You have all been really patient about my trip. I know that a number of you were hoping that I would post some pictures when I talked about it, and I definitely plan to do that. Overall, it was a great trip. I got to see a lot of my professional colleagues I enjoy spending time with as well as getting to see some really beautiful sites.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, Newport is on Aquidnick Island, which likes within Narragansett Bay. It has a pretty rich cultural heritage, being a colonial capital at one point. Any of you who have seen Amistad have unknowingly seen some of the most beautiful and oldest buildings in the city. Portions of the movie were filmed there. My college roommate even has a cameo in the background.

Anyway, I was heading down to Newport, which is probably best well-known for the elaborate mansions that were built by America's elite as summer getaways during the Guilded Age. Salve Regina University, the location of the Rhode Island Library Association Conference I was going to, is located right in the center of where many of those beautiful mansions are located.

Newport is really not all that far away from where I live. It is about a 90 minute drive, but it is like entering a whole new world. Since the conference started early enough that I had to leave my house at about 6:30 am, I decided to stay on the island for the night, particularly since dinner could last until 10:00 pm. The trip includes crossing over two bridges:


The Jamestown-Verrezano Narrows Bridge


The Claiborne Pell Bridge

Once, I was on the island, it was a quick drive through down town Newport where I passed


the Newport Yacht Club,


the International Tennis Hall of Fame,

and some of the inland mansions, which are a little small than those that line the Cliffwalk on the coast.

The campus is quite beautiful. It is a nice mixture of old and new buildings. I actually missed the parking lot for where I had to go, and ended up having to turn around a the visitors parking lot for the Breakers (see pics below), which is probably the most beautiful of the mansions in the city. It was built in 1895 for the Vanderbilt family.


The Front (or the back, depending on your perspective)


The Back (or the front ... this is the seaside portion of the building.)

It took me only a few minutes to turn around and reach my destination, which is the McKillop Library at Salve Regina University.





So, now that I got you there, I will take a break before continuing my adventures.