The Have's and the Have Not's

Our recent East Coast vacation brought us to Newport, Rhode Island.  The land of the Have's and Have Not's.  It also is the home of the Tennis Hall of Fame.  We actually visited to see the mansions of old, now open to the public for tours.

It is one thing to tour mansions of the past, an era gone by--HUMONGOUS summer homes of the rich--the Vanderbilt's, Belmont's, Berwind's and the Jone's, to name a few.  That was why we came--I love history, historic homes and imagining days gone by with the full gowns, wait staff to heed your every whim--what most historic romance books are made of.  The first two photos were taken at The Breakers...summer home to Cornelius Vanderbilt.  This is the side of the home facing the ocean and the front gates.

The mansions we toured did not disappoint.  The sheer size of the properties, the enviable gardens, marble, gilt, and excess.  We even did a servant tour at The Elms.  One factoid that stayed with me was that it took filling a large, thick marble tub with hot water 3 times before the marble would be warm enough for the mistress to be able to have her bubble bath.  The photo just below is the back of The Elms. Summer home to the Pennsylvania coal magnate Edward Berwind. The grounds were more impressive to me than the mansion itself. The Preservation Society of Newport County does a wonderful job maintaining all of the properties!

I had been warned by a tennis-buff friend that it was the home to the Tennis Hall of Fame (which we did not visit), and it just so happened that a tournament was happening while we visited (to add to our traffic and parking woes.)

The touristy marina shops definitely catered to the well-to-do.  Imagine $80+ shirts, $100+ slacks, prices none of us could afford to spend.  We stuck to our cheap tchotchkes and refrigerator magnets and the rest of the family enjoyed a Ben & Jerry's.  I just soaked it all in and took plenty of photos.  I imagined a backdrop for a future book or storyline.

It was our ferryride to the local island of Jamestown where it really hit home.  The yachts docked in the harbor from London, Australia and Florida, just to name a few.  Well-dressed staff, all expertly decked out, polishing this and swabbing that.  Our boat captain mentioned the size of some of their gas tanks and when we did the math, discovered they could easily hold $55,000 worth of gas for their next adventure.  Again, excess I could never imagine.  Spending in one journey across the Atlantic, what could purchase a small, starter home in the inner city of Milwaukee.

Still, it is the excess we dream of and why I still play the lottery.  Another adventure for my next damsel in distress...

New York City

We just got back from a nine-day East Coast vacation.  Two or three days too long vacation. I loved my first few days in New York City.  Since we've never visited before, we signed up for one of the cheesey double decker tours.  Our ticket seller tacked on an extra day, which helped us see Central Park in addition to all the rest of the touristy spots like the Flatiron District, Wall Street, BoHo, Queens, Manhattan etc.

As a Social Studies major in college, I enjoyed seeing the historic building icons--we took so many photos, I cannot wait to see how they turned out!  This trip will also give us a point of reference now when we watch the Sell New York type shows on HGTV.

My favorite part of the trip in NYC was the Chelsea Market area and the Hi-Line Park.  We saw Bob Tuschman of the Food Network as we got into the cab to go back to the hotel.  Hi-Line park used to be an elevated train track that is now a walking path with gardens galore.  We also went back to the area early Saturday morning to walk down 28th Street for the flower market area--super photo opportunities abound here.

The shopping was amazing in NYC since there were stores we do not have here in Wisconsin, and even with the stores we do have, the selections seemed different and more abundant.  Another plus were the number of Starbucks no matter where you were.  If there wasn't a Starbucks there was a local coffee shop.

What I didn't like?  Traffic gridlock, honking horns 24X7, Times Square (too many people), scaffolding (it's everywhere and covers up beautiful storefronts and buildings), and the shear volume of people everywhere you turn.

Gem Hotel? = Hotel Metro on 35th.  Quiet stay, nice large room and super nice staff.
Crap Hotel? = Roosevelt Hotel on 45th - beautiful hotel, well preserved but poorly staffed, lines abound and the front desk employees "tolerate" you.  Bell hops were nice!