Park Units 97, 98, 99: Katahdin NM, St. Croix IHS, Acadia NP

We (Jason, Jill, Catherine and I) started our summer road trip from Connecticut after a nice visit with family. Our first day goal was to make it to Millinocket, ME, an 8 hour drive. To break up the trip, we stopped at Lowell National Historic Site, one of our favorite places, and did The River Transformed Tour which is about the engineering of using water to power the factories. We also did the Boots Mill Museum and Mill Girls & Immigrants exhibit. As before, we loved it all!

We arrived in Millinocket late that night, then headed out early this morning for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. This park is only 2 years old, and when asked for directions to the site, the hotel clerk said, "Oh, I've never been there. I'm not in favor it that!" There was no signage anywhere, and the visitor's center in town wasn't open yet, so we used a Maine map and Google satellite view and headed out to explore.We started down a well-graded gravel road and nervously heeded the warnings to stay out of the way of the logging vehicles (we never did see any). After about 30 minutes on the gravel road, winding through the forest without another vehicle in site, the road got bumpier and rockier, and we came to a few forks in the road. Jason continued to guide us carefully with the sat view and map. We joked about driving in Mario Cart and avoiding the obstacles. Eventually the road narrowed to one lane in deeper woods. I kept whining, "This can't be the way to the park," and Jason would reply, "it is! Only another 1/2 mile...1/4 mile...." After another 30 minutes of carefully working our way through ruts and gullies, and over

large rocks, we stopped. The gully ahead of us was too deep, too rocky, too terrifying in my little Mazda. Oh, did I mention we didn't have a 4-wheel drive car? We then noticed that we had almost no gas. In over an hour, we had still not seen another person. Tired, shaking, and exhausted, we gave up and turned around. An hour later, we were at the visitor's center learning that the road we chose was difficult for even the park 4-wheel drive vehicles! Luckily, we were able to enjoy some of the beautiful waters and woods of Katahdin.

We next drove a few hours southeast to the coast and visited the Saint Croix International Historic Site. This site commemorates the first European settlers in the area. There is a small visitor's center and interpretive trail. The town is lovely with many historic buildings and we had a terrific lunch at Crumbs.

Late afternoon we traveled south a couple hours to the Schoodic Point area of Acadia National Park. We found a picnic area with a beautiful view of the water and sat to do water color paints until sunset. It was peaceful, beautiful, and relaxing! Tomorrow we will visit more of Acadia.

Park Unit 96: Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

To complete our Roosevelt Weekend, we spent the day at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site on Long Island. We've driven past this area many times on our way out to Westhampton, but like so many things close to home, we never explored the site like a tourist!

We arrived early and signed up for a tour of the house. Then we walked through the woods down the water. The area was so beautiful in early spring - and peacefully quiet. The creeks, inlets, and bays of the north shore of Long Island have their own special charm which reminded me of Baiting Hollow when I was a child.

We walked around the grounds, then made our way up the hill to the house for our tour. As always, we learned a lot about Theodore Roosevelt, and the time period he lived in the house. The more we experience historical sites, the more we get a more complete picture of various time periods. 

We were not supposed to take photos in the house, but we sneaked one in:

I learned after visiting the historic site that Google Arts & Culture has a virtual tour of Sagamore Hill which is the next best thing to going there! https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/sagamore-hill-national-historic-site

Park Units 93, 94, 95: Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt NHS, Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, Vanderbilt Mansion NHS

3/30/2018. Catherine and I took advantage of a day off on Good Friday to visit the Hyde Park, NY historic parks.

We set out at 6 am to beat the traffic through the metropolitan area and we got to Hyde Park by 8:30 am. After a nice breakfast at Starbucks, we headed up to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site. We purchased new annual passes and got tickets for the 9:30 tour. The tour explained the background of the park grounds and the history of the Roosevelt family at the visitor center. Then we walked to FDR's grave site, past the coach house and stable, and stopped at Springwood, the family home.

The ranger giving the tour shared a lot of information about the house and the way FDR and the family lived. The house is well-kept in the state it was when the family lived there. Next we went upstairs, seeing the large dumbwaiter that FDR used to haul himself upstairs. He didn't want an electric elevator because he was afraid the electricity might go out and he'd be stuck on the elevator.

The house is more modest that one would expect given the wealth and social standing of the family. The tour gave us a lot of time to explore the house on our own, which I appreciated. The view from the grounds of the Hudson River was beautiful and the highlight of the house.

After the tour, we walked to the FDR presidential library, which was very impressive. Similar to the Ronald Reagan library (the only other one I've been to), the exhibits were hands-on, interactive, and very well designed. We especially enjoyed the radio broadcasts in mock up rooms. There is a great deal to see, learn about, read, and examine. We spent about an hour and wished we could have stayed longer.

Next we drove a couple miles to the Vanderbilt Mansion and got tickets for the 1:00 tour.

According to the national park service, "Vanderbilt Mansion NHS, in terms of architecture, interiors, mechanical systems, road systems and landscape, is a remarkably complete example of a gilded-age country place, illustrating the political, economic, social, cultural, and demographic changes that occurred as America industrialized in the years after the Civil War."

We began the tour in the pavilion, which was a men's gathering place not far from the main house. This housed the bookstore and park stamp. Next we moved to the main house. The tour guide gave us lots of interesting information and let us explore on our own on the main floor, the upstairs bedrooms, and best of all, the servants quarters in the lower level. Our overall impression of the mansion was of people who were trying too hard to impress the rich elite.

Finally, we ended the day at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site.

Waiting for our 3:00 tour, we explored the stone cottage and learned about the history of Val-Kil. We watched a video about Eleanor Roosevelt and Val-Kil. According to the national park service, "In the 1920s, Eleanor Roosevelt joined a group of independent-minded women dedicated to shaping politics and policy. New expectations ignited a stirring friendship with the activists Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman. Together they created jobs, influenced party politics, and advanced social reforms. Val-Kill embodies their pioneering spirit." We got to explore the building that was once used for furniture making, and after Val-Kil was dissolved became Eleanor's private residence. This park site gives a good sense of who Eleanor was and what she accomplished. You could feel her spirit here.

We learned a lot today and got a good sense of the history of these important people and their impact on the history of the country. We love the National Historic Sites as a way to make history more understandable and real.

Units 90, 91, 92: Salem Maritime NHS; Saugus Iron Works NHS: Minuteman National Historic Park

Salem Maritime National Historic Site
10/15/17. What a great day for parks! We were at a wedding in Beverly Mass so we decided to make the most of the ride home and visit some of the MA parks. Jason, Jill, Catherine and I started at Salem where we toured the town a bit, then visites the Maritime Historic Park. We love architecture and history from this time period so we had a good time visiting the custom house and the displays inside. Couldn't help but think about Hamilton!
     There were all sorts of displays and information about the finances of the time, and a ridiculously outrageous American Eagle that took up most of the room!

Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
After the morning at Salem, we headed off to the Saugus Iron Works. Jason figured out that today was their once-a-year iron pour so we hurried not to miss it. When we got there, they were set up and getting the equipment ready for the pour. We waited and waited and waited, and learned a lot about how they would have done the iron pour years ago. We also visited the small museum on site and some of the buildings that are still preserved.

Finally, after an hour and a half, they were ready! By now we had lost some of our enthusiasm, however, once they began the pour, it was the most amazing thing! The molten iron was awesome and the whole process what fascinating. We were all very glad we waited.

Minuteman National Historic Park 
We got on the road again, and made a quick stop at Minuteman National Historic Park. The park has that quintessential New England beauty and you get to the visitor's center by a lovely paved path through the woods. We spent a little time in the visitor's center which had some interesting displays, especially if you didn't know much about this time period. This would be a good park to return to see more of the period houses and for walks in the woods. 

We were thrilled to have been able to visit three parks in one day! We're looking forward to seeing more of the Massachusetts parks in the future!

Park Unit 89: Governor's Island National Monument

9/23/17. For my birthday this year, I got the family together to go to Governor's Island. Even though I've lived in the NY area my whole life, I'd never been there!

We took the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan, then went right next door to the Governor's Island Ferry. On the island, we started at Castle Williams, then explored Fort Jay. Not surprisingly, many of the buildings and layout were very similar to other 19th century military monuments we've been to (such as Fort Sumter and the Presidio in San Francisco).

Next we explored a lot of the art displays that had as part of an ongoing art show. This brought us to the center of the island where we had a delicious lunch. There are many food booths with a wide variety of different types of cuisine. 

After lunch we walked through a lovely wild flower garden and the hammock garden, then we watched a Polo match for a little while. They were hosting a tournament and it was fun to see the attendees in their over-the-top outfits and hats!

Next we climbed to the top of Lookout Hill where we had the best views I've ever seen of New York Bay, Manhattan, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Jersey City, Bayonne, Brooklyn - It was truly amazing! If someone was visiting New York as a tourist, I would highly recommend this as a must do place to go. It was a beautiful day so the river was also filled with fabulous sailboats.

We slowly walked back across the island, visiting the parade ground and the rest of the historic district before catching the ferry back to Manhattan. What a terrific day! It was so much fun to feel like a tourist and have a special day, right here in NY!