Our grandson graduated from VCU a couple of weeks ago, so we spent a few days in Richmond. We toured a couple of Colonial Plantations and a marvelous Gilded Age Mansion. However, the tour de force were the Christmas decorations at the Jefferson Hotel, where we stayed. WOW! They go all out! The Jefferson is a hotel that is just loaded with history. Built in 1895, it has been host to numerous presidents, dignitaries, celebrities and VIPs. The grand staircase was the setting for that iconic scene in Gone With the Wind when Vivien Leigh made her entrance to the ballroom, and later when Clark Gable carried her up the stairs. This year, the whole entrance, lobby and ballroom, as well as the balcony and mezzanine. Out front the big bronze alligator sports a flower decoration and holds a very large glass ornament in its jaws. In the lobby, there is a lovely nativity (nice to see a nativity at Christmas, after all that is what it is about) and a large gingerbread and ...

Wishing all of you a Happy and Fulfilling Thanksgiving

When I was a kid growing up in Hawai’i, my Mom would often mention Doris Duke. I kind of knew something about her, but not much. I knew she had a plush home on the beach in Kahala, on the other side of Diamond Head. So when in Newport this time, we decided to visit the Duke’s “summer home” along the Cliff Walk where all the NYC hoi-polloi from the turn of the last century built their vacation or weekend retreats. Her home, Rough Point , was where she spent most summers as a youth, and again starting in the 1950s. Upon her death in 1993, Doris Duke bequeathed the estate to the Newport Restoration Foundation with the directive that it be opened to the public as a museum. Doris at the Mermaid Pool at the Family Farm in New Jersey Doris Duke (1912 – 1993) was an American heiress, socialite, horticulturalist, art collector, and philanthropist. The daughter of a wealthy tobacco tycoon, Duke was able to fund a life of global travel and wide-ranging interests. These e...

Well, we got to the Antiques Roadshow in Newport, Rhode Island. I must say that they do have their act together. With hurricane Jose whipping up the wind and dropping some rain along the New England seaboard ... Newport was no exception, but thankfully it was minor ... the Roadshow folks had very efficient transportation, tents and loads of happy, helpful volunteers. We took our treasures and got in line. (BTW none of the lines were long and they moved quickly ... well orchestrated considering there were about 3000 people scheduled that day.) Susan had her powder puff and her little celluloid box ... I had my Civil War diary and my Sconce family archives. (See earlier posts about these items.)   Photo from the Newport Daily News Photo from the Newport Patch The show was held at Rosecliff , one of the Newport mansions along Ocean Avenue and the Cliff Walk. Rosecliff was built around 1898-1902 and is open to the public as a historic house museum. The house h...

Narragansett Bay ... Newport in the distance So we are back from our Antiques Roadshow adventure ... no richer, no more famous, but we had a good time. More on the appraisals in the next post. Newport is an interesting town ... very touristy, but loaded with history ... the waterfront is replete with mediocre restaurants, but a little search reveals some delicious gems ... and there are even a couple of wineries close by. It is home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the annual Newport Jazz Festival, the Newport U. S. Naval Academy and the Naval War College. Newport Harbor Newport, of course, is famous for its Cliff Walk ... a 3.5 mile trail/walkway (in five easy walking segments) along which you can marvel at the natural beauty of the Newport shoreline with the architectural history of Newport's gilded age. The blue ocean on one side and the fabulous mansions of the New York City rich and famous on the other. Cliff Walk The other end of the architectura...