Monday, October 18, 2010

Day 12 - Newport, RI

After sailing out of New York Harbor, we sailed along Long Island on the Atlantic Ocean side. We sailed past Block Island in the dark and then set anchor in Newport Harbor since there was no dock that could accomodate us.

This required that we take a shuttle to the wharf. The lines were long on the ship and even longer on shore so we go virtually no time to play in port.
We booked one tour that took us past many mansions along the coast. Many of the old mansions have been turned over to the Newport Preseveration Society. They are hard to see from the front on a moving bus as there are many trees and plants between them and the street but from behind where they face the bay the view is much better.
This is Rosecliff mansion that we toured. It sits on 21 acres and was given to the preservation society to maintain and open to the public. The docents were really grouchy and not that friendly but the building was beautiful inside. Wish I could provide pictures but photos were strictly forbidden.
From the gigantic back yard of Rosecliff here are a couple of the neighbors' homes that lined the little cove where they were located. These are obviously more humble but still quite impressive.
Unfortunately this was our fate when we got back to the docks - a two block line of passengers waiting to get back on the ship. Because of this and a 3 PM sailing we were basically eliminated from doing any shopping - must have saved us some money. We never fully understood why we had to leave at 3 PM to sail 50 miles to New London, CT but they left early so, we presume, they could get out in the Atlantic and open up the casino on board the ship.

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