We got an early start this morning to drive to Schenectady, NY to meet with John Denver fan and fellow traveler Gail. She drove us on a brief tour of the town which was quite interesting, before we had lunch at
Chez Nous, a favorite restaurant of hers. We enjoyed our meal, catching up on past years, and talking about both her and our future travels.
After lunch we headed to the
Vanderbilt mansion. This is one of the few mansions built during the Gilded Age that remains. It is 5,000 square feet with 54 rooms, all for 2 people (Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt), with 60 servants. This was their spring and fall home, when the climate was best here. They had other homes in New York City (winter) and Bar Harbor Maine (summer). The picture on the right shows some of the opulence of this house.
We are now in Poughkeepsie for 3 nights. Tomorrow we are visiting the private home of
Franklin D. Roosevelt in the morning and
Val-Kill, a private house of Eleanor Roosevelt.
