Tonight, Monday, I sit in the great room of the Vassar College Alumnae House in Poughkeepsie, NY. It is a large, stately, Tudor style inn, now a B&B open to the public, and sits on a wooded hill on the corner of campus. Entire hardwood forests were cleared to build and outfit this place. A grand piano, usually the centerpiece of any room, sits in the corner, insultingly dwarfed by the corbels and beams on the 18' ceiling. The front doors are 200-lb slabs of oak, with wrought iron handles and grills. Sadly, no knockers.
My room, a "cubicle room", is one of the many spartan 6 x 10 single bed units, with small desk and dormer window. It borders on claustrophobic. There are two public toilet rooms and bath rooms on the floor, lavishly fitted with the same Kohler square sinks I had in my house. For $140, I could have gotten an en suite unit, but for $68, this is still worlds better from a $100 Holiday Inn Express room on busy Rt 9. Sadly for this place, there are no other dorm guests and I have the floor to myself.
Dinner was at the Beech Tree Grill, conveniently across the street and the only place with decent sit-down dining within walking distance. I had pumpkin & red pepper soup, and loin of rabbit with beet slaw and pumpkin coulis. The presentation was impressive and I took a picture, but my crappy camera made it look like those bad Japanese picture menus. Maybe a new camera tomorrow.
I started this trip yesterday (Sun 10/25), taking 3 hours to extricate myself from the Stoney's, who were generous beyond words in housing me for the final 2 weeks of the house sale that needed exceeding amounts of handholding. All the necessary posessions for living on the road crammed into the car, I met them in Meriden, CT where Sam (father) & Elliott (son) were competing in a NETRA trials event. 8 year old Elliott aced his division but it was all over by the time I got there at 3pm.
The phone rings, and Vacek, just outside Hartford CT, would be delighted to feed and house me for the night. I arrive at his project, a 1773 colonial style house he's restoring, hold some tools, drink some beer, and at dusk we head to his real home for hearty meal of pasta, sausage and wine.
I sleep well, and in the morning, armed with not much plan at all, head towards Rt 44, aiming for Dutchess County, NY. I've always been drawn to the area and it was time for exploring. Halfway there I decide to hit Hyde Park, home of a few museums and national parks. The blasted GPS won't route me to a town; it needs a full address, and I choose 400 Albany Post Rd. It's likely to be a main road and I can decide when I get there.
Rt 4 out of Hartford goes through some heartwrenchingly beautiful country, and I peel off 4 to follow a "Covered Bridge" sign. I arrive in quaint West Cornwall CT, where indeed a covered bridge crosses the Housatonic River.
I follow Rt 7 south through Housatonic Meadows State Park, a road, like so many others around here, made for motorcycling. I urge everyone to ditch your responsibilities and get here during this most spectacular of seasons.
I join Rt 44 near Amenia, NY and drive past a stone castle.
I am routed off 44 and through many residential roads, and when I finally emerge from the forest I'm at a red light, quite hungry, and with the Culinary Institute of America in front of me. Maybe this GPS isn't so bad...
The guard informs me that yes, I can get lunch there. I queue up at the very busy Apple Pie cafe, where they won't take your dining-in order until there's seating for you. I change my seating preference to sitting-under-arbor-staring-at-the-Hudson and in 10 minutes I have my "Lo mein, edammame, scallions, snow pea, red pepper, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, and cilantro dressed in peanut oil vinaigrette. Served with a lime wedge." On the way out the line has grown to about 40 people, now running about 2 hours' wait.
After lunch I drive north a few miles to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt house. A nice presidential estate with library and escape house. FDR is ranked #3 of all presidents. You can read all about it here:
I also caught the last tour of the Vanderbilt Mansion. One of 41 or so, it is the coziest, built for two adults with no children. My jaw is still somewhere on the floor of the mansion. It is mind boggling how much money one could amass in the days before anti-trust laws and income taxes.
