We drove up the parkway on the far west side of the river all the way from New Jersey only to cross over to the east side at Tarrytown. Choosing that route allowed us to miss the worst of the heavy traffic. Once you get north of the city, the countryside spreads out into lots of small communities. The seven photos are of the country estates of the wealthy, including the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It’s often called Hyde Park because it’s near that town.
Sunnyside
We started at the historic Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving. It is the oldest of all the homes we saw and the most modest. The highway runs along the river with a great view most of the way. The river still carries a lot of commercial traffic. The highway sits high enough above the railroad so that it doesn’t block the view. The railroad allowed the magnates to quickly commute into the city. There are bus tours out from the city, but we preferred to tour by car since we drove all the way from North Carolina. The homes were open to tour for a modest fee. The Mills House is owned by the state and was in the poorest state of repair.
We toured at a leisurely pace and didn’t try to see more than one or two homes per day. We just missed having dinner at the Culinary Institute outside of Poughkeepsie. We also took a detour into Vermont to visit some friends who owned a country inn near Burlington.
After we crossed back over to the west side of the river, we took a brief tour of Albany. It was a big disappointment. The towered canyons of the office buildings surrounding the old state capitol building looked like they could have been built by Albert Speer.
Most of the restaurants were closed on Sunday night so we went to an old one patronized by politicians. I was properly snubbed by a sommelier who literally looked down his nose because I was so gauche as to order by the glass. My companions were diabetic so that was the only option.
FDR Home
Kykuit
Lyndhurst
Mills House
Olana
Vanderbilt
We didn’t have time enough to tour the Catskill Mountains, the home of the famous Borsch Circuit, nor West Point. I lived close to the Naval Academy for a couple of years, and I had toured the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, so I had a good idea of how they functioned.
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