October 7th we drove 60 miles to Meadowlark RV Park in Middletown, RI to visit Newport, RI. 60 miles doesn't sound like much but once we were on the state highways in Rhode Island we were very alert, they don't have much land in Rhode Island so they make the lanes narrow. Then there was a construction zone and detour on the way to the campground so we maneuvered the motorhome through some narrow streets. When we got to the campground our site was still occupied and the people occupying it were nowhere to be seen. The campground owner was very unhappy since it was an hour after checkout. She moved us to overflow, we didn't have sewer but would be fine for two days. Eventually the people came back, they went to visit some of the mansions and didn't realize it was going to take as long as it did. We were already set up so we stayed where we were, it was quiet:
Yes, our front wheels were way in the air since it was not level. Here is what the overflow looked like:
The next day a bunch of campers came in and the overflow area wasn't as peaceful. Oh well.
We had time to start touring mansions so we went and paid for the five mansion tour from the Preservation Society of Newport County and started with The Breakers, here is our report. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the mansions so all shots are of the outside and grounds. For much more information the Preservation Society's website, referenced above, has much more information.
We did not have time to visit any more mansions that day so we started with The Elms the morning of the 8th.
The next mansion we toured was Marble House.
Then Rosecliff.
The final mansion was Chateau-sur-Mer.
It was very worthwhile visiting Newport, RI. We drove around the small city and liked it. The sea walk would be very nice on a good weather day. There are more mansions to visit, including some with docents playing historic characters.
Here is another mansion we didn't tour:
There is so much to learn in the mansions. There is a lot of history here, but you need to see the insides to really understand and we don't have pictures.
Back to 2003 Previous Adventure Next Adventure