Lit.

A Rose by any other name.

Newport, RI – Waves lap at the shore with the caress of a saxophone.

We’re spending the night at the historic Rose Island Lighthouse, and the Newport Jazz Festival is in full swing across the bay. I had never thought of Common as jazz.

Constructed in 1870, the lighthouse is part of a 17-acre island comprising the remains of Fort Hamilton, which was first built during the revolutionary war in the late 1700s. Throughout the years, its bunkers and bomb-proof barracks have also served as munition depots and as quarantine for cholera patients.

Today, many of the structures across the island are in disrepair and used as a refuge for the countless birds nesting nearby.

View from above.

Double-crested cormorants jackknife into the waves, resurfacing great distances away with silver squiggles trapped in their beaks. Seagulls the size of small dogs caw their pleasure at the musical accompaniment across the bay, while a canoe see-saws on the break after a speedboat passes.

The property, accessible only by boat, is a museum by day, but offers overnight stays.

With the day’s visitors gone, I climb the lighthouse tower, prying myself through the tiny door to the widow’s walk. There are no storms to watch today, just an opportunity to embrace the panorama – views of blue peppered by sailboats cutting into the sea breeze.

Night falls, and there are six of us alone on the island. In a lighthouse.

What an incredible experience.

Rhode Trip.

Ochre Court.

Newport, RI – Perched atop a cliff, the path winds through more than a century of history. The water, precipitously below, sparkles like jewels tossed into the sea.

On the other side, tall manicured hedges hide mansions behind a tuxedo of leaves, polka-dotted by clumps of flowers.

But they don’t hide too much.

The palazzos and chateaux along Newport’s historic cliff walk must have also been meant to be seen. Rockefellers, Dukes and Vanderbilts: this was a veritable who’s who of the industrial revolution in America.

And I will walk...

One can only imagine the gilded parties.

The 3.5-mile cliff walk gives the public right-of-passage, despite stepping through private property. Unsurprisingly, this hasn’t always come without disputes, but it's a must-do if you're ever in Newport.

Massive stone houses stand dressed in Romanesque columns, ornate archways and sculpted iron gates. The Breakers, a neo-Italian Renaissance palazzo built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II at the turn of the century, boasts 70 rooms and looms over the pathway.

It's easy to forget these were just summer homes.