Thanksgiving Roadtrip

This past weekend Mom and I took off on a mini roadtrip. As you all know I am obsessed with the National Parks and there's a great app on my Facebook page that was created to promote Ken Burns' series on the National Parks. For some reason it's not transferring my data when I posted it on my blog but I have been to about 70 out of the 392 units. 5 of which were added this past weekend.

Our first stop was Fort Stanwix in Rome, NY. It was odd because it was right in the middle of the city. The Fort had been rebuilt so it was a bit lacking in authenticity but it was still really cool to see every aspect of Fort living. Apparently soldiers there were miserable due to boredom and many tried to desert. Alas, they were caught and executed to show that top brass would not stand for it.

Our next stop was in Saratoga. The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the Revolutionary war and Benedict Arnold fought and was wounded there. It was a beautiful spot but I didn't get the same feeling that I did at other significant battlefields (Gettysburg, Antietam). I think it was because the driving tour consisted of stopping at wayside exhibits with various cannons scattered about. There wasn't enough of an atmosphere to draw me in. Plus it was windy as hell.

We skirted around the edge of Albany and headed down to our hotel. We had one more stop scheduled at the home of Martin Van Buren but by the time we made it there darkness had fallen and we were stumbling around the parking lot by light of our cell phones looking for the mansion. We got stopped by park rangers who kindly gave us some brochures and escorted us off the property. Oh well, at least I got the brochure to prove I was there.

Thanks to my amazing coworkers at the Hampton, we got a deal for the Hampton Inn Kingston. On the way back from dinner we stopped at a Goodwill figuring we were close to NYC so maybe the goods would be better. I tried on a nice Express coat and upon inspecting the pockets I discovered a condom! The closer you get to the city, the naughtier the goods I guess.

The next morning we went to the Vanderbilt mansion. Apparently the Vanderbilts have mansions scattered around the country, the biggest and most famous being the Biltmore (which I didn't go to because it is absurdly expensive). We didn't go inside but the grounds were beautiful. It sat right on the cliffs of the Hudson.

We continued on to FDR's home. He was born and died there. We actually got to see FDR's grave which was fascinating because I've never been to a presidents grave before. We walked the grounds again because it costs money to enter his home and library. Unfortunately, my National Parks pass expired so I didn't get my free admission like always.
We watched a nice film about the Roosevelt's that really showcased what amazing people they were and showed how much the country relied on them through it's toughest times. We went to go to Eleanor's house and again were stopped by Park Rangers! I had pulled over to try to find an overview map of how to get to the Stone cottage (because Jack was confused) when a ranger zipped over on her glorified golf cart (wearing a helmet!?) and proceeded to give us directions.

We made it to Eleanor's cottage and there was not a soul in sight. All the doors were locked so we just wandered around again. I had been taking pictures of me doing cartwheels in front of all the mansions when I decided to try to do a handstand against the chimney of the cottage. Mom tried to throw my legs up in the air but I kept falling over. We left before someone was onto us.

We made the long drive over towards Ithaca and saw a covered bridge. I used to think that it was just a fluke of Jess and mine's roadtrips that we never saw the same thing even though we were in the same car. Granted she can identify a flower at 60 mph but still. Since I didn't even see the covered bridge until Mom pointed it out, I realized that I apparently drive in a vortex and see nothing but the pavement in front of me. We drove through the Catskills which were really pretty especially because I hadn't been around mountains in a long time (not like they compare to the Rockies but the change in elevation was nice).

We stopped at Taugahonnack falls outside of Ithaca. They are the highest free flowing falls in the Northeast (taller than Niagara!). They were really pretty. There was a nice gentlemen that took out picture together and I was wearing a hat and he told me to take it off because it was shielding my eyes. I did and his wife was admonishing him for directing me. He reminded me exactly of the father in Big Fish. Even his voice. We made it home before nightfall Saturday night. Overall, it was a really fun trip and I'm glad I got to see that part of New York and add more badges to my NPS map.