I am convinced that The Willow and I are time travelers whenever we get together. Why, just recently, she and I ran away for a couple of days. This time, we visited the Gilded Age in Newport, Rhode Island.
(For those who haven’t read my other “Willow” post, she is my best friend and has been for about 25 years)
We’d been talking about it for a few years now, this running away for a few days, but life got in the way as life is wont to do. We tried booking a weekend away on an island off the coast of Maine once, but I wimped out when my hip was wonky. We talked about having a girls’ night at her camp, but the boys kept showing up. We even talked about Disney without our husbands, but the sadness on my husband’s face tucked those plans away.
So, off we went to Newport.
The plan was to tour a few mansions, eat good food and relax.
And oh, did we accomplish that.
We stayed at a timeshare along the water, nestled within the main shopping and dining area of town. It was quite lovely, but we did have a bit of a glitch upon arrival. The person manning the desk could only see my husband’s name on the reservation (we own the timeshare together), and she insisted she needed to speak with him, or she would not let us stay! I channeled my inner “Crazy Rich Asians opening scene” (inner because I am not Asian; I am plain old beige, but I adore Michelle Yeoh in that scene) and rose to my full 5’1″ in height.
At this age, I’m probably 5″ and half an inch by now…but let’s not let that get around, shall we?
Where was I?
Ah, yes, I was calm, but my irritation was like a billboard across my forehead. Instead of bothering my husband, I called my Timeshare customer service. They agreed this was preposterous, spoke with the desk clerk, and we had the keys to our room within moments.
And that was the only glitch the entire time.
We hopped over to the local grocery store, grabbed some goodies for the room, and then took a short walk around town.
We treated ourselves to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and watched the sunset from a balcony.
We spent quiet time on our computers, snacked well, and I introduced her to one of my favorite series, “The Vicar of Dibley.”
Oh, but the mansions. While visiting The Breakers and Marble House, we wandered manicured lawns by the water, strolled through ornately decorated rooms where elegant people once danced the night away, and saw locations where “The Gilded Age” was filmed. We tried to picture the actors as they honed their craft. My favorite things when I tour old homes are staircases, libraries, and fireplaces. Here are a few from this trip:
But the best part? We had a great time together, and I am thankful we still travel well after all these years.
I wonder where we should go next!
Want to learn more about the Mansions in Newport, Rhode Island? Here is a great place to start! https://www.newportmansions.org/
One Crafty Llama 
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