We continue our trip up the Hudson River. This is a beautiful River Valley with high cliffs and trees lining both sides. You can see river side houses occasionally, but many of them are obscured by trees.
We also visited another set of gilded age houses, more Roosevelts and Vanderbilts. In this case, it was FDR and Frederick Vanderbilt. [The top picture is FDR's place, the bottom is the Vanderbilt house.]
We've done quite a bit of site-seeing. We visited West Point and 
Washington Irving's house while we were in Croton-on-Hudson. Washington Irving was the first American to be able to live of the earnings of his writing. He built a charming house on the banks of the Hudson in 1835 and in 1850 a railroad track was built between his house and the water. A train runs by there at least 4 times an hour now, from 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM. I don't know how often they ran in the 19th century, but I'm betting nearly as frequently. How mad would you be!?!
Washington Irving's house while we were in Croton-on-Hudson. Washington Irving was the first American to be able to live of the earnings of his writing. He built a charming house on the banks of the Hudson in 1835 and in 1850 a railroad track was built between his house and the water. A train runs by there at least 4 times an hour now, from 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM. I don't know how often they ran in the 19th century, but I'm betting nearly as frequently. How mad would you be!?!West Point was interesting, but not as informative as our trip to Annapolis. The campus is much bigger and the tour shows you much less. We discovered that you really get the best view 
of West Point from the water. From there you can see the old fort as well as the newer buildings. On the tour you really never get much of a sense of the military installation, it mostly seems like a college with a strict dress code.
From Croton-on-Hudson we moved north and stopped in Hyde Park, in a marina that was within walking distance of the Culinary Institute of America. Taking advantage of the location, we ate all three meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at the CIA. As you would expect, the meals were fantastic. We also took a tour of the campus and the classrooms. Imagine 4,440 students paying $35,000+ a year to learn to cook. The associates program is two years long and the bachelor program is four years. Granted that when you leave there you do know how to cook (they teach how to make chocolate starting with roasting cocoa beans), but food service doesn't pay very well. For every Thomas Keller the CIA creates there must be several hundred graduates working for Hilton hotels. Our guide told us that 90% of the students get financial aid; I hope it is scholarships and not loans.
of West Point from the water. From there you can see the old fort as well as the newer buildings. On the tour you really never get much of a sense of the military installation, it mostly seems like a college with a strict dress code.From Croton-on-Hudson we moved north and stopped in Hyde Park, in a marina that was within walking distance of the Culinary Institute of America. Taking advantage of the location, we ate all three meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at the CIA. As you would expect, the meals were fantastic. We also took a tour of the campus and the classrooms. Imagine 4,440 students paying $35,000+ a year to learn to cook. The associates program is two years long and the bachelor program is four years. Granted that when you leave there you do know how to cook (they teach how to make chocolate starting with roasting cocoa beans), but food service doesn't pay very well. For every Thomas Keller the CIA creates there must be several hundred graduates working for Hilton hotels. Our guide told us that 90% of the students get financial aid; I hope it is scholarships and not loans.
We also visited another set of gilded age houses, more Roosevelts and Vanderbilts. In this case, it was FDR and Frederick Vanderbilt. [The top picture is FDR's place, the bottom is the Vanderbilt house.] Turns out that Frederick was the only Vanderbilt who grew rather than spent his inheritance from old Cornelius. His home wasn't as
ostentatious as the family places in Newport, RI, but it gaudy enough. It is unfortunate that they won't let you take pictures inside these places, the size of the rooms and the furnishings are quite something.
ostentatious as the family places in Newport, RI, but it gaudy enough. It is unfortunate that they won't let you take pictures inside these places, the size of the rooms and the furnishings are quite something.With both Hurrican Earl and the weekend approaching, we ducked into Kingston, NY for the weekend. Kingston was settled by the Dutch in the 1650s. The first plan for the town was laid out by Peter Stuyvesant. the British burned it in 1777, but it was rebuilt after the Revolutionary War and became the first capitol of New York. Nowdays, it has a mostly abandoned downtown because Wal-mart and the nearby mall have driven all of the local businesses out of business in the last 20 years. Across the river is Rhinebeck, lately of Chelsea Clinton wedding fame.
In Kingston we are only 15 miles from Woodstock, so we made the pilgramage up to see it. As I'm sure you all know, the Woodstock music festival didn't take place in Woodstock. It was on a farm about 43 miles from the town. But that hasn't kept the town from cashing in on the association. Jim described Woodstock as a "Groundhog Day" town, where every year they wake up and it is 1969 again. Every store reeks of patchouli and sells tie-dyed T-shirts. The locals dress like escapees from Haight-Ashbury in the '60s. It is all too deja vu for me. Maybe if you weren't around for the original experience it is kitschy; for me it is just creepy and weird.
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