Hudson River Valley: New Croton Dam

There were approximately one million places to visit in the Hudson River Valley and I wish we had time to see more (would have loved to visit Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate, but it didn't seem very kid-friendly). We finished up our weekend with a stop at New Croton Dam. I had read about it online and it turned out to be the perfect spot. Beautiful, scenic, and a great spot for the kids to play. We stopped at the top first and the views were stunning. I don't think I've ever visited such a gorgeous dam. We headed to the bottom of the dam and found more beautiful scenery, fall colors, a playground for the kids and lots of leaves to play in. My brother had just finished up his medical examiner rotation. Or was it forensic pathology? Whatever it was called, he entertained us with lots of gruesome stories over the weekend. Apparently Vermont has a bit of a wild side. The kids were sad to leave their cousins (and weren't too excited about the long drive home). We're already looking forward to next year's "meet in the middle" trip.

Thanks for a fun weekend Vermonters!

 

I loved the puddles of leaves under these trees.

Hudson River Valley: Sleepy Hollow

We explored the town of Sleepy Hollow in the morning. We started at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and Old Dutch Church. It was a beautiful cemetery and the light drizzle added to the moodiness. We paid a visit to Washington Irving's grave of course. (The cemetery is also the burial place for Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, William Rockefeller, and Elizabeth Arden.)

Sleepy Hollow reminded me and Ben of our visit to Prince Edward Island and the Anne of Green Gables sites. We walked through the forest that Anne Shirley walked with her kindred spirit Diana Barry. And then we would have to remind ourselves that Anne and Diana didn't actually exist. They didn't actually walk there and live there. And Ichabod Crane didn't actually seek refuge from the headless horseman in this cemetery. Because Ichabod Crane was a fictional character. Right?

But it was fun to see where Irving drew his inspiration for the story.

Headless Horseman Bridge. Not the original of course. Because it no longer exists. And because the headless horseman wasn't real. Or was he?

We stopped by Philipsburg Manor which was a farming, milling, and trading center in the 18th century.