Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Newport, Rhode Island -- the summer playground of the late 19th-century rich and famous (such as the Vanderbilts, Astors, and Morgans) -- was the next stop on our New England Sweep.  With more pictures than commentary for this leg of the journey, I'm just gonna go ahead and bullet-point our stay and call it a day!  (LoL)  

• SEAGULL SELFIE BEACH

After a long and draining day traipsing about Plymouth, everyone was understandably wiped out and tourist-ed out by the time we reached Newport that evening.  After a winding drive about town to find something to eat for dinner, we made a truly lackluster attempt at some"site-seeing" from the car and serendipitously stumbled upon a virtually deserted stretch of beach along the coast.  The evening was absolutely delightful and we happened upon the beach at the perfect time of day for some frolicking.  The kids were in dire need of an opportunity to run free for a bit (without an agenda), and we were rewarded for our efforts with a truly lovely sunset.  The fact that the beach was teeming with resting seagulls was just a little lagniappe.  😜

(So many selfies-with-seagulls for the taking!)

I kind of love this picture and wish Sophie was in it, too.  It would have made a perfect Christmas card picture.  😢

I can't tell you how often the boys' "play fighting" turns into actual fighting.  🙈

• NEWPORT MANSIONS

After experiencing the worst night's stay of the entire trip (Newport was home to the infamous Motel 6, if you'll recall), we juxtaposed that low with a Gilded high the following morning as we checked out a couple of turn-of-the-century "summer cottages."  Traveling with such a wide range of ages and interests makes it tricky to hit the right notes with all of our planned adventures and I knew going into the day that there was no way this particular outing would capture the attention of the younger ones for very long.  What I wasn't expecting was for Sophie and Jane to lose interest after the first house, themselves, and be ready to move on with the day.  Womp womp.  The end result was that following our tour of The Breakers, Grace and Isaac were the only kids game enough to hit up one more house with me before lunch.  So, while Scott waited with the others in the car, we managed a quick walk-through of The Elms before Isaac was dunzo as well.  Hahaha.  

The Breakers

I loved this second-floor balcony.  It was apparently used as a sort of outdoor living room during the hot summer months due to its open-air structure which creates a lovely breeze.  (And that view of the coast, amiright??)

(They were NOT supposed to be climbing the trees.)

The Elms

(Hahahaha.)

• TOPIARY GARDEN

If I would have looked at a map beforehand, I would have realized sooner that the Newport Preservation Society Topiary Garden wasn't even in the same CITY as the Newport Preservation Society Mansions.  DOH!  It all worked out for the best, though, because rather than splitting the boys and girls up between the two sites, we were able to make it a full family affair after leaving Newport that afternoon and grabbing lunch in Portsmouth where the Garden was actually located.  The big draw for our visit to the Green Animals Topiary Garden was the Sean Kenney's Nature Connects Lego exhibition, and it did not disappoint!  Seriously.  It was amazing.  The kids were given a "scavenger hunt" list upon arrival, and we spent the next 30-40 minutes meandering through the garden looking for the various Lego displays while enjoying the lovely scenery.  

Seriously amazing!

According to the sign:

Dragonfly --

NUMBER OF LEGO BRICKS:  27,788 bricks

TOTAL HOURS TO BUILD:  515 hours

Peacock --

NUMBER OF LEGO BRICKS:  68,827 bricks

TOTAL HOURS TO BUILD:  625 hours

Hummingbird --

NUMBER OF LEGO BRICKS:  61,107 bricks

TOTAL HOURS TO BUILD:  265 hours

Pansy and Bee --

NUMBER OF LEGO BRICKS:  29,314 bricks

TOTAL HOURS TO BUILD:  240 hours

Monarch Butterfly --

NUMBER OF LEGO BRICKS:  39,708 bricks

TOTAL HOURS TO BUILD:  425 hours

Ant Hill --

NUMBER OF LEGO BRICKS:  12,990 bricks

TOTAL HOURS TO BUILD:  80 hours

This was possibly my favorite tree in all of our New England Sweep.  (It's a European Copper Beech, in case anyone is dying to know.  Hahaha.)

Spider --

NUMBER OF LEGO BRICKS:  16,492 bricks

TOTAL HOURS TO BUILD:  135 hours

And there you have it -- a snapshot of the lifestyles of the (late 19th-century) rich and famous!  With only one full day of vacationing left to go, the end of the road is in sight.  Fingers crossed I'll be able to knock the recap out tomorrow.  Until next time...