Fall Member Trip Historic New York City and the Hudson River Valley September 24-29, 2018 Day 1: Monday, September 24 - Preview to the Hudson River Valley Enjoy the scenic views as you travel up the Hudson River Valley to your first stop Boscobel House and Gardens. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Boscobel is considered one of the leading historic house museums in the Unites States. The Neoclassical mansion holds an exceptional collection of New York furniture Boscobel House and Gardens from the Federal period. Fifty miles north of Manhattan, Boscobel directly overlooks the Hudson River and West Point. A local historian will guide you on a tour through the house discussing the early republic and the Hudson Valley s key role in the country s history. The Hilton Garden Inn Fishkill is your home for the next three nights, offering spacious and deluxe accommodations. Dinner tonight is nearby at the Towne Crier Cafe where live music meets farm fresh dining. Our welcome dinner will give you a chance to meet your fellow travelers! Meals included (D). View of the Hudson River Valley
Day 2: Tuesday, September 25 The Roosevelt s and Clermont Following breakfast, we will travel to Hyde Park to tour sites associated with our 32nd president Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt. Our first stop will be at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, built under the President s personal direction and the first of its kind in the United States. Next, we will visit the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site also known as Springwood. We Home of FDR National Historic Site will have a ranger-lead tour through the family estate that was the birthplace, lifelong home, and now burial site of FDR. Lunch will be on your own at the Everready Diner nearby. Start the afternoon by visiting Val-Kill, the home of Eleanor Roosevelt and the only National Historic Site dedicated to a first lady. This cottage became a place where Eleanor could pursue her own interests. The ranger-lead tour will not only discuss Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt with friends at Val-Kill Eleanor s life, but also her political influence that continued after the death of her husband. Our final stop for the day will be Clermont State Historic Site which was the Hudson River seat of New York s politically and socially prominent Livingston Family. Robert R. Livingston, Jr. was Clermont's most notable resident. His accomplishments include: drafting the Declaration of Independence, serving as first U.S. Minister of Foreign Affairs, administering the oath of office to George Washington, negotiating the Louisiana Purchase and developing steamboat technology with Robert Fulton. Dinner will be on your own in the quaint and historic village of Rhinebeck. Meals included (B). Clermont State Historic Site
Day 3: Wednesday, September 26 West Point and Washington s Headquarters Our day starts with The Long Gray Line tour at The US Military Academy at West Point. The first part of the tour will focus on the history and traditions of the academy including stops at West Point Cemetery and Old Cadet Chapel. You will learn about the story of West Point, its role in the Revolution, its famous history, along with stories about graduates who shaped our nation. Next, we will have a guided tour of the West Point Museum, the nation s oldest federal museum. Exhibits at the museum focus on significant artifacts pertaining to the United States Military Academy, United States Army and the Profession of Arms. Lunch will be on your own in the nearby city. In the afternoon, we will visit Washington's Headquarters State The US Military Academy at West Point Historic Site, the nation's first publicly owned historic site, and tour the rooms where American history was made. In the critical months that General George Washington spent here, he made some of his most important contributions to shaping the American republic. It was here that Washington rejected the idea of an American monarchy; ended the Newburgh Conspiracy, preventing potential military control of the government; created the Badge of Military Merit, forerunner of the Purple Heart; and circulated an influential letter to State Governors outlining the key principals he felt necessary for the new republic. Dinner will be at Poughkeepsie Ice House on the Hudson featuring breathtaking views of the river and delicious fare! Meals included (B,D). Washington s Headquarters State Historic Site
Day 4: Thursday, September 27 Kykuit and NYC Spend your last day in the Hudson River Valley at Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate along the river. This hilltop paradise was home to four generations of the Rockefeller family, beginning with the philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. Our grand tour of this historic landmark takes us throughout the six-story stone house with an exclusive visit to the second-floor balcony which offers splendid east-west views. Then we will move on through the expansive, terraced gardens containing Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller s exceptional collection of 20th century sculpture. The underground art galleries with Governor Rockefeller's collection of Picasso tapestries, and the cavernous Coach Barn, with its collections of classic automobiles and horse-drawn carriages, are also part of the experience. After lunch on your own at Kykuit, we will travel down the Hudson River Valley to New York City. The Millennium Broadway Hotel in Times Square will be our home base for the next two nights. After settling into the hotel, we will head to The Tenement Museum which tells the stories of immigrants who started their lives anew on Manhattan's Lower East Side between the 19th and 21st centuries through the recreated apartment and businesses of real families in two historic tenement buildings. The tenements housed over 15,000 working class immigrants from over 20 nations. A private dinner will be held by Recreated apartment in The Tenement Museum museum educators who will lead you through a tasting menu comprised of foods from the Lower East Side. Meals included (B,D).
Day 5: Friday, September 28 9/11 Memorial and Fraunces Tavern We will spend the morning at The National 9/11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center site. The special curator-lead tour will focus on the implications of the events of 9/11 and explore the continuing significance. The Museum s 110,000 square feet of exhibition space is located within the archaeological heart of the World Trade Center site. The memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon, as well as the The National 9/11 Memorial six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993. Next, we will visit Fraunces Tavern, the site of George Washington's farewell to his officers in 1783, in Manhattan's oldest surviving structure. Fraunces Tavern is New York's only museum dedicated to American Revolutionary War history and the place where much of it happened. After the War it housed the fledgling nation's first departments of War, Treasury and Foreign Affairs. The museum curator will lead the group through fascinating exhibits from Confidential: The American Revolution s Agents of Espionage to the recreated Long Room where General George Washington s famous farewell took place. The rest of the afternoon and evening are free for you to explore New York City. A list of suggested sites will be provided. Meals included (B). Fraunces Tavern and Museum Optional Theater Excursion: Broadway s Come From Away takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them on 9/11. $179 per ticket, orchestra seating NOT included in tour price. Tickets must be paid by July 2, 2018.
Day 6: Saturday, September 29 Ellis Island This morning enjoy a delicious breakfast, check out and store your luggage with the hotel before we travel to Ellis Island. The group will be escorted to Battery Park via the New York City Subway. From there we will catch the ferry to Ellis Island. Our first stop will be The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration which tells the moving tales of the 12 million immigrants who entered America through the golden door of Ellis Island. Today, the descendants of those immigrants account for almost half of the American people. Then we will have a special Hard Hat Tour of the Hospital Complex on Ellis Island which includes the Laundry Building, with much of its original equipment still in The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration place, where more than 3,000 pieces of laundry were washed and sanitized daily, infectious and contagious disease wards, kitchen, staff housing, autopsy room and more. Once the tour concludes, you are free to continue to visit Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, or enjoy other attractions in New York City. Each member will receive a MetroCard good for four one-way rides on the New York Subway or buses which can be used for continued exploration. Please return to The Millennium Broadway Hotel in Times Square by no later than 4:30 PM for The Statue of Liberty with Ellis Island in the background transport to the airport.