The Hudson Valley with friends - nicest campground ever!

Roger, Poquita and Bandido on guard at the campsite

Roger here...  Dianne and I have been looking forward to these four days for quite some time.  When our friends, Jay and Nancy, discovered that we would be spending time in the Hudson Valley, they asked if they could join us.  We ended up extending our time there for four nights.  

Our Campground.....

Our site at the Rip Van Winkle Campground near Saugerties, NY was one of the best we have ever had.  We could hear the waterfall in the picture below every night as we fell asleep.

Our tiny Airstream looked pretty darn cool, nestled in the forest.

The sitting area was gigantic in our full-hook-up pull-through site (Site #2).  The back of the site drifted into the forest.  Our neighbors were not even close.

These pics are all from our campsite, but there was much more to the campground --- a river with a swimming beach, an outdoor theatre, hayrides, hiking trails, dog park, swimming pool, several really innovative playgrounds, and more.

The dog park even has this clever water station so dogs can feel right at home drinking out of a toilet!

Rip Van Winkle is truly a first class resort in the Catskill Mountains.

Dianne's Teensy-Weensy Trailer Tip:

We have one small medicine cabinet in the bathroom, which is entirely adequate for a short camping trip.   For a four-month journey, however, adjustments had to be made.  We buy things like Tylenol at Costco, which come in huge bottles, so they were repackaged into smaller ones.   I also found these stacking pill boxes at Walgreen's and made small labels for each one.   The pictured one is mine.  Roger has one for his meds and there is a separate one for meds we both use.  They each hold about a week's worth, depending upon the size of the pill/vitamin.   The larger bottles are kept in a separate tub that stacks under our toiletry tubs in the shower.  

Tiny medicine containers

Auxiliary Tub

Friend Time in Saugerties...

After we set up camp, we drove three miles into the Hudson River town of Saugerties.  Jay and Nancy were staying in a bed and breakfast.  We enjoyed some wine in the garden while catching up with each other's lives.

Jay, Nancy, Roger

Jay, Dianne, Roger

A short walk through town led us to Black-Eyed Suzy's where we had a tasty dinner.



A lovely lady..

Hudson Valley Mansions...

The Hudson Valley was a playground for the wealthy people of New York City back in the day. On our second day in Saugerties we visited two mansions.  

Springwood was the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and for a time, his wife Eleanor.  The home was actually owned by Franklin's mother, Sarah.

FDR had aspirations for the presidency long before he was elected.  The exterior of Springwood was designed to look like The White House.

The home is part of the National Park Service.  We had a very enthusiastic young lady as our guide.  She was excellent.

The photo below is of FDR's library.  He frequently met with world leaders in this space.

This small space was built to move luggage to the second floor bedrooms.  It served another purpose for Frankin.  His disabling polio prevented him from taking the stairs to the second floor, but FDR had great upper body strength.  In this small "elevator" he used the rope to pull himself and his wheelchair up to his bedroom.  Impressive.

FDR's mother, Sarah, loved roses.  So did Franklin.  He wanted to be buried in his mother's rose garden, and so he was.  This is the grave of Frankin, Eleanor, and their two dogs.

Later in his marriage to Eleanor, she moved into a small house two miles north of Springwood.  Valkill was a small furniture factory for out-of-work men during the depression.  Eleanor converted it into a small home for herself.  Interestingly, Eleanor remained dedicated to Franklin during their separation.  She was always one of his best advisors.  

I enjoyed spending time with Eleanor and Franklin in their homes.

The Culinary Institute of America is known as the best center for training chefs in the country.  It is huge, very much a specialized university.  The chefs-in-training prepare gourmet meals for diners as part of their experience.

Nancy had hoped to eat lunch at the culinary institute, but was told that reservations were required weeks in advance.  We decided to try anyway.  As it turns out, the "tavern" does not require reservations.  We were seated without a wait.  The chicken sandwich that I devoured was delicious.

The Staatsburg Mansion was our last visit of the day.  We were able to catch the last tour.  

The mansion has seen better days; however, the grandeur of the structure made us all feel as if we were guests at Downton Abby.

Jay and Nancy hurried to the entrance to be sure that we could catch the tour.  The Hudson River is in the background.

Opulent does not begin to describe this setting.  The Mills family maintained several homes and only visited Staatsburg for a few weeks in the autumn.

Portraits of Lady Mills seemed to grace every public room in the mansion.  Very regal, if not a little much.  

Dianne was very interested in the lives of the servants.  The call box in this photo is indeed reminiscent 
of Downton Abby.

Food was a center of the Mill's lives.  These ice boxes in the pantry were not the only ones in the house.

The next post is very special to us.  We will be traveling by train to NYC to see an off-Broadway play --- not just any off-Broadway play, but one created and written by our daughter, Robyn.

Pet Pictures of the Day.

Dianne liked this statue outside Staatsburg, probably due to the loyal dog. 

Bandido and Poquita spent two nights at their own little mansion.  They had a deluxe suite at nearby Dogwood where they were treated extremely well.

Bandido at playtime

VIP Suite with bed and TV and daily photos to email

Poquita always finds a lap to sit on!