The house was built between 1893 and 1895 on the site of another mansion that had burnt down. It was owned by the Vanderbilt family, at the time the richest family in the USA. They made their money through ships and trains. Cornelius Vanderbilt II who had it constructed died four years after its completion. The tour took us from the great hall around the downstairs and then up to the first floor.
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| Dining room |
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| Indoor fountain |
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| Morning room |
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| Music room |
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| 1st floor balcony |
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| The Breakers |
House is made of metal and stone with no wood in the structure so it wouldn't burn down. This made it grand in some ways and also a little harsh in others. It had a complete different feel from an English equivalent. A lot less carpets and soft furnishes making it a little less homely and a bit more brash. Also lacks the historical features, a real lack of paintings and antique furniture of any note.
Bought a magnet and went to the cafe. Amazed that for a place so busy no one was using the cafe. Maybe the prices had something to do with it.
We then went for a walk in the garden to take a photo of the house. Obviously I was then asked to take a photograph by a couple of chaps. It was a polaroid camera which makes a change. Enquired of Ann why it is wherever we go I get asked to take someone's photo. She could only come up with because I'm tall.
Once we had a look at the breakers rolling in towards the cliffs we headed back to the car.
Drove the short distance to Fort Adams. Got self guided tour tickets and headed in. We didn't know much about it before we went and we were surprised to find most of it in a state of decay. Learnt that it was left to rot from the mid sixties until the mid nineties hence the terrible state internally. You couldn't go inside anywhere, just walk around and look through windows at the devastation. It was the opposite of Fort Snelling we saw in Minnesota. That was all restored and rooms set out like they would have been but the surrounding area had been left to grow so you couldn't see out of it. Here the views from the one bit of roof you could access were stunning across the water.
Whilst we were up on the roof we spotted the chaps from Breakers who had asked me to take their photo. Luckily they didn't ask again.
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| Outside |
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| A room which wasn't totally destroyed |
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| Inside |
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| View from the roof |
At one point you could go in the tunnels which went under the walls at the front. Ann didn't want to. I did. They had hard hats and torches to take. Woman staff member on that section said she hit her head more wearing a hat as you can't tell how tall you are. I didn't take one having done that a lot before.
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| Shining a torch down the tunnel |
The reason there were tunnels was so they could go in and hear people trying tunnel under the fort and then blow them up.
The other highlight was there were two coach loads of passengers having a meal in part of the fort. The coaches were waiting outside for them. They were from a cruise. They all boarded the coaches and then the coaches drove them to the other side of the fort to get on the cruise ship. It was about a 400m walk.
Once we were done we sat and ate lunch on the quayside watching the ships. It was lovely.
Drove back to Somerset. Topped up with fuel ready for tomorrow and nipped to Stop and Shop for a couple of bits. Whilst in there we bumped into this.
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| Cheeky |
Apparently all Stop and Shops have them. They check floors for spillages and shelves for missing items. They are called Marty. It was wandering around aimlessly. Bit like the other staff.
Headed home. Went for a walk to the local beach at the end of the road as we hadn't been yet.
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| Bridge with battleship under it |
Got a view of the bridge we keep driving over. Stuck toe in the water, it was quite warm. Back home for dinner and to bed early as we have to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow.
States visited - 14
Ship watch - high
