Post by redfoxfan on Jul 10, 2023 10:35:30 GMT -5
For your future planning:
SPECIAL DAVIDSON, STETSON, SAN DIEGO, DRAKE AND BUCKNELL EDITION
Millions of tourists come to the Hudson Valley every year to enjoy the natural and historical beauty that has been preserved for our guests. The Valley has had human inhabitants for several thousands of years and a rich heritage exists. Among other attractions, people come to view the majestic fall colors on the mountainsides. Why not take a few days before and/or after the game to enjoy what the Hudson River Valley has to offer. The Hudson River Valley is a bona fide fjord. By the way, the word Poughkeepsie is an English spelling of an Iroquois word that roughly translates as “…future site of a really terrific college” Actually it translates as “little reed hut by the side of the water.”
Time magazine has named the Hudson River Valley one of top 100 greatest places in the world (no kidding!): time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places-2021/
ALSO, USA Today has picked Marist College as one of the top 10 small college tailgate venues:
www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/10greatplaces/2015/10/30/tailgate-parties/74805726/
AND Architectural Digest has named Hudson Valley towns of Rhinebeck and Cold Spring to their 50 most beautiful small towns in America: hvmag.com/life-style/hudson-valley-most-beautiful-america-towns/?utm_content=249245009&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-32214378544
Some Basic Information
First and Foremost: know that there is a difference between the Town of Poughkeepsie (where Marist is located) and the City of Poughkeepsie (where you do not want to go).
Marist Drone Aerial Campus Tour: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mD9UHJNGNg
Meet Marist video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFKLScpZJe4
Directions: www.marist.edu/about/location/get-to-marist
Campus Map: www.marist.edu/about/map Note: stadium is at South Gate to campus
Area Accommodations: www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g48443-Poughkeepsie_New_York-Hotels.html
I strongly recommend booking a hotel on South Road (US Route 9) – all are either in the Town of Poughkeepsie or in a suburb to the North. Do not book a hotel in the City of Poughkeepsie. OF COURSE if you want to do it up REALLY big, about 45 minutes West of campus on an alpine lake is the Mohonk Mountain House, rated one of the best spa hotels in North America www.mohonk.com/?nck=gbetri&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlP6HmNyc8QIVAoKGCh3_tgb8EAAYASAAEgIR5vD_BwE -- Many, many notables from history have stayed at this hotel since Victorian times….I’m trying to imagine Lurking Dog with a mudpack getting a mani and pedi…. .(-:
Eats close to the stadium: Directly across the street from the Main Gate is a strip mall with Applebee’s, McDonald’s, Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill, Giaccomo’s Pizza, and a Chestnut Market in the Mobil station and directly contiguous to the North is a new mall under construction called Hudson Heritage which, so far, has a Starbucks, Burger King, Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Smoothie King, and just opening is ‘Cue and Brew Barbecue. This mall also has a large Shop Rite supermarket for all your tailgating needs (although the stadium has a nice snack bar – try the sausage & pepper sandwiches). Around the corner from campus is the Palace Diner (open 24/7): thepalacediner.com/ and for good Italian food try Cosimo’s: www.cosimospoughkeepsie.com/ OF COURSE if you want to do it up REALLY big, the campus of the Culinary Institute of America is almost contiguous to the Marist campus to the North – highest concentration of Master Chefs and Master Bakers in North America. You can tour the kitchens & teaching areas, and even eat in one of their restaurants (the food is fabulous, but pricey) www.ciachef.edu/newyork/
International Gourmet Chef (and CIA grad) Anthony Bourdain did a complete show on dining in the Hudson Valley (many thanks to Lurking Dog for this tip).
Things to See and Do Near Marist: Almost contiguous to the Marist campus to the South is the Walkway over the Hudson – the longest elevated pedestrian walkway in the world. It is an old 19th century railroad bridge made from steel manufactured by Andrew Carnegie – the views of the Hudson River Valley from up there are spectacular (it’s free—how can you beat free?).
www.walkway.org/
10 minutes North of Marist on Route 9 is the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt National Park: www.nps.gov/hofr/index.htm
Open for touring are the FDR Presidential Library and Museum (Marist is the digital archivist, the Presidential Library was America's first Presidential Library and the only one from which a sitting President governed the country -- it was the White House North when FDR was in Hyde Park), Franklin’s mansion Springwood (Franklin and Eleanor are buried in the Rose Garden at Springwood), Eleanor’s house Valkill: www.nps.gov/elro/index.htm and top cottage (where Franklin took his lovers and where FDR famously threw a hot dog barbecue for the King and Queen of England and Winston Churchill while they were staying at Springwood). The film “Hyde Park on Hudson” shows this side of FDR – very good film. One of FDR’s love interests was a cousin named Daisy Suckley – her house (Wilderstein) is 20 miles North of Marist and can be toured through: wilderstein.org/ . The house is in Rhinebeck (where the Astors used to have their mansions) –this town is so quaint it will make your teeth hurt – tons of antique shops and very good restaurants (see note above about it being one of the most beautiful small towns in the country). Many entertainment personalities live in the area (Katie Couric, Paul Rudd, Carol Burnett, James Earl Jones, Aidan Quinn, Mandy Patinkin, and Uma Thurman to name a few – I bumped into Liam Neeson and his then wife Natasha Richardson at the Rhinebeck saddle shop, I saw Regis Philbin at one particular restaurant in Rhinebeck more than once, and Martha Stewart has a house about 5 minutes from mine (it is supposed to be a secret but her grass cutting guy is also my grass cutting guy) additionally Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) has a place not far away as well. I have seen David Straithairn at the grocery store more than once and recently saw Chris Hayes at a local farm stand. In the Rhinebeck village center is Samuel’s Sweet Shop (an old fashioned candy store owned by Paul Rudd, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Hillarie Burton):
samuelssweetshop.com/about/
Also in Rhinebeck (open into the early fall) is the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome – a living history museum of the early days of flight – Saturdays and Sundays are air shows (Sunday a WWI dog fight) with the old aircraft – you can even book a flight out over the Hudson in an open-cockpit 1920’s mail plane: www.oldrhinebeck.org/
If you do go to Rhinebeck, there is wonderful Italian food to be had at Gigi Trattoria (owned by actor Stanley Tucci's family):
www.gigihudsonvalley.com/
Another really cool place to eat (and stay) in Rhinebeck is the Beekman Arms (an Inn that has been continuously operating since 1766): www.beekmandelamaterinn.com/
Guests who have stayed at the Inn range from George Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, Aaron Burr, William Jennings Bryant, Nelson Rockefeller, Neil Armstrong, and a list of famous athletes, show business people, and writers too long to include here. See: www.beekmandelamaterinn.com/about/famous-guests
Bill and Hilary Clinton have been known to lunch here on occasion (they live about an hour South of the Marist campus in Chappaqua, NY).
Headless Horseman Theme Park: Rated one of the top 10 “scare parks” in the U.S. the Headless Horseman is on the West bank of the Hudson about 20 minutes North of the campus. They hire actors and make-up artists out of New York City to come up and scare the bejeezes out of their customers. Only open during the Halloween season, with numerous haunted houses, haunted hay rides, haunted corn maze, haunted food court, etc. Just the ticket for a “haunted” good time: www.headlesshorseman.com/
Of course the actual “Headless Horseman” legend originated in Sleepy Hollow about 40 minutes South of campus. A visit to Sleepy Hollow is fun and can include Washington Irving’s house and the John D. Rockefeller mansion: www.hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/kykuit
Hudson Valley Big Houses: The Hudson River Valley is lined with mansions of the old blue blood families and the Nouveau Riche of the Gilded Age. About 10 minutes beyond the FDR estate (on Route 9) is the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, a 54 room seasonal cottage with formal gardens for the Vanderbilts to “get away from things”: www.nps.gov/vama/index.htm About 10 minutes beyond the Vanderbilt estate is one of my favorites, the Ogden Mills Mansion (75 rooms): millsfriends.org/ This is the house that Edith Wharton is reputed to have modeled her House of Mirth after. Other close by interesting ones are Olana, the home and studio of Hudson Valley School painter Frederick Church (it sits on top of a mountain overlooking the Hudson River): www.olana.org/ and Locust Grove, the home of American painter and inventor Samuel F.B. Morse (called in his time “America’s Da Vinci”): www.lgny.org/ There are many other mansions to visit in the Hudson Valley:
www.hudsonriver.com/hudson-river-estates Marist was recently given one of these and is currently using it as a leadership institute and executive training center: www.marist.edu/about/rich-institute
West Point: about 45 minutes South of the Marist campus is the U.S.M.A. at West Point. You could spend more than a day here alone: visitor center, military museum, trophy point, parade grounds, cadet chapel, Michie Stadium, Revolutionary War Fort Putnam, the cemetery (Custer among others buried here): www.usma.edu/visiting/SitePages/Home.aspx
The Age of Aquarius: About 45 minutes North of the campus is the town of Woodstock, NY (namesake of the famous 1969 music festival). The town retains much of the ‘60’s counter-culture flavor and can be fun to visit. In the 1960’s many performers lived and worked in and around this community including Bob Dylan, The Band, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, among others. The actual 1969 concert was held about 45 minutes from Woodstock village on Max Yasgur’s farm. That site is now preserved as a new concert venue and has a museum of the 1960’s (well worth a visit): www.bethelwoodscenter.org/museum
Just across the Hudson River from the Marist campus is what I call the “poor man’s Woodstock”: New Paltz, NY: www.newpaltzchamber.org/attractions.html
This village is filled with retro shops, good restaurants and pubs. If you want to stock up on your tie dye wardrobe visit The Groovy Blueberry down near the Wallkill River: www.facebook.com/thegroovyblueberry/photos/?paipv=0&eav=AfYJH8s1XArCYtYQP1g1VjZOtgKW__L2bM8hfemIDZAf-ZpfEhbKA1IldFfHOlkDp4c&_rdr For the historically minded, visit Huguenot Street (an area of buildings from the 1600’s built by the area’s earliest European settlers): www.huguenotstreet.org/
Wine Anyone? For the Oenophiles among us, New York state wines are highly regarded. Spend a day on the Shawangunk Wine Trail (the Shawangunk Mountains are visible to the west of Marist). The Brotherhood Winery is America's oldest winery (operating since 1839). Check out their website for their interesting history. I particularly like the Brotherhood Riesling. The wineries have tasting days on the weekends: www.shawangunkwinetrail.com/
New York City: How do you describe the greatest city in the world in a few words? The Poughkeepsie Metro North train station is a 5 minute cab ride from campus and you can be at Grand Central Terminal on 42nd Street in 1 hour and 40 minutes: www.grandcentralterminal.com/ The tracks run along the east bank of the Hudson River and the views are very beautiful all the way down. I often go in for a Broadway show or the opera or ballet and return the same evening. Here are some highlights:
Broadway: www.broadway.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwwb6lBhBJEiwAbuVUStLA6VAZRfc-lJP3srd23lljU95bTM3UEHCUNlqhiqnW0AthTjfenBoCFeIQAvD_BwE Metropolitan Museum of Art: www.metmuseum.org/
(also the Museum of Modern Art, and the Frick Art Museum -- Frick was Andrew Carnegie’s partner and one of the wealthiest men in the U.S.), American Museum of Natural History: www.amnh.org/ ( a massively cool dinosaur collection). Hayden Planetarium: www.amnh.org/our-research/hayden-planetarium Lincoln Center: www.lincolncenter.org/home (also Carnegie Hall, City Center, etc.) and the crossroads of the world, Times Square: www.timessquarenyc.org/ -- ladies, don’t forget to get your picture taken with the naked cowboy: www.nakedcowboy.com/ A great thing to do with families is the Staten Island Ferry (its free! You can’t beat free) –it takes about 45 minutes to cross New York harbor (passing close to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island –also breath- taking views of the city skyline). You have to get off in Staten Island and line up for the boat back past Lady Liberty, etc. www.siferry.com/
Suggested One Day Itinerary: Breakfast at the Palace Diner, visit the FDR National Park, lunch at the Ever Ready Diner nearby the FDR property www.evereadydiner.com/ afternoon at the Vanderbilt estate, a brisk walk on the Walkway Over the Hudson (closes at sunset), dinner at Cosimo’s.
SPECIAL DAVIDSON, STETSON, SAN DIEGO, DRAKE AND BUCKNELL EDITION
Millions of tourists come to the Hudson Valley every year to enjoy the natural and historical beauty that has been preserved for our guests. The Valley has had human inhabitants for several thousands of years and a rich heritage exists. Among other attractions, people come to view the majestic fall colors on the mountainsides. Why not take a few days before and/or after the game to enjoy what the Hudson River Valley has to offer. The Hudson River Valley is a bona fide fjord. By the way, the word Poughkeepsie is an English spelling of an Iroquois word that roughly translates as “…future site of a really terrific college” Actually it translates as “little reed hut by the side of the water.”
Time magazine has named the Hudson River Valley one of top 100 greatest places in the world (no kidding!): time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places-2021/
ALSO, USA Today has picked Marist College as one of the top 10 small college tailgate venues:
www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/10greatplaces/2015/10/30/tailgate-parties/74805726/
AND Architectural Digest has named Hudson Valley towns of Rhinebeck and Cold Spring to their 50 most beautiful small towns in America: hvmag.com/life-style/hudson-valley-most-beautiful-america-towns/?utm_content=249245009&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-32214378544
Some Basic Information
First and Foremost: know that there is a difference between the Town of Poughkeepsie (where Marist is located) and the City of Poughkeepsie (where you do not want to go).
Marist Drone Aerial Campus Tour: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mD9UHJNGNg
Meet Marist video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFKLScpZJe4
Directions: www.marist.edu/about/location/get-to-marist
Campus Map: www.marist.edu/about/map Note: stadium is at South Gate to campus
Area Accommodations: www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g48443-Poughkeepsie_New_York-Hotels.html
I strongly recommend booking a hotel on South Road (US Route 9) – all are either in the Town of Poughkeepsie or in a suburb to the North. Do not book a hotel in the City of Poughkeepsie. OF COURSE if you want to do it up REALLY big, about 45 minutes West of campus on an alpine lake is the Mohonk Mountain House, rated one of the best spa hotels in North America www.mohonk.com/?nck=gbetri&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlP6HmNyc8QIVAoKGCh3_tgb8EAAYASAAEgIR5vD_BwE -- Many, many notables from history have stayed at this hotel since Victorian times….I’m trying to imagine Lurking Dog with a mudpack getting a mani and pedi…. .(-:
Eats close to the stadium: Directly across the street from the Main Gate is a strip mall with Applebee’s, McDonald’s, Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill, Giaccomo’s Pizza, and a Chestnut Market in the Mobil station and directly contiguous to the North is a new mall under construction called Hudson Heritage which, so far, has a Starbucks, Burger King, Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Smoothie King, and just opening is ‘Cue and Brew Barbecue. This mall also has a large Shop Rite supermarket for all your tailgating needs (although the stadium has a nice snack bar – try the sausage & pepper sandwiches). Around the corner from campus is the Palace Diner (open 24/7): thepalacediner.com/ and for good Italian food try Cosimo’s: www.cosimospoughkeepsie.com/ OF COURSE if you want to do it up REALLY big, the campus of the Culinary Institute of America is almost contiguous to the Marist campus to the North – highest concentration of Master Chefs and Master Bakers in North America. You can tour the kitchens & teaching areas, and even eat in one of their restaurants (the food is fabulous, but pricey) www.ciachef.edu/newyork/
International Gourmet Chef (and CIA grad) Anthony Bourdain did a complete show on dining in the Hudson Valley (many thanks to Lurking Dog for this tip).
Things to See and Do Near Marist: Almost contiguous to the Marist campus to the South is the Walkway over the Hudson – the longest elevated pedestrian walkway in the world. It is an old 19th century railroad bridge made from steel manufactured by Andrew Carnegie – the views of the Hudson River Valley from up there are spectacular (it’s free—how can you beat free?).
www.walkway.org/
10 minutes North of Marist on Route 9 is the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt National Park: www.nps.gov/hofr/index.htm
Open for touring are the FDR Presidential Library and Museum (Marist is the digital archivist, the Presidential Library was America's first Presidential Library and the only one from which a sitting President governed the country -- it was the White House North when FDR was in Hyde Park), Franklin’s mansion Springwood (Franklin and Eleanor are buried in the Rose Garden at Springwood), Eleanor’s house Valkill: www.nps.gov/elro/index.htm and top cottage (where Franklin took his lovers and where FDR famously threw a hot dog barbecue for the King and Queen of England and Winston Churchill while they were staying at Springwood). The film “Hyde Park on Hudson” shows this side of FDR – very good film. One of FDR’s love interests was a cousin named Daisy Suckley – her house (Wilderstein) is 20 miles North of Marist and can be toured through: wilderstein.org/ . The house is in Rhinebeck (where the Astors used to have their mansions) –this town is so quaint it will make your teeth hurt – tons of antique shops and very good restaurants (see note above about it being one of the most beautiful small towns in the country). Many entertainment personalities live in the area (Katie Couric, Paul Rudd, Carol Burnett, James Earl Jones, Aidan Quinn, Mandy Patinkin, and Uma Thurman to name a few – I bumped into Liam Neeson and his then wife Natasha Richardson at the Rhinebeck saddle shop, I saw Regis Philbin at one particular restaurant in Rhinebeck more than once, and Martha Stewart has a house about 5 minutes from mine (it is supposed to be a secret but her grass cutting guy is also my grass cutting guy) additionally Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) has a place not far away as well. I have seen David Straithairn at the grocery store more than once and recently saw Chris Hayes at a local farm stand. In the Rhinebeck village center is Samuel’s Sweet Shop (an old fashioned candy store owned by Paul Rudd, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Hillarie Burton):
samuelssweetshop.com/about/
Also in Rhinebeck (open into the early fall) is the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome – a living history museum of the early days of flight – Saturdays and Sundays are air shows (Sunday a WWI dog fight) with the old aircraft – you can even book a flight out over the Hudson in an open-cockpit 1920’s mail plane: www.oldrhinebeck.org/
If you do go to Rhinebeck, there is wonderful Italian food to be had at Gigi Trattoria (owned by actor Stanley Tucci's family):
www.gigihudsonvalley.com/
Another really cool place to eat (and stay) in Rhinebeck is the Beekman Arms (an Inn that has been continuously operating since 1766): www.beekmandelamaterinn.com/
Guests who have stayed at the Inn range from George Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, Aaron Burr, William Jennings Bryant, Nelson Rockefeller, Neil Armstrong, and a list of famous athletes, show business people, and writers too long to include here. See: www.beekmandelamaterinn.com/about/famous-guests
Bill and Hilary Clinton have been known to lunch here on occasion (they live about an hour South of the Marist campus in Chappaqua, NY).
Headless Horseman Theme Park: Rated one of the top 10 “scare parks” in the U.S. the Headless Horseman is on the West bank of the Hudson about 20 minutes North of the campus. They hire actors and make-up artists out of New York City to come up and scare the bejeezes out of their customers. Only open during the Halloween season, with numerous haunted houses, haunted hay rides, haunted corn maze, haunted food court, etc. Just the ticket for a “haunted” good time: www.headlesshorseman.com/
Of course the actual “Headless Horseman” legend originated in Sleepy Hollow about 40 minutes South of campus. A visit to Sleepy Hollow is fun and can include Washington Irving’s house and the John D. Rockefeller mansion: www.hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/kykuit
Hudson Valley Big Houses: The Hudson River Valley is lined with mansions of the old blue blood families and the Nouveau Riche of the Gilded Age. About 10 minutes beyond the FDR estate (on Route 9) is the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, a 54 room seasonal cottage with formal gardens for the Vanderbilts to “get away from things”: www.nps.gov/vama/index.htm About 10 minutes beyond the Vanderbilt estate is one of my favorites, the Ogden Mills Mansion (75 rooms): millsfriends.org/ This is the house that Edith Wharton is reputed to have modeled her House of Mirth after. Other close by interesting ones are Olana, the home and studio of Hudson Valley School painter Frederick Church (it sits on top of a mountain overlooking the Hudson River): www.olana.org/ and Locust Grove, the home of American painter and inventor Samuel F.B. Morse (called in his time “America’s Da Vinci”): www.lgny.org/ There are many other mansions to visit in the Hudson Valley:
www.hudsonriver.com/hudson-river-estates Marist was recently given one of these and is currently using it as a leadership institute and executive training center: www.marist.edu/about/rich-institute
West Point: about 45 minutes South of the Marist campus is the U.S.M.A. at West Point. You could spend more than a day here alone: visitor center, military museum, trophy point, parade grounds, cadet chapel, Michie Stadium, Revolutionary War Fort Putnam, the cemetery (Custer among others buried here): www.usma.edu/visiting/SitePages/Home.aspx
The Age of Aquarius: About 45 minutes North of the campus is the town of Woodstock, NY (namesake of the famous 1969 music festival). The town retains much of the ‘60’s counter-culture flavor and can be fun to visit. In the 1960’s many performers lived and worked in and around this community including Bob Dylan, The Band, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, among others. The actual 1969 concert was held about 45 minutes from Woodstock village on Max Yasgur’s farm. That site is now preserved as a new concert venue and has a museum of the 1960’s (well worth a visit): www.bethelwoodscenter.org/museum
Just across the Hudson River from the Marist campus is what I call the “poor man’s Woodstock”: New Paltz, NY: www.newpaltzchamber.org/attractions.html
This village is filled with retro shops, good restaurants and pubs. If you want to stock up on your tie dye wardrobe visit The Groovy Blueberry down near the Wallkill River: www.facebook.com/thegroovyblueberry/photos/?paipv=0&eav=AfYJH8s1XArCYtYQP1g1VjZOtgKW__L2bM8hfemIDZAf-ZpfEhbKA1IldFfHOlkDp4c&_rdr For the historically minded, visit Huguenot Street (an area of buildings from the 1600’s built by the area’s earliest European settlers): www.huguenotstreet.org/
Wine Anyone? For the Oenophiles among us, New York state wines are highly regarded. Spend a day on the Shawangunk Wine Trail (the Shawangunk Mountains are visible to the west of Marist). The Brotherhood Winery is America's oldest winery (operating since 1839). Check out their website for their interesting history. I particularly like the Brotherhood Riesling. The wineries have tasting days on the weekends: www.shawangunkwinetrail.com/
New York City: How do you describe the greatest city in the world in a few words? The Poughkeepsie Metro North train station is a 5 minute cab ride from campus and you can be at Grand Central Terminal on 42nd Street in 1 hour and 40 minutes: www.grandcentralterminal.com/ The tracks run along the east bank of the Hudson River and the views are very beautiful all the way down. I often go in for a Broadway show or the opera or ballet and return the same evening. Here are some highlights:
Broadway: www.broadway.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwwb6lBhBJEiwAbuVUStLA6VAZRfc-lJP3srd23lljU95bTM3UEHCUNlqhiqnW0AthTjfenBoCFeIQAvD_BwE Metropolitan Museum of Art: www.metmuseum.org/
(also the Museum of Modern Art, and the Frick Art Museum -- Frick was Andrew Carnegie’s partner and one of the wealthiest men in the U.S.), American Museum of Natural History: www.amnh.org/ ( a massively cool dinosaur collection). Hayden Planetarium: www.amnh.org/our-research/hayden-planetarium Lincoln Center: www.lincolncenter.org/home (also Carnegie Hall, City Center, etc.) and the crossroads of the world, Times Square: www.timessquarenyc.org/ -- ladies, don’t forget to get your picture taken with the naked cowboy: www.nakedcowboy.com/ A great thing to do with families is the Staten Island Ferry (its free! You can’t beat free) –it takes about 45 minutes to cross New York harbor (passing close to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island –also breath- taking views of the city skyline). You have to get off in Staten Island and line up for the boat back past Lady Liberty, etc. www.siferry.com/
Suggested One Day Itinerary: Breakfast at the Palace Diner, visit the FDR National Park, lunch at the Ever Ready Diner nearby the FDR property www.evereadydiner.com/ afternoon at the Vanderbilt estate, a brisk walk on the Walkway Over the Hudson (closes at sunset), dinner at Cosimo’s.
