had an ice cream at Friendly's. Brought back memories of visiting Friendly's as a kid with my family & my grandfather.
We arrived in Newport at 2pm to a gorgeous day. We checked in at the hotel, a cool in-town spot named the Mill Street Inn, complete with a rooftop deck and exposed brick walls within the rooms. Girls thought this was really neat. Afterwards, we headed to the mansions. We toured two. The Marble House and the Breakers. Girls were super impressed. Who wouldn't be. It boggles the mind to think of the kind of wealth these folks had. Both houses were owned by Vanderbilts.
The Marble House was particularly interesting to HM because the lady of the house, Alva, was a pioneer for women's suffrage. She was most definitely a woman ahead of her time. The audio tours are well done, with actors reading from the home's inhabitants own journals or with actual interviews of servants who worked in the home. At one point the tour takes you through the scullery where they washed all the home's dishes. One set of Alva's dishes said "Votes for Women." The audio tour states something like, "One wonders how the ladies who worked in the scullery washing all these "Votes for Women" dishes thought of Alba's quest for equal rights." I commented on this later to HM and she said, "I don't get it. She wasn't fighting for the right to not work, just the right to vote." Good to see things from nine-year-old's perspective.
We are heading to Plymouth today and then on to New Hampshire.
HM: When we got to Rhode Island all I can say was WOW!!! When we got to our hotel our room wasn't ready yet so we decided to see some mansions. The first one was Marble House. The wife and mother was Alva Vanderbilt. The Vanderbilts owned this $11 million summer home. We did the audio tour of the home. And when we were going into Alva's room my favorite part was when she says, "I was the first to marry a Vanderbilt and the first to DIVORCE a Vanderbilt."
Then when we went into Consuelo's room, the daughter, and nothing in the room was hers. Everything was picked out by her mother, Alva. That was amazing.
Next we went to the Breakers which was also owned by the Vanderbilts. During the tour, the house actually talked to us. The Breakers got its name by how the ocean waves break on to the shore, just in case you wanted to know.
After that, we want back to the hotel to freshen up, the shower is soooooo cool. Then we went to a restaurant named Brick Alley. The wait was 30 minutes but I wanted nachos which had been recommended by the girl at the hotel. It was worth the wait. Everything was delicious.
Walking home, we saw a person in the Navy.
EM: I liked the Marble Mansion and the other one too. I liked the hotel and I liked how we had breakfast on the roof. The shower is super cool.
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