The Cartier Connoisseur ~ New York to Montreal on Oceania Insignia: Another Day in Newport and On to Boston ~ September 16-17
Another Day in Newport and On to Boston
September 16-17, 2024
September 16-17, 2024
Newport - September 16, 2024
We took an Oceania tour today. With a title like Schooner Sail and Mimosas, who could resist! Our morning began with breakfast in the Grand Dining Room.
According to their website, "The Adirondack II is a gaff-rigged schooner with a wooden hull and was completed by Scarano Boat Building in Albany, NY. Schooner Adirondack II was completed in 1999 and was brought to Newport Harbor when the original Schooner Adirondack departed Newport to begin operating out of Chelsea Piers in New York City. She is Coast Guard certified for 57 guests. Her masts reach over 70 feet above deck and have just under 2000 square feet of sail area. She is 65 feet on deck, 80 feet overall, and has a draft of 7 feet. On a high wind day, it is common for her to reach 10 knots under sail. She is a very lively and fast vessel, and all her captains feel she is an absolute dream to operate!"
The docking location on Bowen's Wharf was "interesting" (and more than a little harrowing). The dock was about four to five feet wide and very "wobbly," so we were sent two by two down the twenty feet or so to where the schooner was docked. Watching people with less mobility navigating their way to the boat was interesting. But we all made it (although one lady twisted an ankle as she boarded, and we've seen her hobbling about the ship ever since).
Before long, we were all aboard, seated, and listening to one of the all-female crew members give us the safety briefing.
Then, the captain took the helm and carefully maneuvered us out of the harbor and into Narragansett Bay.
The deck hands worked together to raise the sails. One of the women was clearly new to the job and sought instruction from her co-worker. It was interesting to hear he opting for tasks involving "new learning" rather than continuing to do tasks she already knew how to do.
Once under said, one of the crew gave us some interesting commentary about the homes we passed.
| Clingstone |
Clingstone, built in 1905, is perched atop a small, rocky island in a group called "The Dumplings" in Narragansett Bay, near Jamestown, Rhode Island. The dwelling was designed by Philadelphia socialite J. S. Lovering Wharton and artist William Trost Richards. It is a three-story, 23-room, 10,000-square-foot shingle-style cottage. The structural system of heavy mill-type framing was designed to withstand hurricane-force winds. The name "Clingstone" was suggested by a remark that it was "a peach of a house."
The original owner, a nephew of industrialist Joseph Wharton, built the house in response to the government condemning his earlier summer home to build Fort Wetherill. Wharton summered there until he died in 1931. Due to its design, the house sustained little damage in the hurricane of 1938. However, the family, who had been stranded for several days during and after the storm, left the house and did not return. The residence was still vacant at the time of Mrs. Wharton in 1957 until it was purchased in 1961 by Boston architect Henry Wood. Wood, a distant cousin of the Philadelphia Whartons, was able to purchase the property for $3,600, the amount owed in back taxes. The house is known by locals as "The House on a Rock."
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| The New York Yacht Club |
We sailed past the New York Yacht Club's first permanent waterfront facility in Newport, called Harbour Court. The Renaissance Norman-style mansion stands on eight acres overlooking Brenton's Cove. It was completed in 1906 for John Nicholas Brown, commodore of the New York Yacht Club from 1952 to 1954. Brown died in 1979 and his wife passed in 1985. The children put the property on the market and the NYYC purchased the property in 1987 - a fitting purchase, since John Nicholas Brown had often mused that Harbour Court would make a fine yacht club.
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| Hammersmith Farm Hammersmith Farm is a Victorian mansion and estate located at 225 Harrison Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a childhood home of First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, and the site of the reception for her wedding to U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy in September, 1953. The 28-room main house was built in 1887 for John W. Auchincloss, the uncle of Hugh D. Auchincloss (1897–1976), Jacqueline Kennedy's stepfather. It was erected on what had been originally known as "Hammersmith Island," possibly named after the English hometown of William Brenton, the 17th-century governor of Rhode Island who established the first farm on the site in 1640. |
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| The Windmill at Hammersmith Farm |
One of several guesthouses on the property, the Windmill has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an elevator!
We had a truly lovely sail, complete with mimosas, and then returned to Bowen's Wharf at a much more stable dock, and made our way back to Insignia for lunch and a rest.
Dinner was in Toscanna, where we had a delightful table for two next to a window.
Jeff and I both had the caprese to start with. I ordered the Risotto all'Aragosta (lobster risotto), followed by the Scaloppine di Vitello a Marsala (Veal Marsala). I believe that the Risotto all'Aragosta is the very best thing I have ever eaten in my life! I think we have another dinner in Toscana - I have to check, because if we don't, I will definitely try to get one so I can eat that again!
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| Caprese |
Another highlight of tonight was going through the Cape Cod Canal.
Boston - September 17, 2024
With both kiddos busy with work or play, we were on our own, so we signed up for an Oceania excursion to the JFK Library - a place I have always enjoyed.
It did not disappoint - other than being too short. We were there for about two hours and could have easily spent another two hours there. Watching and listening to several of his speeches reminded me of what an effective orator he was - especially in comparison to the last couple of presidents we have had. Neither Trump nor Biden are much in terms of their speeches.
After lunch and a rest, we headed up to the lounge for our second Captain's Welcome Party.
We left a bit early to get to our 6:30 dinner reservation at Polo Grill. I enjoyed a Waldorf Salad followed by Grilled Salmon with Firecracker Sauce. We were seated with a lovely couple from Paducah, Kentucky - he was a retired neurosurgeon and she was a retired first grade teacher. Also at our table was a retired physicist and a retired "dental office worker." They were not so delightful. She had had one or more accidents, spoke somewhat broken English, and didn't seem to say much other than to smile. He was negative about just about everything and was more than a little bit overbearing. We hope not to be seated with them again.
After dinner we headed off to see the show with headliner Andrea Ross.
We didn't really enjoy this show as much as we have enjoyed others. She had a "canned" string orchestral background to which she sang, and the sound was just plain loud! Those red spotlights that you can see above kept rotating with one of them (or maybe more) hitting those of us in the front seats squarely in the eye every 10 to 20 seconds. Her musical selections tended to lean toward the more operatic show tunes (from Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera, Evita, etc.). She will perform again on Friday - hopefully it will be more enjoyable.
Tomorrow - St. John, New Brunswick, Canada!
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