For the 4th of July, we decided to stick to activities in the Hudson River Valley. We started the day at West Point. We could not get visitor passes because of the holiday, but the nice guard let us drive around (and stop for pictures) if we promised not to abandon our car and try to hike around the campus without clearance. We showed the kids trophy point (where the patriots sank a chain in the river to try to keep Great Britain from getting up the Hudson), the beautiful old buildings and the stadium:
From here, we continued on to Cold Spring where we met Aunt Barbara and Uncle Nick for lunch:
From here, we made our way to Hyde Park to see Franklin Roosevelt's home and library:
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| Mosaic in the visitor's center |
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| Original carriage entrance |
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| Benji hanging with Eleanor and Franklin |
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| They are buried in the rose garden, per FDR's instructions |
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| The house was immediately donated to the National Park Service at his death, so everything is preserved as it was in 1945 |
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| Most of FDR's bird collection is in the Museum of Natural History, but he kept a few of his favorites |
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| Phone to the White House next to his bed |
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| Doe and fawn frolicking in the field outside |
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| View from the house |
We told the kids we would just take a quick peek at the library, but ended up spending more than 2 hours there. The exhibits were wonderful:
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| listening to fireside chats |
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| Planning WWII |
We ended the night back in Rockland, lighting sparklers with our Paquette cousins:
