Little State - Beautiful Views

Welcome to Rhode Island! Our week here was amazing, well, not the tiny streets and the traffic, but after you found a place to park, it was fun and we enjoyed our time.

I was able to get a picture of the state sign, happy about that.

Our site for the week.

Saturday, after we set up, we headed out for dinner. It was a nice place, and we had a good server. Portsmouth is a cute town. I was excited for Sunday and all the site seeing we were going to do in Newport.

So nice to be able to chill after setting up and cleaning the rig.

"Keeping it real" Sunday was a very hard day. Hubby shared with me a post he saw on Facebook. One of my high school friends passed away. It was heart breaking and I needed to walk, something to just be able to handle the grief. We first went to brunch and then headed to Newport. It was hard to process, and I still can't wrap my mind around the passing. Hubby was a big help and allowed me to work through the pain. Praying for the family continually. 

We went out for brunch in Portsmouth and then headed to Newport for the rest of the day.

After brunch and on our way to Newport. Just love the East Coast look

The first English settlers arrived on Aquidneck Island (Newport area) in 1638 following a remarkable woman named Anne Hutchinson. She had been driven out of Boston for her religious beliefs which challenged the very foundations of Puritanism. She and her band of supporters followed the path taken by Roger Williams when he, too, was banished from Massachusetts for religious reasons. After consulting with Williams, her group arranged with the native Americans to settle on Aquidneck Island. What the English settlers found on their arrival was hardly an empty wilderness. Native people had been in the area for at least 5,000 years and had established sophisticated land management and fishing practices. Current evidence points to the existence of a large summer settlement in what is now downtown Newport, and the work these native people had done clearing the land was one of the factors that made this area attractive to English settlers. Trade and the export of rum, candles, fish, furniture, silver, and other goods were the main engines of economic growth during the 18th century, activities inexorably linked to Newport’s participation in the slave trade and widespread ownership of slaves by families throughout the city.

Aquidneck Island

This is our Rhode Island picture. Can you see us? 

I have on a colorful rain coat.

Reminds me of a Pirate Ship.

The mansions in Newport.

This one is on Bellevue Avenue.

It is hard to get a really good picture, guess they want their privacy.

Thought this was pretty.

We headed to Rough Point; a mansion owned by Doris Duke. Doris' father was a tobacco Barron and extremely wealthy. He passed away in 1925 and left the mansion and $80 million to his only child, Doris. The original owner of the house was Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt. They summered there from 1887 until 1891 and then sold to William and Nancy Leeds in 1906. The Duke's bought the house in 1922 and had it renovated and enlarged.

The house is 38,000 square feet and is on 10 acres.

Love these light switches. My great grandma had them in her home.

A couple of pictures of Doris.

The Yellow Room.

She loved collecting items and restoring them 

back to their beauty.

The Music Room.

Love the ceilings.

The Kitchen.

Doris moved back to the house in 1957 and even though has other houses

 (one in Hawaii) primarily lived here.

On the way upstairs.

Dori's bedroom. Have to say, I love the purple.

Doris had 2 Bactrian camels, Princess and Baby. 

They lived at Rough Point from 1988 - 1992 

Part of her ocean view.

After visiting Rough Point, we headed back towards town to eat lunch and do some more exploring. I wanted to eat at The Red Parrot, it just looked like a fun place.

The Red Parrot building is listed on the National register of Historical Places in Newport.

It was built in 1898 by John Alton Barker as a meat packing house where it employed

 hundreds of people during the era know as "The Gilded Age."

Established in 1854.

Still a working Inn.

This was first the Colony House (1739-1776) and then became the 

State House (1776-1900). Here the Assembly met and

 the Governors were inaugurated until 1900.

1896-1935

Statue in Washington Square.

Newport was dubbed America's First Resort but is also known for many other "firsts", such as, a golf tournament in 1895, Kate Friend telephone operator in the U.S., Polo Game 1877, typewriter, U.S. Post Office building 1829 and the first Circus in the U.S. 1774.

Newport’s history has always been tied to the sea. During the colonial period the city’s harbor teemed with trading ships. With the arrival of the Summer Colony and the New York Yacht Club, Newport was on its way to becoming a yachting capital. The Yacht Club brought the famed America’s Cup to Newport in the 1930s where it stayed until the loss to the Australians in 1983. The fishing industry is still a vital part of Newport’s economy, as is the United States Navy. The US Navy has roots in Newport’s early colonial fleet and has been a significant presence in Newport since the 1860s. Its major components were Naval War College and the Torpedo Station (now Naval Undersea Warfare Center) both of which were founded immediately after the Civil War. The Navy presence on Aquidneck Island grew and eventually included the Naval Education Training Center and the North Atlantic Destroyer Squadron which had its home port at the Newport Naval base until the 1970s. Despite the loss of the fleet, the Navy is still the largest employer in the area, bringing many industry and service businesses to the area as well. 

Newport Harbor

We also walked down to the Wharf, lots of shops and places to eat.

Ronald "Ronnie" Fatulli a local legend caught the largest 

lobster on the East Coast weighing 39 pounds.

Clarke Cooke House circa 1780

One of the most interesting facts I found out while digging into the history of Newport is Benedict Arnold. I just thought he was a traitor. He was born on January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Connecticut. His mother came from a wealthy family, but his alcoholic father squandered their estate. As a young man, Arnold apprenticed at an apothecary business and served in the militia during the French and Indian War. In 1767, Arnold, who became a prosperous trader, married Margaret Mansfield. The couple had three children before Margaret’s death in 1775. 

The early years.

During his term as governor, rumors—not entirely unfounded—circulated through Philadelphia accusing Arnold of abusing his position for his personal profit. Questions were also raised about Arnold’s courtship and marriage to the young Peggy Shippen, the daughter of a man suspected of Loyalist sympathies.

Arnold and his second wife, with whom he would have five children, lived a lavish lifestyle in Philadelphia, accumulating substantial debt.

Benedict and Peggy

The debt and the resentment Arnold felt over not being promoted faster were motivating factors in his choice to become a turncoat. He concluded that his interests would be better served assisting the British than continuing to suffer for an American army he saw as ungrateful.

Major General Arnold

Historians have several theories about why Arnold became a traitor: greed; mounting debt; resentment of other officers; a hatred of the Continental Congress; and a desire for the colonies to remain under British rule. The September 21, 1780, meeting with British Major John Andre was a disaster for both men. From the help of a loyalist associate, Joshua Hett Smith, Arnold and Andre met near the Hudson River at Smith's house. Papers found on André incriminated Arnold in treason. Learning of André’s capture, Arnold fled to British lines before the Patriots could arrest him. West Point remained in American hands, and Arnold only received a portion of his promised bounty. André was hanged as a spy in October 1780. Arnold soon became one of the most reviled figures in U.S. history. Ironically, his treason became his final service to the American cause. By 1780, Americans had grown frustrated with the slow progress toward independence and their numerous battlefield defeats. However, word of Arnold’s treachery re-energized the Patriots’ sagging morale.

After fleeing to the enemy side, Arnold received a commission with the British army and served in several minor engagements against the Americans. In one battle, he captured Richmond, Virginia, for the British. 

After the war, which ended in victory for the Americans with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Arnold resided in England. The British regarded him with ambivalence, while his former countrymen despised him. “Judas sold only one man,” Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Arnold three millions.”

Benjamin Franklin

After years of suffering from gout and other health conditions, Arnold died in London on June 14, 1801, at age 60. Following his death, Arnold’s memory lived on in the land of his birth, where his name became synonymous with the word “traitor." Fun fact: he was a successful merchant and smuggler, he fought in multiple duels, he was an early hero of the American Revolution, he built one of the first American naval fleets, his treason was fueled by more than just money, George Washington plotted to have Arnold kidnapped, and the Saratoga battlefield includes a monument to Arnold's leg.

Arnold's monument.

St. Mary's Parish, the first Catholic parish in Newport, was founded in 1828 but the church building was not constructed until 1848-1852.

We were driving when I saw the church.

Trinity began as a congregation of Anglicans in 1698. It’s a truly unique and wonderful place, soaked with nearly 300 years of prayers. The Anglican Church came relatively late to Newport; early settlers moved here to get away from the Church of England. By 1698, however, there were enough Anglicans, joined by Huguenots (a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed or Calvinist tradition) and Quakers, to form Trinity’s first congregation. The congregation quickly outgrew its 1701 home, and in 1726 built the new church. 

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in 

honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, 

persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints,

 practicing hospitality. Romans 12:10-13 (NASB)

Monday and Tuesday we just stayed around here and ran some errands. Wednesday, we went back to Newport to eat at a restaurant that was recommended to us. It was, well, just ok. Thursday, I wanted to go to the grocery store to get everything we needed to head to Massachusetts. Friday, now that was a truly amazing and fun night. We went on a Dinner Murder Mystery Train ride. "When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off, you sit still and trust the engineer". Corrie Ten Boom

Friday date night. Murder Mystery Dinner Train ride.

Our first time on a real train.

Meet Brooks Ann Dunn, think she did it??

Saturday, we packed up and headed out. Not a bad trip, only two and a half hours. More about Massachusetts on the next blog.

Another new state! Here are the state bird, tree, flower and motto for Rhode Island. 

 
*Rhode Island: Rhode Island Red (Bird), Red Maple (Tree), Common Blue Violet (Flower), and "Hope" (Motto).

This is the first state that we have been in 

with a chicken for their state bird.

I love purple.

So pretty.

Thank you for joining us on our journey. When we arrive in Maine, I will be posting our six-month update. Hope you join us then.

If there is something special you would like me to take a picture of, please let me know!
 
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God, the RV & me...