June 30-July 6                       North Kingstown, Rhode Island

We eagerly awaited the visit of Kennedy and Taft for the July 4^th weekend.  They would fly to Boston on the third, tour the city, spend the night then come to Providence on the train.  We met their train, took them to lunch and returned to the boat for long naps.  Dinner of steamed lobsters and blueberry pie was served on the aft deck on a lovely cool evening.

The following day, we went to Newport.  Kennedy had persuaded Taft to go with her again to The Breakers, the colossal mansion built by Commodore Vanderbilt.  We did errands while they were inside (five visits is enough for us).  Repeating last year, we took them for lunch on the patio at Castle Hill. 

On Saturday, we returned to Providence and the Rhode Island School of Design.  Their diverse collection is awesome, and we wandered through for two hours.  We agreed our favorite part was their excellent and extensive Impressionist paintings.  After our return to the boat, Kennedy and Taft made long runs through the neighborhood and the town.  Throughout her visit, Kennedy was awed by the masses of blue, pink and white hydrangeas on display in almost every yard.

As train schedules were not convenient for their return to the airport in Boston, we opted to drive them.  Actually, Taft, an excellent driver made the trip for us in excellent time.  They were lovely guests, and we reluctantly bade them farewell