As a crocheter, I was a little excited to hear that Rhinebeck, NY was on the itinerary. Rhinebeck is home to one of the largest yarn festivals in America. Alas, that doesn’t occur until October and it is only June. But surely, I could find a great yarn store somewhere in the Hudson valley, right?
Um, not so much. Moving on…
This area really did have a lot to offer. From presidential pads to sky-high walkways, the Hudson Valley packs a punch.
While most of us didn’t live through the Great Depression and/or World War II, one of our most influential presidents of all time served 3+ terms through this period leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come. And he called this area home. Franklin D. Roosevelt served as our 32nd president from 1933 until his death in 1944.
FDR’s father bought the family property known as Springwood in Hyde Park in 1867. FDR was born and raised in the renovated home and loved it so much that he lived there and commuted back and forth to Washington DC through all three of his presidential terms. While he passed away at his Georgia retreat, FDR was buried in the rose garden at Springwood.
Appearances were everything to FDR. One might think that his primary residence was well equipped for his paralysis from polio but there is little evidence throughout the home to give any indication. The ramp down to his living room was the only real sign. FDR rode the modified trunk elevator to the second story to reach his bedroom.
Whether a bit of a narcissist or just having the foresight to understand the long term impact of his presidency, FDR proposed the idea of a National Archive including a Presidential Library. He was a bit of an amateur historian and believed that his papers would be valuable long after his death.
This is the second Presidential Library we’ve visited, the first being that of Ronald Reagan in California.
While not all the libraries are full museums, both of these did an excellent, if slightly biased, job of portraying the lives of the men they were representing.
On a side note… I just finished reading The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. While it is fiction, it’s a wonderful peak into what life for Dust Bowl families may have had to go through during FDR’s presidency and the Great Depression.
But as the saying goes, behind every great man is an even greater woman. We also made a stop at Eleanor Roosevelt’s Val-Kill. While technically part of the Roosevelt property, FDR encouraged Eleanor to develop a place of her own where she could see her ideas of a work training program for farmers and laborers come to fruition. Eleanor later remodeled the property and called this place home after FDR passed away and Springwood was given over to the National Parks Service.
It seems quite modest for a rather famous former First Lady.
It is also where the likes of FDR, Winston Churchill, and King George VI went for a swim.
And where John F. Kennedy Jr. met with Eleanor to ask for her support in his campaign for president, which she granted.
And note, she was a knitter… 😀 See the yarn project bag on the coffee table?
At this point we move from old money to “new money”.
Fredrick Vanderbilt’s Hyde Park home is one of just 40 properties owned by the Vanderbilt family. Later in this trip, we’ll be visiting another Vanderbilt property, The Biltmore in Asheville, NC which happens to be the largest home in America.
While the Roosevelts were old money and didn’t feel the need to be showy, the Vanderbilts felt the need to prove their value by impressing anyone and everyone.
Even the rug over the mantel was an original Medici crest, because nothing screams desperate need to impress with your wealth like buying old European royalty antiques.
This property felt like walking through a mini version of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, NV.
They were so into showing off every bit of opulence that Louise Vanderbilt had a birthing rail added to her bedroom even though she never would have needed or used it. She added it simply because it was something French royalty would have had.
We just happened to run into this touring group of Huppmobiles. Never heard of them, I’m not surprised. None of us had either. But apparently, these cars were for the upper-middle class of the day costing more than the Ford equivalents.
Continuing on our history tour, don’t worry, we’ll end with some non-history fun. We stopped in to browse around the oldest inn in America! Beekman Arms has operated continuously since before the Revolutionary War! And it honestly looks like it was taken right off a film set for a period epic movie.
OK, OK, some non-history…
Jeff took some time to golf the third oldest golf course in America, Dinsmore.
It was originally built for the wealthy families of the area and may have been played by the likes of John Jacob Aster, who died on the Titanic.
Stay tuned for next the next post for even more Titanic and oldest, longest, and most continuouses…
We took a very cool but swelteringly hot and sweaty walk across the Hudson River via the Walkway over the Hudson.
The walkway was originally completed in 1889 as a railway bridge across the Hudson. However, it was shut down after a fire in 1974 destroyed sections of the decking.
Today the bridge is a pedestrian and bike path that crosses the Hudson.
And when we weren’t out visiting cool, or rather really sweaty sights, we were back at the campground enjoying some shared meals.
From here we travel back to Pennsylvania for a quick stop in Lancaster before moving on to Gettysburg!