Stinking rich

For a little excursion out of town (and interstate!), today my dad and I got a bus down to Newport, Rhode Island (about 1½ hours south of Boston). About 100 years ago, Newport was the exclusive summer retreat for the wealthiest millionaires in America — and as such, these millionaires built some super-impressive mansions in the town. Today, Newport is still a very posh area, and many of the mansions are still privately owned and inhabited; but quite a few of them have been converted into museums and event facilities, and are open to the public. We went on a tour of the two most famous mansions in town — "The Breakers" and "Rose Cliff" — and we also explored the cliff-edge ocean shore that straddles the mansions.