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Newport, Rhode Island
Samantha kicks off her visit at the beautiful Rose Island Lighthouse, just off the coast of Newport, and learns from preservationist Charlotte Johnson about how the island and its historic structures were saved, and are now available for overnight guests. In Newport, Samantha visits what is likely the oldest family business in America--the John Stevens shop--where Nick Benson and his family carry on the ancient craft of stone carving in a building older than the United States itself. With history found in every plot of ground, Samantha meets Newport Historian Keith Stokes, who reveals the hidden history of God's Little Acre, a Colonial-era cemetery whose gravestones tell the story of the African American experience in Rhode Island. They also visit Division Street, where advocates for religious freedom and the abolition of slavery were once uneasy neighbors with slave traders. Strolling on Newport's famous Cliff Walk, Samantha takes in spectacular views of the windswept Atlantic and Gilded Age mansions before stepping inside Marble House, the 'cottage' owned by Alva Vanderbilt, a champion of the American suffragette movement. No visit to Rhode Island is complete without clams so Samantha takes to the water to try her hand at harvesting these mouth-watering mollusks with a little help from local shell fisherman David Ghigliotti. Samantha enjoys these fruits of the sea compliments of TR McGrath, whose family business carries on the tradition of Rhode Island clambakes. TR teaches Samantha how to end her Rhode Island trip right by making the perfect Rhode Island clam chowder-then treats her to a seaside lobster and clambake to top it all off.
