August 12-13                          Newport, Rhode Island

The short voyage from Wickford to Newport was easily accomplished and a scenic delight as we admired the many beautiful homes adorning the shores of Conanicut Island.  Newport Harbor was an awesome sight with hundreds of moored and docked boats and yachts.  We followed the channel route to the end of the harbor, the location of the venerable Newport Yacht Club, chartered more than 100 years ago.  We were fortunate to be assigned a face dock slip that gave  an unobstructed view of the busy scene on America’s Cup Drive, which bordered the waterfront.  The Newport Yacht Club lacks the elegance of the Annapolis Yacht Club but its location provides convenient access to the major attractions of the city.

After a brief walk, we returned to the boat and prepared for our expected guests. The weather was cool and pleasant so we placed appetizers and drinks on the aft deck and sat there waiting for their arrival.  Looking across the harbor, we saw four pedicabs coming toward us.  It was our Fort Worth guests who were arriving in style!  We were impressed.  It was delightful to see again Mary Clark, Kathy Spicer, Mary Ann Kleuzer, Sandy Barnes and Susie Boysen.  We were also pleased to meet three others, Lea Ann Blum, Julie Rosenthal, and Leslie Webb, who are part of this adventuresome group.  We spent more than two hours visiting and laughing before they departed.  The full moon on the harbor was mesmerizing and we returned to the bow to enjoy the magic of an incredible scene.

On Saturday morning, we left early to board the trolley for an overview tour of Newport.  We were fortunate to have an excellent guide and received considerable information about the fascinating history and residents of the city.  We lunched at Pier 22 on Bowen’s Wharf before I caught a bus to tour the Doris Duke mansion, Rough Point.  I had toured the famous mansions several times but not the Duke home, which only recently had opened to the public.

Doris Duke, a tobacco heiress whose enormous wealth allowed her to live a long life of incredible luxury, enjoyed buying homes and furnishing them with her diversified collections of furniture and art.  Rough Point was her family’s “summer cottage” and she inherited it and more than 80 million dollars when her father died shortly before her twelfth birthday.  She matured into an intelligent, educated, and disciplined person who accumulated wonderful things she wanted shared with others following her death.  She left her Newport and Hawaiian homes to her foundation with the stipulation that they be opened to the public.  She was a philanthropist who bought more than 90 colonial era homes in Newport, had them restored, and leased them to tenant-caretakers.  These homes are today a lovely neighborhood that showcases an important time in the history of Newport.

Rough Point remains very much as it was when Doris Duke died at age 80 about 10 years ago.  It is meticulously maintained and many items have been restored.  There are wonderful paintings by Auguste Renoir, Thomas Lawrence, Joshua Reynolds, Salvator Rosa, and many others.  The furniture and carpets are museum quality and the rock crystal chandeliers are magnificent (and clean!). A large silver swan by Tiffany held a beautiful floral arrangement.  Duke was so fond of this piece that she would take it with her when she left for another of her homes.  She owned ten large dogs which trailed after her.  Servants followed to be sure that all visible evidence of the entourage was removed. With unlimited wealth, she hired consultants who advised her as she constantly traveled throughout the world adding rare decorative art, paintings, and porcelains to her collections. With her private Boeing 737, she could easily transport her purchases.

 The acres of lawn were landscaped by Fredrick Law Olmsted, who took advantage of the rocky terrain overlooking the ocean to create an impressive setting for the Tudor style mansion that spreads across the highest elevation of the site. Walking through a narrow opening in a privet hedge, I was immediately surrounded by the fragrance of blooming white lilacs.  This hidden garden was the source for the lavish floral displays throughout the home.

Dinner was at The White Horse Tavern, the oldest establishment of its kind in this country.  Located only a few blocks from the harbor, it fills a two-storied “salt box” style structure, carefully maintained, with an excellent restaurant and a bar that is a favorite with local and visiting mariners.  Some thirty or so years ago, a group from Fort Worth, visiting Newport for the trials of the America’s Cup, became so enamored with The White Horse Tavern that they bought it and for many years prominently displayed a Texas flag in the bar.  Texans no longer own the tavern but the flag still hangs in the office.

We were delighted to see our Texas friends in the dining room and have another opportunity to talk with them.  They had visited the famous Newport mansions and were obviously having a great time seeing the sights, shopping, and enjoying each other’s company.  None were looking forward to returning home and temperatures of more than 100 degrees. We are planning to return to Newport for several days when we come back from Boston with Stephanie, Joe, Blake, and Amanda.