Day 30 – Monday Sept. 30th, 2013 – One Month Anniversary!

We did it - We have lasted a month on the road!

As of today we have travelled 14 States. I was thinking if we stick to our intended tour I will have been in every state (of the Lower 48) except for one.

I don’t mean that to sound on this trip, but in my lifetime. The only one I will not have been through is West Virginia.

This is what I thought the Cape would be like along with Cape Cod Style Homes.

We toured Cape Cod yesterday and went to places like Provincetown up on the north end. This place has lots of history too. I can’t imagine what it is like in summer time with all the tourists! It was crowded enough at this time of year.

Provincetown has a unique aspect to the main street.
Narrow roads too!

Downtown Provincetown on the north end of Cape Cod.

I got talking with a local Policeman and he said the place just swells up with tourists come summer. The highway is packed bumper to bumper and one can’t move. I’m glad we didn’t get here until now was all I could think.

Great Beaches in Provincetown 

Would you like to live here?

The Cape is something to see but nothing like we imagined it. First of all there are few places where you can see the beaches and the ones that we did see are parks so you have to pay to get in. 

In the towns it seemed any beaches were public access and free. I’m glad we saw it but again it’s probably Hollywood that gave me a different expectation.

A unique shoe store - Call it "Shake a Leg?"

The Wharf next to the restaurants - which there are many!

I told you these places had been around for a while!

Even the local policeman helps unload fish from the boat!

The Coast Guard. Reminded me of my days of working in Marine Section.

Nice Inn and Restaurant from the 1700's.
We had a nice desert here on the patio.

This means a lot of people live here!

Our home on Cape Cod!

Things can get rusty here when they get old, so we decided we  to move on!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN (Sung to the music by Willie Nelson).

This morning we pulled out early for us. I think we probably hit the trail around 10 am. We are really getting good at fast packing and set-ups now. Even hooking up the car is down to 5 minutes or less and that includes the 3-minute cycle we have to do to prime the transmission for towing.

RHODE ISLAND.

We drove about 2 hours or so into the state of Rhode Island today. I’m still not sure why they call it an island but Barb tells me there is an actual island here by that name so maybe it all started there? We set up camp in another state park called Fisherman’s Memorial State Park. Located in the town of Narragansett it is nice and quiet here and not many other campers around. The weather today was perfect!

As soon as we got set up Barb talked me into going over to Newport for a Trolley Tour. I was hoping for a quiet afternoon off from driving or touring but gave in at the last moment after she cooked me some Kraft Macaroni!

Guess what this is?

The inside of the Trolley had some nicely crafted wood work.
The Trolley is actually a small bus dressed up as an old Trolley. 

We made it over there just in time and yes there is a $4.00 Toll Fee for the bridge in each direction!

Nope, this isn't the Toll Booth.

The tour lasted 1.5 hours and was quite informative. The island where Newport is located is not very big and not many people live here year round.  The America’s Cup Race (Sail boats) used to be held here and the first PGA Open was held here as well.

The Newport Harbor with a monument to George Washington.

What was interesting is that we are getting back into the parts of the old days. Newport was founded in 1639 and I’m not sure how long it was settled before that. It boasts firsts for many things, which I won’t get into here.

They showed us a few restored homes that dated back as far as the early 1700’s and then we went to see the summer cottages amongst other sights.

The Tour Guide called them summer cottages as a joke. 

These places are likely some of the largest mansions in the USA. Starting in the late 1800’s to the mid 1930’s these grand old ones were built. All trying to out-do the others with size and style. 

Add to that the parties! They were held to try and out-do the others. You would apparently want to make yours the one people loved to be invited to and attend. You were a lucky one if you were to get invited! 

High Society abounds here even today.

Back in the day you needed to be more than rich to be invited. You also needed to come from old money passed down through more than one generation. Even that didn’t guarantee you an invitation.

One man who made buckets full of money selling buckets full of coal was one of the un-lucky ones. He wasn’t included even though he was very rich and built a fine mansion here. So on top of the pillars along his stone fence he had his face carved on both sides of every one. He did this so that the society members would have to see his face each and every time they went out on the roadway.

If you have ever seen the old original film the Great Gatsby it was filmed here in one of these estates. One can almost see the gardens full of people as you stop and look. The Tux’s and Dresses, live bands along with food, drink and laughter.

Many of the people I had never heard of but likely some of the richest in the world. Many were from the Vanderbilt family. The Heiress of Campbell Soups, The Importer of Worchester Sauce and the list goes on and on. If these were their summer homes (only here for 6 to 10 weeks a year) then I wonder what their regular homes looked like.

One of the Vanderbilt Mansions.
70 Rooms, 23 Bedrooms, 16 Bathrooms and.....

Would you care to have your own Bay/Inlet with your home Sir?

Some of these places reminded me of the old CP Hotels in Canada such as the Banff Springs and Lake Louise Hotels! One mansion had 70 rooms with 23 Bedrooms. Another had 33 Servants just to give you an idea.

Another name you may recall is Jacquie Onassis-Kennedy. She was raised here. In fact her and her husband President John F. Kennedy had put a deposit on a piece of land next to her parents estate where they had planned to retire after he was finished in office. As you know this ended sadly and never came to be.

The petit home where Jacquie grew up.

Jacquie & John F. Kennedy were also married here and we drove by St. Mary’s Church where the wedding took place. They used to have a sign out in front of the church with her name on it. When she married Onassis they took the sign down. After both Onassis and Jacquie died they put the sign back up.

A lot of Irish people immigrated here and resided in Ward 5. 

Many of them were hired as Domestic Help and Laborers. 

Apparently there is an Irish Pub here where you can still order the famous Irish 7 course dinner. A Six Pack and a Boiled Potato!

We also saw a couple of private beach clubs. You have to be a member to get in. The High Society people started one of them back in the day and apparently a few of them felt sorry for the commoners so set aside a small beach next to theirs which is still used today. Commoners were also referred to as “Footstools.” 

So if you are very rich and wanna show it off then come to Newport, Rhode Island and build yourself a summer cottage!