The Maps

Here are the routes we took to and from Rhode Island.

Family Parlor

Stowe actually wrote Uncle Tom;s Cabin while living and raising six children in Maine with her very supportive husband.  She was already world famous by the time she moved into this house.  This is the family's private parlor.

Harriot Beacher Stowe Portrait

There are two of these portraits by Alanson Fisher, this one in her home in Hartford and one in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

Harriot Beacher Stow's Place

The story of Stowe's life and family was quite interesting.  Our young guide, Ryan, was very informative.  I bought a biography of Harriot's brother, Henry Ward Beacher, who was a famous minister in his day.

Mark Twain's Connecticul Home

On our way home we stopped in Hartford, Connecticut.  This is Mark Twain's home there, where he wrote Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.  We didn't tour the house, but we did do the tour next door of Harriot Beacher Stowe's Connecticut home, where she lived from 1874 until her death in 1896. 

One Last Shot of the Sea

Can you have enough picture of the ocean coastline?

Point Judith Lighthouse

Before we left Rhode Island, we stopped to see Point Judith Lighthouse.

Narrangansett

Saturday evening we returned to Doherty's Ale House, the place where we ate the evening before.  We had the same server, who actually remembered us.  He was very attentive.  After breakfast and packing up Sunday morning, we headed south to Narragansett, which is along the southernmost shore of Rhode Island.  This was taken at a state park along the coast.

The Recue

While walking along the Cliff Walk, we witnessed the rescue of a woman who had fallen out of her kayak.  In this picture they are securing the wayward kayak.

Goldenrod

This particular species of goldenrod is particularly beautiful and was found all along the coastal areas we visited.

The Cliff Walk

After our tour, we had a late lunch and then took a trolley to the Forty Steps, a place about halfway along the Cliff Walk on the Atlantic side of Newport.

St. Mary's Church

On our way back to the visitor's center, the tour guide pointed out this Catholic church, which just happened to be the church where JFK married Jackie Bouvier on September 12, 1953.

Weeping Beech Tree

This huge tree was just outside the Chateau-sur-Mer.

Chateau-sur-Mer

We had a choice for our second mansion and decided on one of a different time period.  Chateau-sur-Mer was completed in 1852 as an Italianate villa for William Shepard Wetmore, a merchant in the China trade.

Oceanside

Outside

This is the south side of the Breakers.

A Guest of the Vanderbilts

A Mere Summer Home

Cornelius built the Breakers as a summer home for his wife and children--you know, just a little cottage on the beach.

Saturday in Newport

After breakfast we headed to Newport, about a half hour south.  We decided we would learn considerably more if we booked a tour, and we found one that included visits to two mansions.  After the tour of the city, we were dropped off at the Breakers, the most opulent of all mansions in Newport, built by Cornelius Vanderbilt.  It was constructed in two years, finished in 1895.

Strollin in Bristol

After leaving Blithewold, we went into Bristol and took a walk around the downtown area.  From there we headed to our hotel in Warwick, finding a great place to eat right across the street.

The Garden Guard

Quietly resting not far from the garden path, this garden guard watched us very carefully but never left.

The Gardens

Of particular interest were the beautiful gardens on the property.  They were nothing short of stunning, even at this time of year. 

View in Reverse

Viewed from Narraganset Bay

Here's a view of the Queen Anne style mansion from across the lawn and along the bay shore.

Blithewold Mansion

We didn't arrive in Rhode Island until mid-afternoon on Friday.  Our first stop was the Blithewold Mansion in Bristol.  Basically our weekend was a combination of mansions and sea coast.  We started off with this welcoming entrance way.

Weekend Trip to Rhode Island

Let's say our weekend trip to Rhode Island began on Thursday, September 24, 2015, when we picked up Nancy's new Toyota Camry Hybrid.  We had decided that it was our vehicle of choice for our trip even before we picked it up.  Who could blame us.  It drives like a dream.