Yesterday was a long one for us. We decided to drive to Newport, RI to check out the mansions. The drive was about 200 miles, but definitely worth it. Even from the street those homes are fabulous. We toured one called “Marble House” which belonged to Alva Vanderbilt (Wife of William K. who was Cornelius’ heir). There are 550,000 cubic feet of marble in that house, floors, walls, ceiling and exterior. The opulence was overwhelming. The truly amazing part is that 50 room mansion was considered a summer house and only used for a few weeks out of the year. They had a year-round caretaker (still do) who lived in the house with his family in order to be sure it was suitable for the family to return at any time. For such a big house, it only had bedrooms for the family and one guest room. That meant only 5 bedrooms (not counting servant’s quarters, of course). Apparently when folks were in Newport “for the season” so was everyone else in their “set” in their own homes, so guest rooms weren’t really needed. The house was sold after William and Alva divorced (the first divorce in their social circle) but was eventually bought back by one of the sons, then donated to the local preservation society along with an endowment to maintain it.
After that, another 200 miles back to camp and we collapsed into bed.
We put off our departure for a day, so today we will rest up, pack up and be ready to move on tomorrow.
Yesterday was a picture perfect weather day, warm and sunny. Today’s forecast is for 84. No more rain until tomorrow.
Good morning, Vagabonds.
Yesterday was a long one for us. We decided to drive to Newport, RI to check out the mansions. The drive was about 200 miles, but definitely worth it. Even from the street those homes are fabulous. We toured one called “Marble House” which belonged to Alva Vanderbilt (Wife of William K. who was Cornelius’ heir). There are 550,000 cubic feet of marble in that house, floors, walls, ceiling and exterior. The opulence was overwhelming. The truly amazing part is that 50 room mansion was considered a summer house and only used for a few weeks out of the year. They had a year-round caretaker (still do) who lived in the house with his family in order to be sure it was suitable for the family to return at any time. For such a big house, it only had bedrooms for the family and one guest room. That meant only 5 bedrooms (not counting servant’s quarters, of course). Apparently when folks were in Newport “for the season” so was everyone else in their “set” in their own homes, so guest rooms weren’t really needed. The house was sold after William and Alva divorced (the first divorce in their social circle) but was eventually bought back by one of the sons, then donated to the local preservation society along with an endowment to maintain it.
After that, another 200 miles back to camp and we collapsed into bed.
We put off our departure for a day, so today we will rest up, pack up and be ready to move on tomorrow.
Yesterday was a picture perfect weather day, warm and sunny. Today’s forecast is for 84. No more rain until tomorrow.
Everyone have a blessed day.