Newport to Central Pennsylvania, July 11-13

Moving camp from Lowell/Salem to Newport, R.I. was the shortest transition of the trip. Only in distance, though, because culturewise we might just as well have been transferred to the French Riviera.

Newport has always been an area with wealth, it seems. Some of the riches have beem shamefully created  - it was a slave trade center in its earliest days - but for the past 200 years the town has been a summer playground for those who have the wallet to buy a piece of the heavenly scenery. Us regular folks have dutifully followed to populate the beaches and walkways.

We enjoyed the stunning views on the Cliff Walk, a 5,5 km track that snakes along the steep cliffside on the coastline. The view to one side was nature-made, a vast, awe-inspiring panorama of the Atlantic. To the other side are the famous Newport Mansions, most of  them about a hundred years old and testament to the fact that for many rich folks out there, too much just ain't enough. Not that the mansions are not beautiful and impressive, they are, and well worth seeing. Bellevue Avenue is the main street in the mansion area and as the name suggests, there is something very non-American and Mediterranean about it (except for the XL sizes, of course). But just mowing the lawn has to be a full day job so we'd rather pass ;)

Since we were on the move already in the morning, we saw the thick morning fog swirl and give way to cloudless sunshine, a spectacle freely offered. The rest of the day was then well spent in Easton's Beach where the boys finally had their fill of splashing about in the waves for hours on end.

Moving on, we are now on our way to Michigan, over 800 miles to go in all. Stage 1 was completed yesterday in the tiny town of Cobbleskill, NY where the huge but gentle hills are complemented by very nice folks. We did a cavern tour first this morning and set off to the west again. Result: eight hours in the car, with Annu driving across the almost entire Appalachian Mountains! Huge views, very snaking roads and moments of will-this-never-end near-desperation... but here we are now, in Bellefonte, PA for an overnight stay in a nice motel. Tomorrow's theme: let's keep on the Interstate! We have had our share of backroads navigation for a while, thanks so very much.