Liam and Isabel in the backyard.

Still surviving....

The children's playhouse at "The Breakers"

The vacation cottage - "The Breakers"

Newport Panoramic

Day 4 - June 8

The sleeping in theme continued today ... Liam and Isabel are relishing not having the 6:30 wake up for school. Newport, Rhode Island! A town known for the America's Cup, where Australian yachting had those many attempts before destroying the mystique and the essence of the contest by having the temerity to finally win.

We started with a pleasant ocean drive where the scenery competes with the majestic houses. Despite the large number of mansions the area is surprisingly natural. Squirrels abound and for the kids were quite a novelty - I guess they are pest to the locals?

After lunch we visited the "Breakers" - the Vanderbilt's little summer cottage. Unfortunately the Currigee fibro house, although special, just doesn't compete with this as holiday house. 70 rooms (the home back in NY only had 156), 23 servants and an interior that would do justice to any palace. The mind boggles that this, "Marble House", "The Elms" and other vacationers would only be used for 8-12 weeks a year!! Apparently the parties were pretty good.

Gladys the youngest daughter had the foresight to open the "Breakers" in 1948 to raise money for the Historical Preservation Society - probably one of the reasons that this and ten other of these mansions are open to the public today.

Went for a run around the cliff walk and back down magnificent Bellevue Avenue where so many of these mansions are built.

View of Boston from the Library

Liam & Isabel at play - waiting for yet another bus

JFK's yacht dwarfed by the library

Kennedy v Nixon

The simple foyer of JFK Library

Library view from the enterance.

John F. Kennedy Library

Day 3 – June 7, 2005

9:30 AM was the leisurely hour that the Salter family arose this morning, throwing all our plans for the day in disarray. So much for the theory of the kids being the wake up call each morning. By the time we had breakfast, packed and checked out it was almost eleven and we hopped on the subway for the JFK Library.

The John F Kennedy Memorial Library was well worth the effort and delayed travel plans. The memorabilia is first rate and the Kennedy story is a great yarn – so many great moments in history occurred on his watch. Liam’s knowledge of US Presidents far out weighs that of Australian Prime Ministers and is something that will change when he returns to school in Australia.

Time to leave Boston behind and we are now on the bus to Newport, Rhode Island to stay with Brett and Robin Sampson.

And how we end up each day!!

Wandering through Harvard.

Dinosaurs galore at the Harvard Natural History Museum

Harvard ... what are the odds of Liam returning in 12 years time???

.... and Isabel as well.

At the helm ...