Day 128, Sunday August 11, 2024: Narragansett to Newport and return

Carnegie libraries visited: none

Days sober: 416

This barely counts as a library travel day, except that I travelled and visited a library. I didn’t travel much, as Paul, his son, and I drove from Narragansett to Newport and back, for a grand total of 30 miles. The library we visited was the Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Newport, and what a library it is. It claims to be – and who am I to doubt this claim? –  “America’s first purpose-built library (1747), and the oldest continuously operating in its original location. As such, it is the only remaining secular public cultural institution in this country with an unbroken link to the colonial period and the Nation’s founding.” For those curious about its architecture, it is “the earliest public Neoclassic building in the U.S…crafted of wood ‘rusticated’ to look like stone.” It is ringed with impressive hardwood trees and is beautifully landscaped. This is an improvement, I think, on the original, rustic, grounds on which “the Librarian was specifically allowed to graze a ‘cow or horse in the Library yard, but no hogs’.”

Redwood Library and Anthenaeum

Paul, Mark, and Elephant

While the barnyard animals are no longer grazing there, we did come across a large herd of elephants. They were crafted from an invasive weed afflicting the noble beasts’ home environment in India, and they are majestic and magnificent. They were part of a 100 elephant pack created by the Elephant Family non-profit. While most have now wandered elsewhere, two have remained: the baby Leela and her mother. 

We discovered them while venturing along Newport’s “Cliff Walk,” a 3.5 mile trail with Easton Bay on one side and the Gilded Age mansions on the other. The water was always visible: the mansions, not so much, as they were usually hidden by walls and hedges. I can only imagine the dismay the Vanderbilts would have felt knowing that the peasants were crossing their property.

Newport Cliff Walk

Back in Narragansett, I relaxed on the beach, remembering the many libraries I have seen and imagining those few still to come.

Putting My Toes in the Sand, and the Sand in My Toes