...you enter the stately grounds!! This is the front show court.
But, behind this court are 12 more grass tennis courts that anyone can reserve! No, we did not play on these - we didn't have the required "white attire" with us. We found it interesting that when the base line gets worn, they just move all the courts down.
We also saw some "court tennis" being played. Not only do they use the floor to get the ball over the net, they also use all of the grey side walls. This is the game from which modern tennis evolved!
We did score well in getting courtside dining at the LaForge Casino Restaurant. A pro on the challenger series was having a wedding event on the grounds and they were using the tennis show court for guests to play croquet. Its amazing all the games that can be played on a tennis court!
We may not have played tennis but we definitely found a winner at the restaurant. I ordered my Atlantic Coast favorite (as you have probably guessed by now), a lobster roll and this one came packed with the most lobster I have ever seen pushed into one roll. Just in case that was not enough it also came with a big side salad. 
We luckily arrived just in time to take advantage of a guided tour of the museum. It was very informative as the museum includes an extensive collection of tennis memorabilia from the 12th century through the present day. We were especially impressed to see our favorite, Roger Federer's Wimbledon whites and tennis racquet from the Championships at Wimbledon.
It was also interesting to see the much talked about outfit Venus Williams wore at the French Open. She designs her own tennis outfits and this one was designed with black lace over skin colored shorts and top so it appeared to look like she only had on a lace dress. Sorry for the reflection but they don't allow flash photos so you have to be very careful.
The tour guide was very informative. We heard all about Maureen Connolly who won all the grand slams in the same calendar year. We were fascinated by the history of Jack Cramer creating the professional tour and the pros not being allowed to play in tournaments until 1968 which is now called the start of the "open era." We saw lots of tropies and memorabilia and at the end of the tour we saw an entire exhibit on Andre Aggasi who was joined the other 217 members in the Tennis Hall of Fame. We got to watch his induction speech. At the end of the tour our tour guide took our "we were there photo." The site of the Hall of Fame was opened in 1880 as a social club for the city's wealthy summer residents. The Vanderbilts, Astors and other turn of the century elites played tennis and socialized on the sweeping porches like the one above.
Down the road is Millionaire's Row so we took the opportunity to see the super large "bricks and sticks" as we RV'ers call homes - although this one falls into the category of "estate." 
We ended the day at Brenton Point State Park and watched the views that the Newport estates have of the waves rolling in.
But, we got to see it up close from the edge of the point and watched the waves break against this rock that juts into the Atlantic Ocean. This rock points right out to the famous Martha's Vineyard! Yes, that is Mark way out there on the rock!Well, so much for our visit to Newport to hobnob with the wealthy. Back to Connecticut to plan our next side trip - out to visit New York City!
2 comments:
awesome as always I fell hard for
those lobster rolls when we were there too and the lobster bisque.
I even ate a lobster roll at McDonalds Pat B
Very nice pictures! Very beautiful place. I learn so much from your Blogs. I guess Alan Souza mst know about the Tennis Hall of Fame right in his own home state, but I didn't know about it.
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