Ready or Not, Baltic Cruise Here I Come!

Getting ready to set sail on a Baltic cruise - 5 countries in 7 days! Denmark, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden --- here I come, baaaaby!

Nothing Could Be Finer Than To Be In Caroliner

After my week in New England, I flew south to North Carolina to spend a few stolen moments with family. It was a short week-end visit spent outdoors amid cheery sunshine and myriad backyard activities.


Here are my parents and my sisters buzzing around the food table. LOL.

People say I favor Mom. What do you think?


My sister Pamela and Sis n'law Holly holding her daughter Piper.

Isn't my sister Mely gorgeous?


See No Evil. Hear No Evil. Speak No Evil. Har!

My eldest niece Yasmine.


I love this pic of my brother John with his daughter Piper, and his son Zeb riding his trike in the background.

Check out how BLUE my niece Piper's eyes are!

More father n' son moments. John with his son Rex above, and both of his boys below.

My bro n' law Terry and bro John played baseball with their boys.

It was a wonderful afternoon of memory building!

And then the big boys decided to play a little basketball.

John showing off his mad skillz....

Even Daddy got some shots in, but Terry had to prove that he was a baller too. LOL.

The kids could've played with Legos for hours!

And then it was time to jump in the pool. :) I love that Zeb and Skylar felt it was their job to fill the pool. LOL.

All the cousins taking a dip! Good thing they weren't doing laps.

And then the cousins got creative and made a water slide! LOL.

As dusk settled in, reminders of our afternoon activities were still scattered throughout, and the baby pool started to deflate, and yet we remained outdoors not willing to go in and end a precious summer day that was filled with copious amount of family love and laughter. I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!

Newport's Cliff Walk

I let myself out the side gate of The Breakers and walked until I came upon a pathway that led me to Newport's Cliff Walk; a well known touristed access walk that covers 3.5 miles of naturally aesthetic trails and Newport's rugged New England coastline. I only had time to stroll down the northern end of the Cliff Walk, and therefore missed the southern end's backview of gilded age mansions that I did not get to visit. I deeply regret not touring "Rough Point," which belonged to the fourth Vanderbilt brother Frederick Vanderbilt, and then later to North Carolinian James Buchanan Duke, who founded his fortunes in the electric power and tobacco industries, and was the benefactor of Duke University. I hope to catch it on my next trip!

As my walk ended on a view of more modern day mansions across the way, I headed back to my rental car and exited out of Newport. On my way out, I admired the calm waters of the Atlantic and the plethora of sailboats and other vessels enjoying their day out on the water. I enjoyed my summer explorations in RI and CT immensely, and hope to return someday for more! Toodle-Loo, New England!

The Breakers a' la Vanderbilt

During my Newport visit, I continued my tour of the Vanderbilt summer homes located in the pristine neighborhood of the Bellevue Avenue Historic District. Walking through tall wrought iron gates and down a long tree-lined pathway, I found myself at the most visited attraction in the area: The Breakers. At the time of its completion, The Breakers was the creme de la creme of castle-like architecture ever built in America's most exclusive summer resort community. It was built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the second Vanderbilt brother to build a European-inspired "summer cottage" worthy of the Vanderbilt name. It was built between 1893-1895 at the lofty price of $7 million; basically, $150 million in today's configuration! It is interesting to note that the Vanderbilt name stemmed from a Dutch forebearer's village (De Bilt) in Utrecht, Netherlands which later merged with the Dutch words "van der" meaning "of the/ from"....and thus a prominent surname was born. Despite the family's financial decline in the early 20th century, it still remains the seventh wealthiest family in American history. Modern day celebrities from Cornelius Vanderbilt II's branch is his granddaughter Gloria Vanderbilt, and her son CNN 360's Anderson Cooper.

The east wing looking out to the gardens.

Back view of the The Breakers and its oceanfront view below.

Interior pics were not allowed, but these pics were found on the internet.

The Breakers was a 70-roomed mansion that sits on a 13 acre oceanfront estate, that was a "paltry" 65,000 square feet. Until the youngest Vanderbilt brother completed his summer getaway NC home on Christmas Eve of that same year, The Breakers was the most impressively built home in the Vanderbilt family, and in Newport, RI - THE social capital of America at that time.