Benjamin and Tiffany took a fall trip to the Hudson River Valley region of New York to see some fall colors. In Poughkeepsie, they hiked across the Walkway Over the Hudson, which is an old railroad viaduct across the Hudson River. The bridge is over 200 feet above the river, over a mile long, and is the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world. The trail across the walkway is also part of the Empire State Trail, and the Hudson Valley Rail Trail.
In Hyde Park, they visited the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site where they were able to tour Springwood, Roosevelt's life-long home. At the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, they were able to see FDR’s Oval Office desk, model ship collection, 1936 Ford, and many other artifacts, as well as the gravesite of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. The nearby Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site provided a peaceful walk around the grounds and Val-Kill cottage. Finally, they visited the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site to see the impressive mansion, picturesque grounds, and formal gardens.
In Katskill, they visited Thomas Cole National Historic Site (the home and studios of an American artist and founder of the Hudson River School of landscape painting), then walked the Hudson River Skywalk Trail onto the Rip Van Winkle Bridge across the Hudson River. Driving north through Albany, they then stopped briefly at the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in Troy before having a great dinner at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que on the banks of the Hudson River.
The final day, they visited Kinderhook to see the gravesite of President Martin Van Buren, the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse (the schoolteacher who taught at this one room school was the basis of the Ichabod Crane character in author Washington Irving’s story Sleepy Hollow), and the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, where they received a private tour of Van Buren’s Lindenwald home.
We spent a long weekend in New York City where we rode to the observation deck on the top of the Empire State Building, attended a Broadway performance of The Iceman Cometh starring Denzel Washington, viewed the impressive collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and toured the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
We also visited several National Park sites around the city, including Hamilton Grange National Memorial, African Burial Ground National Monument, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site, Castle Clinton National Monument, General Grant National Memorial, Stonewall National Monument, and Federal Hall National Memorial.
One evening we enjoyed rooftop drinks and views with Benjamin's cousin at Top of the Strand. We also visited several tourist sites throughout the city, including Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central Terminal, Battery Park, Wall Street, and Central Park. After attending mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, we observed the National Puerto Rican Day Parade. Before leaving the city, we had to enjoy some of the iconic New York foods, such as pizza, hot dogs, and some authentic New York cheesecake.
We spent several days driving across New York. Starting in Buffalo, we toured the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site and saw the grave of President Millard Fillmore. We then drove north across Grand Island to Niagara Falls where we hiked through Niagara Falls State Park, took the Maid of the Mist boat tour, and saw all three of the falls: American, Bridal Veil, and Horseshoe.
Heading to the eastern side of the state, we stopped in Port Byron to tour the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park and stopped in Rome to tour Fort Stanwix National Monument. After reaching Albany in the east, we visited Empire State Plaza and the New York State Capitol.
After spending a night in Saratoga Springs at the Saratoga Racetrack (where we observed Harness Racing) we then took the drive through Saratoga National Historical Park and headed north along the Hudson River.