Month: September 2015
Location: Newport
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| The streets of Newport |
I was going to Hopkinton,
Massachusetts for my 2
nd year of the
‘Jimmy Fund Boston Marathon Walk’.
So I thought about coming a day earlier in Providence, Rhode Island and
driving to Newport, a wonderful New England Oceanside town if there ever was
one. I rented a car at the airport and
made the 30 minute drive to Newport, arriving over the famous bridge, which
deposits the visitor into the city. I
found my destination, which was a hotel called
‘Jailhouse Inn’, a quaint building with an interesting history…but
more on that later. After I had checked
in, the person at the reception told me that I should go to the breakfast room
and get the freshly baked cookies, which are usually put out at this time in
the afternoon. And my word they were
fresh and gooey and had everything that’s right with a chocolate chip
cookie. I dropped off my stuff in my
room, which was across a door that reminded me of a
‘Detective Agency’ from a
‘noir’
movie, and then I was ready to hit the town.
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| Entry into the 'Tennis Hall of Fame' |
Years ago I had come here with
some of my buddies and we had tried to get into the
‘International Tennis Hall Of Fame Museum’, until we realized that
it wasn’t quite free. Being in school, we had beaten a hasty
retreat, but this time I would make sure that I paid it a visit. Armed with a map, I walked through some of
the more charming streets that I have encountered during my travels. Narrow streets that are not arranged in a typical cities
“grid pattern”, and some historic looking
buildings, give Newport a very
“European”
feel. I arrived at the museum, the entry
to which is through a lush-green tennis court that would be right at home at
‘Wimbledon’. This time I brought my admission and for the
next hour, walked through what is really a good museum, paying tribute to the
rich history of tennis and all of its champions. It was a bit nostalgic for me since I grew
up watching many of these stars. Newport
is a strange location for such a museum, but I doubt if anyone would have done
a better job. Later as I walked through
the grounds I saw many folks clad in their whites playing, and I am sure they
were paying a rich premium for this privilege.
Later, as we shall see, wealth and Newport are quite synonymous with
each other.
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| Yep, its waffle on a stick! |
I was trying to locate a famous
lemonade place, but couldn’t succeed in doing so. What I did find was an outrageously
delightful place called
‘Waffle On A
Stick’ which serves…well, a waffle on a stick. The lady who owned the place was a friendly
soul and after proclaiming my love for this concept, we discussed my order
and settled on a freshly made waffle drizzled with
‘Nutella’, chocolate and caramel.
I mean, why not! As I savored
this treat, she gave me some pointers and directions towards my next
destination, the magnificent
‘Cliff Walk’.
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| The long and winding road |
Back when my buddies and I had
given up on the museum, we had ended up at the
‘Cliff Walk’, which is essentially a 3 mile hike along the cliffs, with the majestic
‘Atlantic’ on one
side and the equally magnificent mansions on the other. I joined the path at one end and started
walking along the winding track which took me through gardens, narrow bridges
and even places where waves were splashing everyone who passed. Brilliant!
The late afternoon was now turning into twilight, giving this experience
a very surreal feel. At one point I
approached Newport’s version of the
“Parisian
love-lock bridge”, where couples usually sign their name on a lock, put ii
on a fence and then throw away the key.
I had seen a
similar thing back in December at Napa, as one exited the
“Wine Train”. One in particular grabbed my attention. It had 2 sets of initials, a date, a hand drawn heart and the words,
"May we dance through life together". I have always loved this concept and seeing
it under that backdrop was special. It
was getting dark as I made my way back to the main road and then walked back to
my hotel; going through the bustling downtown area where evening revelers had
already started assembling. Newport was
coming alive.
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| The enchanting 'Castle Inn' |
After changing I got in the car
and followed GPS directions towards my dinner destination, which was a
restaurant called
‘Castle Inn’. This place is Oceanside and a bit removed from
downtown, meaning that my drive took me through some very dark roads and
isolated areas. When I arrived at the
location, I saw some people assembled inside a building and so stopped and
handed my car to the valet…only to realize that I was about to gatecrash a
wedding. After a quick course-correction
I found the restaurant and for the next couple of hours enjoyed the ambiance
that only places like these can provide. I
returned back just before midnight and commented to the girl at the reception
that this was a very unique hotel. This
led to a fascinating conversation, where she told me about the history of the
place and boy, now everything made sense.
Jailhouse Inn’ is named so
because that’s what it was in the past…a jail. She
pointed out how there were cell bars between us and why there was that door
outside my room. It seems that there are
actual cells in the basement, though thankfully none of them have been
converted into rooms! She was interested
in my
‘51/51’ quest and gave me
pointers on what I should do tomorrow.
One of perks of my travels is finding places like these and
meeting local folks like her. It had
been a great day.
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| The opulent Mansions |
I woke up early and went down to
the most charming room in which one can have breakfast. This morning I would be visiting the most
iconic landmarks of Newport…the mansions.
I had bought a package that would grant me entry into 5 of the 10 mansions
and I had narrowed down my selection to 3 that I definitely wanted to visit and
then I would decide based on time that I had available to me. My first stop was at a place called
‘The Breakers’, which is by far the most
famous of the lot and as I walked through the estate and into the grand hall,
it was easy to see why. For the next
hour I took a self-guided audio tour of the mansion that was bursting with opulence
in every room…every tile. As I learned
about the lifestyles of the people who lived here during the late 19
th
century and what’s known as the
“gilded
age”, I was taken aback by how much wealth these people had. This one belonged to the
‘Vanderbilt’s’,who were railroad tycoons, and they used this as
their summer residence for 8 weeks.
During that time the lady of the house threw grand parties which usually
started with dinner and ended with revelry throughout the night, after which the guests
had breakfast before departing. In today’s
dollars, the expense of running this place for those 8 weeks ran into
millions. Aah, the lifestyles of the
rich and famous.
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| I wouldn't mind this view from my house! |
Next, I drove to a nearby mansion
called the
‘Rosecliff’, where a guide
revealed that it has been home to several
‘Hollywood’
films, including
‘The Great Gatsby’, which
was not a surprise, to
‘True Lies’,
which was surprising. It took some time
to see these places and I did not want to rush just to get through the 5. My last stop was at
‘The Elms’, where another self-guided tour took me through this
place and which included visits to the
“servant’s
quarters”. What was interesting was
that all these places had a separate hidden staircases and corridors, through
which the servants moved and unless you were the head of staff, you were not
allowed to be seen by the masters. Even
the cleanup had to be done pre-dawn before anyone woke up…so much so that the
legend grew that all of these places were
“self-cleaning”
or even better,
“serviced by the elves”.
My last stop before departing
Newport was for lunch at a place called
‘White
Horse Tavern’. This was like your
typical pub, but with some elevated food, and I had reserved a table. As the waiter took my order, a middle-aged couple with a British accent came in and without asking me, sat down at my
table for a
“pint”. The waiter came back with my food and was
clearly confused, not knowing if I had invited them to join me. I did not say anything because I found it
utterly amusing, and chalked it down to one of those unique things that only
happens on visits like these. I left
Newport before completing even 24 hours stay, but it seemed like I had achieved
everything that I could have hoped for.
I had met amazing people, seen incredible sights, eaten delicious food
and more importantly, had found hidden treasures. This trip marked the completion of 12 states
in 12 months. Bring on year 2.
