: Springwood Visit :
I had another interview today with a relatively big firm that represents Dunkin Donuts, among other clients. I only got to meet with the HR lady because the general manager was out sick. I suppose if I had called to confirm the appointment (which was arranged through a recruiter) then maybe I could have postponed the trip until the GM got back. But on the bright side, I found a really cheap parking garage in the area that I'll use from now on. It's only $16 for four hours, which I'm sure sounds expensive to you people in the Midwest, but trust me - for a minivan in New York, that is at least $10 to $15 less than what I've been paying at most garages for less time.
Sunday was one of those nearly perfect days that turned out beautifully in a combination of planning and luck. First we went into the city, and I had lunch with one of my favorite vegetarians at a restaurant at South Street Seaport. We sat out on the second story deck overlooking the East River, and watched the boats and water taxis go back and forth under the Brooklyn Bridge.
After lunch we drove up to Hyde Park just north of Poughkeepsie to visit Springwood, Franklin D. Roosevelt's home. It was a beautiful spring-like day, unlike the day we went to see Lyndhurst Castle, so the weather was about as perfect as it could be this late in the year, I'm told. We started in the gift shop, where my favorite item was a metal replica of a dime, but about four inches in diameter. It kind of reminded me of the giant penny in the Bat Cave, although on a much smaller scale.
We walked out on the grounds, stopping first at the rose garden where the president and his wife Eleanor are laid to rest. All the flowers were bursting into bloom and so fragrant.
Then we walked over to the residence, but we didn't have time that day to tour the house, so we went behind the house and gazed down into the field and wood behind the house, leading all the way to the eastern bank of the Hudson River.
We took a long walk through the woods, stopping to look at waterfalls, ponds and marshes before we finally reached railroad tracks. We went around the token fence that marked the end of the trail, crossed the tracks and came out on a rocky, secluded beach along the Hudson. We spent a good amount of time there, listening to the waves along the shore and the wind in the trees. Luckily, there were no trains running to disturb us. In the distance, we could see the Mid-Hudson Bridge that we had used to cross over from New Jersey to New York.
On the way back, we saw a lot of wildlife in the cool of the evening. We came across a rather large snake in a running stream that startled us, although it didn't appear to be poisonous. I saw a deer spring from hiding not 15 feet in front of me and bound up a hill before stopping to look back at me. We saw another deer and a turkey in the distance on the hill behind FDR's house. But the best show was after we had reached the car and we spotted a deer at the opposite end of the parking lot, grazing. We sat in the car watching her, and she slowly made her way toward us, walking slowly by about 20 feet away. When we finally began moving, we drove right up next to her on the way out and said goodbye.
We stopped at a city park to take some pictures of the Mid-Hudson Bridge before crossing it and then went to a very shiny chrome-plated diner for dinner, which was very good and reasonably priced. As we were leaving, since it was getting dark, we decided to visit Rockefeller Point in the Palisades to see the full moon, something we've talked of doing for many months. As it turned out, it was a perfect night for it - clear and cool with low humidity, and the moon lit up half the sky with its soft, preternatural light, casting shadows of trees on the ground. I can't take credit for this shot, but I wish I could:
So it was a very full day, quite exhausting, but only because we saw so many beautiful things that it was almost overwhelming. It's a day I'll remember, and hold in my heart, for a long, long time.
Sunday was one of those nearly perfect days that turned out beautifully in a combination of planning and luck. First we went into the city, and I had lunch with one of my favorite vegetarians at a restaurant at South Street Seaport. We sat out on the second story deck overlooking the East River, and watched the boats and water taxis go back and forth under the Brooklyn Bridge.
After lunch we drove up to Hyde Park just north of Poughkeepsie to visit Springwood, Franklin D. Roosevelt's home. It was a beautiful spring-like day, unlike the day we went to see Lyndhurst Castle, so the weather was about as perfect as it could be this late in the year, I'm told. We started in the gift shop, where my favorite item was a metal replica of a dime, but about four inches in diameter. It kind of reminded me of the giant penny in the Bat Cave, although on a much smaller scale.
We walked out on the grounds, stopping first at the rose garden where the president and his wife Eleanor are laid to rest. All the flowers were bursting into bloom and so fragrant.
Then we walked over to the residence, but we didn't have time that day to tour the house, so we went behind the house and gazed down into the field and wood behind the house, leading all the way to the eastern bank of the Hudson River.
We took a long walk through the woods, stopping to look at waterfalls, ponds and marshes before we finally reached railroad tracks. We went around the token fence that marked the end of the trail, crossed the tracks and came out on a rocky, secluded beach along the Hudson. We spent a good amount of time there, listening to the waves along the shore and the wind in the trees. Luckily, there were no trains running to disturb us. In the distance, we could see the Mid-Hudson Bridge that we had used to cross over from New Jersey to New York.
On the way back, we saw a lot of wildlife in the cool of the evening. We came across a rather large snake in a running stream that startled us, although it didn't appear to be poisonous. I saw a deer spring from hiding not 15 feet in front of me and bound up a hill before stopping to look back at me. We saw another deer and a turkey in the distance on the hill behind FDR's house. But the best show was after we had reached the car and we spotted a deer at the opposite end of the parking lot, grazing. We sat in the car watching her, and she slowly made her way toward us, walking slowly by about 20 feet away. When we finally began moving, we drove right up next to her on the way out and said goodbye.
We stopped at a city park to take some pictures of the Mid-Hudson Bridge before crossing it and then went to a very shiny chrome-plated diner for dinner, which was very good and reasonably priced. As we were leaving, since it was getting dark, we decided to visit Rockefeller Point in the Palisades to see the full moon, something we've talked of doing for many months. As it turned out, it was a perfect night for it - clear and cool with low humidity, and the moon lit up half the sky with its soft, preternatural light, casting shadows of trees on the ground. I can't take credit for this shot, but I wish I could:
So it was a very full day, quite exhausting, but only because we saw so many beautiful things that it was almost overwhelming. It's a day I'll remember, and hold in my heart, for a long, long time.
