May 1, 2013: Lobster Feast

My new little lobster friend

Today was a day full of seafood, mansions, and friends. After completing our work meetings at noon, Garrett and I went out to seek a luncheon feast on the "best" chowder. Per recommendations from the concierge and Omaha friends, we headed to The Black Pearl. We were not disappointed as the chowder with Westminster crackers held up to expectations.

Next on our East Coast tourism list was the touring of Newport mansions. We started with the Breakers; which is the Vanderbilt mansion. We toured three mansions in total and were exhausted by the end. All came with audio tour guides and were incredibly interesting; both from a historical and biographical perspective. But rich people are a strange breed.

Although it was all fascinating, it really made me miss my tulips in my own back yard. They are much better than the gold hog heads blazen on the Vanderbilt dining room ceiling (imported from France, mind you). It all felt quite sterile and I wondered how happy these excessively rich people really were. And how much their many visiting friends really liked them or if they just liked the idea of being friends to the Vanderbilt's.

Both Garrett and I enjoyed the tours, but after the last, we looked at each other and agreed that we had enough. Hearing about poor Consuelo Vanderbilt being forced to marry the Duke of Marlborough in a loveless marriage became more for me to bear.

We moved on to meeting up with an old friend of Garrett's from college. Tim and his girlfriend, Susan, live in Hartford, Connecticut and made the short trip to see us. Together we took a drive across the coast and checked out the mansions from afar. A quaint inn, the Castle Hill Resort, caught our eye and we went in for a drink.

We were delighted with great company from both an elderly couple at the bar who became our new friends to a bar waitress who shared stories of the resort's haunting. Apparently a young daughter of the original owners walks the halls and creates mischief on occasion. There seem to be as many ghosts as humans dwelling on this side of the US.

The night ended with a dinner full of seafood...glorious oysters, shrimp, lobster. No beef for us on this trip. We are enjoying every bite of the fresh seafood offered. Tomorrow is Martha's Vineyard. Did I mention that the wine is really good here too??

Dinner view