George and I headed to Newport to see sights. It is a beautiful day to tour around town. Newport is at the tip of an island. We start at the Visitor Center and get a CD audio tour of the island. This audio tour gives us details about Newport that we would not have known otherwise.
The tour takes us along Ocean Drive. The coastal scenery is nothing short of spectacular!
Our first stop on the tour was to point to watch massive schooners and yachts sailing to their own adventures.
We stopped at Brenton Point State Park. We walked down a few steps to get a closer look at the powerful waves beating on the rocks.
There are park benches sat along the shore. For years I have used the term “Perfect Moment”. For me a Perfect Moment is one that allows me to sit and enjoy the beautiful landscape that God has provided for my personal enjoyment. It is a place that I am able to enjoy and forget the world around. I am able to immerse myself in the beauty—setting everything else aside. I love taking advantage of a place that allows time to “stand still” for just a moment.
We stayed at the state park shore for over an hour. Sitting on a bench, we took in the sights and sounds in front of us.
In the mid-nineteenth century, wealthy southern planters built summer “cottages” on Bellevue Avenue in Newport. These cottages were amazing. Some of the homes were the traditional Cape Cod style architecture and some were grand mansions that had obvious England influence. Newport became a home to opulent mansions for the Vanderbilt and the Astor families and several other families.
This house looked like the ideal setting for a glass of ice tea and a visit with a close friend.
The Hammersmith Farm was the mansion that Jackie Kennedy and family lived when she married JFK. It is said JFK used the farm as his “Summer White House”. Several times he flew into the farm on the presidential helicopter landing on the front lawn.
Several of these “cottages” were converted into academic buildings, because of high tax bills.
Newport is also the home of the Naval Academy during the Civil War.
I was excited to be able to see St. Mary’s Church in Newport. This church was the church John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier were married in 1953.
After the end of a great day, we head back home. A day like this fills my heart. I love the spending time in this beautiful treasure that God has given us and it is better when I share it with the love of my life.
