Lives of Privilege

We ‘set sail’ for Poughkeepsie/Hyde Park, NY in a rain storm. The Hudson River Valley continues to get prettier  - the trees and water and slab rock shores looked just like the Hudson River school of painters depicted them. I kept hoping to see Daniel Day Lewis leaping over the rocks in his loin cloth as the Last of the Mohicans (this is where the Mohicans lived also).

Upon arriving in Poughkeepsie, we caught a cab to see the one of the Vanderbilt mansions. It was on a beautiful stretch of rolling hills of trees and grass overlooking the river. The furnishings were the original from the turn of the century, and a good example of the Beaux-Arts architectural style. The interior of the mansion is an archetype of the American Renaissance incorporating a range of European antiques and finely crafted period reproductions. At 50,000 ft.² it was the smallest of the mansions constructed by one of the eight grandchildren of Cornelius (Commodore) Vanderbilt. Our US Park Service tour guide was adept at his job and it was a very interesting tour.

We had lunch at a 50’s style diner, then popped across the road to Springwood, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s childhood home, birthplace, and ultimate resting place. It was a fabulous tour. John and I particularly loved the presidential library that detailed his life, his travails and challenges, and many achievements that made our country a better place.  As President during both the Great Depression and WW II, FDR was clearly one of the key figures of the 20th Century.

Then we had dinner at the lovely Harry Potteresque (not as ornate, but in similar style) campus of the American Culinary Institute.  They were completely booked but told us to call back around 4:00. As luck would have it, there was a cancellation just before we called allowing us to dine at American Bounty, one of the four restaurants where the CIA students get real world experience both back of house - cooking and front of house - serving.