Lobster Off-the-Boats and Summer "Cottages"

 Since we were at the docks in Newport - we decided to get dinner for that night - fresh lobster of course.  The small lobster boats pull up outside this doorway, put their lobsters in these crates then the dock workers weigh them, pay them and we eat them.  Aunt Wende brought a cooler - so they packed it full of the live lobsters and mussels and we were off to visit some "cottages".

This is the summer "cottage" we toured, The Breakers.  It was built by the Vanderbilts (Gloria Vanderbilts family) with their family fortune they made from building railroads in the late 1800s.  This was their summer cottage, which they spent only 8-10 weeks in per year during the hot summer months.  There are many "cottages" you can visit in Newport - but we just had time for one.

Can you imagine cleaning this house?  They had 33 bedrooms just for the staff!

It seems you could make a LOT of money building railroads.  This was their formal dining room.  

The children that lived here during the summer months used to slide down this staircase on trays from the kitchen - nice playground.

Yea - this is definitely a dream house...and we'll just keep dreaming.