Day 40 – New York’s Hudson River Valley Part 2

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Before I left for the Hudson River Valley, I reveled in the headline in the local paper over breakfast at Danny’s house in Long Island. Additionally, I made one more visit to the float that Danny’s daughter was creating with classmates for homecoming. It was very sophisticated for high school.  The wheel turned, the scarecrow’s arms moved just as if it was full of straw, and the float, loaded onto the trailer, was ready for the the parade. 

Hudson River Valley

Being Saturday, I thought getting off the Island would be easier than getting onto it on a Friday afternoon, but the traffic was horrific.  I think I shared the road with more cars in the last 12 hours than in the last 40 days of my trip.

Regardless, I soon entered the Hudson River Valley where I made two stops.  First I arrived in Tarrytown which is home to several estates, Philipsburg Manor (portrayed in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), Lyndhurst (“a baronial Gothic Revival home”), and Sunnyside (Washington Irving’s home).  In the spirit of Halloween, events were being held at several of the homes.  Philipsburg Manor operates as a haunted house at night…that would have been fun to attend!

Washington Irving’s Sunnyside

Here, I visited Washington Irving’s home.  Washington Irving was the first famous, American author who wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle.  The events of the day at Sunnyside included a magic show, a story-telling time, a spooky walk, scarecrow-making and more.  On the tour, I learned Irving purchased his home in 1835, and spent the next several years remodeling the small stone cottage. He added a variety of romantic architecture features to the building including a Spanish tower, an Italian Piazza, and Dutch-stepped gables.

Manitoga

After my visit to Sunnyside, I took the dogs to Manitoga, the home of Russel Wright.  In 1930’s through the 1950’s, Wright was one of the best known designers of home furnishings in America.  He sounds like someone my mom would know.  Wright purchased an 80 acre parcel of land in 1942 that had been damaged by logging and quarrying.  Over the next 30 years, Wright restored the land making the area full of trails that look completely natural.

The dogs and I enjoyed walk through the woods before we headed back to the Walmart in Hudson River Valley where we stayed a few days ago.

Map of My Road Trip Across the USA

For a summary about my road trip across the USA, click HERE. For the interactive map, see the below link.

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Day 39 – New York’s Hudson River Valley

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Check out the photographic note cards and key chains at my shop.  Each card has a travel story associated with it.  20% of proceeds are donated to charity.

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