Newport, Rhode Island

 Before today I did not realize that Newport was an island, and not on the mainland.  The little things you learn....

Our day started early with and an 8:15 shore excursion. We had breakfast in the dining room, where Mary had a lobster omelet!  This was a special menu item for people in Reserve Collection.  The waiters even sang Happy Anniversary to us and gave us a chocolate cake!

We took a tender to shore with our excursion group for a land and sea viewing of Newport.  We liked the sea portion of this, as many of the mansions were visible from there.  We also saw many, many sailboats as the New York Yacht Club was hosting a series of races here today.  These were some top notch boats, many with carbon-fiber sails.  The land portion of our excursion was also nice, but with so many mansions from the late 19th century (called summer cottages because they were only occupied 8-10 weeks per year) they all ran together after a while.  We saw the church where Jackie and  Jack Kennedy were married, along with both the Kennedy and Eisenhower summer White Houses. It was interesting to hear that some of the current owners include Jay Leno, Judge Judy, and Larry Ellison. After our excursion we enjoyed a bowl of New England Clam Chowder for lunch. 

Before dinner tonight I gave Mary a special 50th anniversary gift. See if you can notice in the picture on the left (click to enlarge). I had purchased this stone many years ago and finally had it mounted so she could wear it on her Omega necklace. 

That's it for today.  Tomorrow is a sea day as we head to Halifax.