There seem to be just a few things a 3-day visitor to Newport can do to get the most out of the visit. (Like a real travel writer, I like to figure out the essence of a place quickly. I know that is not really possible without friends who live there, so I may BS a bit.)

Here's what I figured out:

1. Take a stroll down Thames St. and look at the boats and all of the cool piers and pubs.

2. Bike or take a hike down Bellevue Ave. from town out to the end, or, better, continue on and make it a bike ride all the way around the Ocean Drive back to the harbor. It's only about 12 miles.

3. Walk a few segments or more of the Cliff Walk. Do it early in the morning and beat the rush. 

4. Scout out the antique areas of town where the tourists and drinkers don't go, and there are no shops. The Point is one such neighborhood. Also, around Spring St. Probably plenty more nooks and crannies we didn't find.

5. If you must, check out the interiors of one or two of the grand "cottages." ("Cottage" means that they aren't really winterized. Summer places.) I don't really like them or want to see the insides, but it gives one an idea of what life could be like for an ambitious entrepreneur before the income tax, the corporate tax, and the SEC. And with 20-30 servants to keep things functioning smoothly.

6. Rhode Island seafood always seems to have a Portuguese spin on it. Even a bowl of steamers has hot peppers, red peppers, chorizo, and onions in it. Not bad at all, but not my favorite. Mrs. BD loved her grilled salmon with sweet barbecue sauce on a bed of pickled red cabbage. People say The Mooring has the town's best seafood. It is housed in the old Station #6 of the New York Yacht Club, which has moved to a quieter side of the harbor.

7. On a rainy day, I'd probably stop by the Tennis Hall of Fame, right on the main drag.

Photo from along the Cliff Walk, facing the Atlantic Ocean on the right. I think that is the charming Little Compton in the distance.

More random Newport pics below the fold.

If I claim that there is no more saiboaty place in the US than Newport, RI in June, I know somebody will argue for San Francisco or Annapolis. All I can claim is that I have never seen as many lovely or majestic sailboats anywhere as I did in Newport this weekend.

I will share some of my pics this week, at the risk of producing boredom. It's an interesting salty 3-day getaway spot with plenty to do besides sitting and watching the scenery.

For those not familiar with this famous New England seaport summering spot, it sits on the southernmost part of Aquidneck Island (once known as "Rhode Island"), helping to define Narragansett Bay. It's about 30 miles south of Providence. Newport has a giant, well-protected harbor and, in the 1700s, was one of the 5 busiest harbors in North America - a major factor in the "Triangle Trade," in privateering, piracy, and general trade.

Newport, like all of Rhode Island, was settled in the 1600s by refugees from Massachusetts. The town was fortunate in having had no major fires during its history (although the Brits were tough on the town until the French navy chased them off), so large parts of its entire architectural history is well-preserved - predominantly early to mid 1700s dwellings and taverns. 

Because it sits on the Atlantic, but guards the entrance of the Bay, it has been a naturally air-conditioned popular and fashionable summering spot since the 1730s. While it may be most famous for its Gilded Age summer "cottages," these ostentatious European palace imitations are not of much interest to me (but I don't mind the Shingle Style ones). However, Newport still has a considerable High Society, old money contingent. It's a good mix, but free of low-lifes and hippie-looking people. Preppy and wholesome mostly, but with a hedonistic flavoring to it. Nothing tacky about it.

Because of its night life, charm, and excellent harbor facilities, Newport remains a standard stop for those cruising the New England coast. Thames St. along the piers is one pub or open-air bar or restaurant after another. Lots of seafood, and Kobe beef for the rare seafood-avoidant. The boaters are known to get rambunctious at night: it is expected. John Hiatt and his group were playing at one of the open-air places on Sat. night, and you could hear him for blocks. Not bad at all.

Beaches? Newport has only a few, but the best are small and are owned by exclusive private clubs. It is not a very beachy place. It's a rocky coastline. People swim by diving off docks and boats.

Photo on top is a 1720s dwelling in the Point area, near the causeway to Goat Island. Photo below is the rear view of one of the Gilded Age cottages along Bellevue Avenue, from the Cliff Walk.

More later when I find time to organize my pics.

I'll have some photo reports from Newport this week.

Every interesting day needs to begin with some coffee and an exploratory hike around an unfamiliar place, trying to get lost for the fun of it (actually, I have been to Newport before, but it's been quite a while).

Why Newport this weekend? For the spectacular Flower Show, of course, for the benefit of The Preservation Society of Newport County. I am a good husband - or try to be.

This was early Sat AM - a truck handing out free samples on one of the piers:

Luke 9:51-62

9:51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

9:52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him;

9:53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.

9:54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"

9:55 But he turned and rebuked them.

9:56 Then they went on to another village.

9:57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

9:58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

9:59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

9:60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

9:61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home."

9:62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Photo is a Peregrine Falcon

Gone to the Unseen (trans. Jonathan Star)

At last you have departed and gone to the Unseen.
What marvelous route did you take from this world?

Beating your wings and feathers,
you broke free from this cage.
Rising up to the sky
you attained the world of the soul.
You were a prized falcon trapped by an Old Woman.
Then you heard the drummer's call
and flew beyond space and time.

As a lovesick nightingale, you flew among the owls.
Then came the scent of the rosegarden
and you flew off to meet the Rose.

The wine of this fleeting world
caused your head to ache.
Finally you joined the tavern of Eternity.
Like an arrow, you sped from the bow
and went straight for the bull's eye of bliss.

This phantom world gave you false signs
But you turned from the illusion
and journeyed to the land of truth.

You are now the Sun -
what need have you for a crown?
You have vanished from this world -
what need have you to tie your robe?

I've heard that you can barely see your soul.
But why look at all? -
yours is now the Soul of Souls!

O heart, what a wonderful bird you are.
Seeking divine heights,
Flapping your wings,
you smashed the pointed spears of your enemy.

The flowers flee from Autumn, but not you -
You are the fearless rose
that grows amidst the freezing wind.

Pouring down like the rain of heaven
you fell upon the rooftop of this world.
Then you ran in every direction
and escaped through the drain spout . . .

Now the words are over
and the pain they bring is gone.
Now you have gone to rest
in the arms of the Beloved.

Sheesh. Who made this?

Does he even exist?

If so, does he sleep, or is he like a shark on the prowl 24 hrs/day? Does he really have a day job as he claims? Or is he a Potemkin Reynolds, with many anonymous folks posting under his name? (Anybody can imitate his style: just be dry, wry and pithy, throw in the random link to Popular Gizmotology or some camera you don't need, or whatever, and end with the occasional "Heh.")

Enquiring minds want to know.

Sample of two fine links from the supposed "Glenn Reynolds" this morning:

Beneath NPR's Poll, The 'Tyranny Of Constituency'

and this:

MARK HEMINGWAY: House ’shreds our constitution for raw, ugly, partisan gain’ by vote of 219-206. “So unions now get nearly unrestricted, undisclosed political spending. Further, the restrictions in the DISCLOSE Act only cut one way — against business. If you took TARP funds as a business, express political advocacy is now verboten. So GM has very limited first amendment rights, but even though arguably primary beneficiary of the auto bailout was the United Auto Workers union which got government guaranteed billions directly as a result of the TARP funding — UAW can spend almost whatever it pleases, and it has a history of spending millions on Democratic campaigns. Further, under the DISCLOSE Act if a company has more than $7 million in government contracts, it has no right to political speech. But public sector unions can spend millions of recycled tax dollars campaigning for Democrats, no problem.”

Image is a cardboard cutout of "Glenn Reynolds" in his usual carefully-selected dorky salesman-for-industrial-air-conditioning-parts-business outfit, at some sort of phony staged meeting with a Bob Dylan or Elvis Costello wanna-be. No, we are never jealous or envious at all of the traffic and popularity of others. We are PURE of heart and soul! Aren't you?

The Queen showed up at Wimbledon yesterday with her entourage, headed for the royal box to which the players bow or curtsy.

The immigrant security guard at the gate failed to recognize the old gal with the big hat, and asked for her entry badge.

The old lady replied:

World's biggest dinosaur graveyard found in Canada. h/t, Reb

No trust: Sinking Ship Of State

How the Left thinks today: World Purification

McCarthy: What are we doing in Afghanistan?

Coyote: Take a look at my tax forms

High court sides with ex-Enron CEO Skilling. Related from Steyn: A SCOTUS Win For Conrad Black?

Shocker. Employers Say Dem’s Policies Are Hostile to Job Growth

MoveOn Scrubs “General Betray Us” Page From Website

How Dems view Repub refusal to pass "Tax Extender" bill

48% See Government Today As A Threat to Individual Rights. h/t Insty

Pajamas: ObamaCare: Get Ready for the Mother of All Epic Fails, More money for less value. That's the story of big government.

The problem with Harvard folks in government. Nobody can teach wisdom, but arrogance is easily conveyed.

neoneo: Harry and Nancy’s Last Stand. Think cap and trade and other unpopular bills are dead? Think again, no matter who wins at the ballot box in November.

From Rove:

A Public Policy Poll earlier this month reported that 48% said an Obama endorsement would make them less likely to vote for the candidate receiving it, while only one-third said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by the president.

From The Big Picture on the last few years:

Following the 2,000 Dot Com crash, then Fed Chair Alan Greenspan brought Fed Funds rates down to ultra-low levels. Under 2% for 3 years, and 1% for more than a year.

Rates this low — and for that long — were simply unprecedented. They wreaked havoc with the traditional fixed income market. Bond managers scrambled for yield, and found it in investment grade, triple A rated residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). This better interest rate was created by securitizing mortgages with an unhealthy slug of higher yielding, riskier, sub-prime mortgages.

The demand for RMBS paper was nearly insatiable. Wall Street sucked up as much sub-prime paper as could be legitimately, then illegitimately produced. Lend-to-securitize-nonbank mortgage writers responded to the demand by abdicating traditional lending standards. 30 year mortgages were given to people who in no conceivable way could afford them. The hope was a non-default over the warranty period of the mortgage, typically 90 or 180 days.

The Greenspan Fed, in charge of supervising financial lending institutions, looked the other way.

The net result of this was a credit bubble and a housing boom. (A true housing bubble formed only in a handful of places). The credit bubble allowed 10s of millions of Americans to become, albeit temporarily, home owners.

In 1992, some 4 million homes per year were being purchased. A decade later, that number had risen 25% to 5 million. A mere 3 years later, annual sales were 7 million units — a 40% increase. From 2002 to 2007, the abdication of lending standards — who cares about credit scores, incomes, debt load, assets, even job! — created millions of new homeowners. And thanks to the ultra low rates, prices had exploded. The combination of brand new, unsophisticated buyers and rapidly rising prices was a dangerous combination.

Buyers of limited financial means who en masse overpaid for their houses at ultra low rates was a recipe for disaster. The Fed began its cyclical tightening, price appreciation slowed, then reversed. Sales plummeted, and prices fell. Five million of those buyers were foreclosed upon, with another 5 million likely to come.

Which more or less brings you up to date.

From our News Junkie this morning:

Dems say they need more of our money so they can give us more free shit we don't want. Hoyer on middle class tax hike

We're asking about dinner, not lunch. At Maggie's Farm, we are believers in a weekly date night for couples, while recognizing that in some quarters the social and business dinner whirl can be so taxing that ye olde "quiet supper at home" with radio music (or NPR, of course) can be a special treat.

So please tell us in the comments

1. How many times/week do you dine out in restaurants?

2. Does it tend to be with spouse, with friends, with family (or alone)?

3. Does it tend to be fast food burger and pizza joints, or mid-range burger and/or ethnic joints, or places with tablecloths? Or, if an overseas (from the US) reader, what?

Photo is Peter Luger's "Holy Cow." NYC's best steak house, in Williamburg, Brooklyn. A great place to dine out, and not too pricey.

Addendum: Thanks for all of the replies. A real cross-section. I think folks around where I live dine out more than the average. Got room for more responses...

Guess who holds patent for carbon-trading plan- Disgraced Fannie Mae CEO set to cash in for millions:

Former Clinton and Obama budget adviser Franklin Raines owns a key carbon-emissions patent he developed as CEO of the government-sponsored mortgage giant Fannie Mae, positioning him and his partners to make millions of dollars if it is used in any carbon-capping scheme implemented by the Obama administration.

Raines and his associates led Fannie Mae and Congress to believe Fannie Mae owned the patent, despite public records to the contrary, a WND investigation has found.

 

Lord Acton, arguing against the 1870 promulgation of the concept of Papal Infallibility:

I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or certainty of corruption by full authority. There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it.

A guy has devoted his life to re-establishing the Puffin colonies in Maine.

One could do many worse things in life.

That sandwich sign made me wonder whether the Puffins were being attracted to this rock by the idea of a free lunch. Foolish birds.

You can read a bit about the Atlantic Puffin here.

The final lines from a Robert Hayden poem posted by neoneo yesterday. A poet who understood fatherhood:

What did I know, what did I know
of love’s austere and lonely offices?

Many Moms do not know that, but they know other things. Dads know.

From Howie Carr via Betsy:

Criticizing Bush - the highest form of patriotism. Criticizing Obama - hate speech. Who caused Bush’s problems? - Bush. Who causes Obama’s problems? - Bush.

When Bush mispronounced a word (like nuclear) - more proof he is a complete cowboy moron.

When Obama mispronounces a word (like corpsman) - how dare you even bring this up, racist?!

Unemployment at 4.6 percent under Bush - a jobless recovery.

Unemployment at 9.7 percent under Obama - the new normal, “steady,” a lagging indicator of the happy days that CNBC says are here again.

Economic woes under Bush - portents of a new Depression. Economic woes under Obama - a blip on the radar screen, surprising.

Cindy Sheehan under Bush - a future recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Sheehan under Obama - give it up already, you old bag.

Bush playing a rare round of golf - complete video coverage, showing his utter indifference to the suffering of the American people.

Obama playing one of his endless rounds of golf - only still photos allowed, yet another glowing indication of our dashing president’s youth and physical fitness.

Re-posted today because I had a female Ruby-Throated flirting with me yesterday while I was watering some hanging baskets of flowers. Fearless critter. Seemed to want to frolic in the spray.

Chances are that the first time you saw a hummingbird, you paid it no attention, imagining it to be a passing dragonfly or some other fleeting buzzing bug. In the Eastern half of the US, we have only one species – the Ruby Throated.

This 3-4-inch bird is usually only seen when hovering over flowers, because otherwise he is tiny and darting in flight, and his wings are a humming blur. You have to be very close to hear the hum.

These insect-like birds are probably more abundant in your area than you realize, but if you want to see them often, you need a hummingbird garden. (Those sugar-water hummingbird feeders offer no real nutrition, and the red coloring is thought to be somewhat toxic.) He feeds on nectar and small bugs hidden in the flowers, and prefers flowers which are designed for pollination by hummingbirds – often red in color and vase-shaped for his long beak. Red Trumpet Vine (in photo) is a favorite, as is azalea in the south, but they like monarda too. I find their favorite at my place is Crocosmia – which is in bloom now along with the monarda, and the trumpet vine on my wall. I highly recommend Crocosmia – the bulbs are a bit expensive but, once established, they multiply rapidly and they have attractive foliage. White Flower Farm has a large selection. In the woods, I typically see hummingbirds around patches of Jewelweed, which likes damp areas.

Read more about the Ruby Throated here. How do these fragile creatures make it across the Gulf of Mexico to winter in South America?

The print is Audubon's, the Ruby Throat with Trumpet Vine.

Speaking of hummingbirds, don’t forget the Dixie Hummingbirds.

"Abba," the Aramaic word for "father," was sometimes used by Christ as a term for his true Father in heaven.

Jesus spoke Aramaic, almost certainly knew enough Hebrew to study the texts, and may have known some Greek too. Greeks, like the Romans, were all over the place. Must have been like that multicultural bar scene in Star Wars.

His use of "Dad" for God was transformational.

I do not view God as having any gender, but I love the way Christ spoke of God as his Dad. Real Dads, however much they may aspire to be role models and to be strong and reliable supports for their kids, are only human and thus always deeply flawed.

Yes, I greatly enjoyed Bruce's Father's Day post early this morning, especially the music. Jew, Christian, Moslem - whatever. If that song doesn't bring a tear, you have a problem. "Only you created tears, and only you can wipe them away forever."

The world has 5 times as many polar bears today than it did 50 years ago. I blame climate change.

Samuelson: Why Our Poverty Measure Misleads

Ocean pH alarmism, easily debunked

Via Q&O:

Russia is eliminating the capital gains tax. Sadly, the ex-commies know something we apparently don't. http://bit.ly/cSzTOe #

Was it a shakedown? Of course it was.

Is this legal to do? NYC Going After Teen 'Sexting' -- In The Home

Wouldn't an Arizona lawsuit be like suing yourself? All their law does is repeat federal law on a state basis.

Lowry: The O turns out to be mortal

Thompson on Egalitarian Superiority:

 In my experience, the more egalitarian a person says he is, the more superior he wishes to be, or assumes he already is. Egalitarian sentiment is, and generally has been, a license for hypocrisy, double standards and exerting power over others. Much as a professed disdain for inequality is a way to signal one’s own moral, intellectual and social superiority.

Some pigs are more equal than others.

From Steyn:

Chris Matthews and the other leg-tinglers invented an Obama that doesn't exist. Unfortunately, they're stuck with the one that does, and it will be interesting to see whether he's capable of plugging the leak in his own support. If not, who knows what the tide might wash up?

Memo to Secretary Rodham Clinton: Do you find yourself of a quiet evening with a strange craving for chicken dinners and county fairs in Iowa and New Hampshire, maybe next summer? Need one of those relaunch books to explain why you're getting back in the game in your country's hour of need?

"It Takes A Spillage."

Father's Day image on top courtesy of Theo

Image below of the O worrying about the oil leak, via Jammie (the point is not that the guy likes golf. Lots of people like golf - most cannot afford to be delivered to the course via helicopter, however. The point is the double standard. What if Bush...):