The End

We are beginning to scatter as the caravan draws to a close. We spent our last day in New York heading in many directions including Ellis Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, Chelsey Market, and Rockefeller Center.




Our Farewell Dinner at Houlihan’s was another wonderful buffet. We presented a small token of our great appreciation to Andi and Steve and Maxine and George for a trip far exceeding our expectations. Their months and months of work provided all of us with experiences we will long talk about and long cherish.

Our last breakfast was seasoned with hugs, flavored with plans to meet again and sprinkled with tears. We have become a family who shared an amazing trip through the Hudson River Valley and will treasure our memories.

Empire State Building

Tuesday got off to a very bad start when Emily, one of our members, fell while leaving her coach and broke her ankle. We all feel the loss of “family” members as Emily and Jackie have to leave us while she has surgery and recovers. We wish her a good and strong recovery and look forward to seeing them back on the road as soon as possible.

Our leaders arrange for us to enjoy many aspect of NYC by including in our tour CityPass cards for the tour buses, New York passes for entry into museums and other attractions and MetroCards for the PATH train from New Jersey and the subway in New York. This is an advantage of our having someone plan the trip for us.




We put these cards to use by invading the PATH train and then walking to the Empire State Building. After a taking the Skyride, a bone jolting simulated spaceship ride over the City, we joined the thousands of people who took advantage of a clear day and blue skies to go up to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. What a view!


Coming down to street level, we split into various groups and sampled a variety of cuisines. Then we either walked or continued on the blue CitySights buses exploring more of Manhattan. The guides on the buses shared history, local gossip and opinions on our tours.


For dinner we gathered together at Trattoria Trecolori where we had an excellent Italian buffet ending with cheese cake or tiramisu. Then we walked a couple of blocks through the theater district to the Ambassador Theater to see Chicago with Jerry Springer. While we gave him mixed reviews, the set where the orchestra was the center of the action and the continuing cast received great praise.

Independence on Wednesday

We improved our metro navigation skills and headed out in many directions to explore The City on foot, on bus, and with private guides. At the end of the day we gathered, wine in hand, to share what we did and plan what will be our last day together on the caravan.

The World Trade Center

On our way to the train to spend our first full day in New York.

No trip to New York can ignore the memories of Sept. 11, 2001. We took an audio tour of the visitor’s center and across the enclosed bridges that connect the remaining buildings. The audio was narrated by people who were in or near the WTC and by family members of the fire brigades. This was a solemn and moving moment for all of us. The image above is of a bronze wall memorial on the side of the Firehouse that is directly across the street from where the WTC stood.


Leaving the WTC Visitor’s Center, we set out in various groups to see the city. With our CitySights pass we hopped to the top of double decker busses. From our perches we had a bird’s eye view of Lower Manhattan, Midtown, and Brooklyn.

New York, New York

We had an uneventful relocation to New Jersey, right across from NYC and we spent our first evening aboard the boat. The Spirit of New Jersey cruised up and down the Hudson River giving us the opportunity to admire one of the greatest cities in the world. We again enjoyed a buffet dinner, one that also included crowning our caravan mates Jerry and Jackie king and queen of the cruise for their 55 years of marriage. Jim and Nancy came in second with 52 years.



Dinner was nice but totally outshone by the setting, NYC viewed at dusk and evening from the Hudson River. Clear skies and warm weather provided us a delightful setting for enjoying one of the greatest views in the world. We rode under bridges, in front of Ellis Island, and up close to the Statue of Liberty. The thesaurus went back to work to provide the right words to describe our panorama, glittering, shimmering, sparkling, glistening, dazzling, brilliant. This evening is on the list for best moments of our Hudson River Caravan.

Rainy Day

A combination of Hurricane Danny, and storms from the north and west cancelled our plans for the day so we did what we do so well, we ate. Starting with a team breakfast of omelettes boiled in ziploc bags, fruit, and some of Brenda’s tasty muffins.

We took advantage of the day to do chores, relax and play games. It was rather nice to take time off.


Our reward for the quiet day was dinner at the 1766 Beekman Arms, the oldest inn in the US. We entered through the flower lined walkway into rooms paneled with rich mahogany. There we dined well on steak, tilapia or duck followed by a difficult choice between cheesecake and chocolate explosion cake. We happily rolled out feeling the day was a success no matter what we did or did not do. We had dined.

West Point

Our ride to West Point along the mountainous shoreline of the Hudson was marred only by the increasing rain. After proving our identities with security, we took a narrated bus tour around the Point learning about its military position in the Revolutionary War. Washington built the fort to block the British from dividing the colonies.



The Cadet Chapel was described as military gothic with its vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows donated by graduating classes. A candle in a front pew burns to honor MIAs and POWs. It has the world’s largest pipe organ in a religious building with 23,500 pipes. The Lutheran Chapel has plaques honoring historical West Point graduates with George Washington the most prominent. Both Benedict Arnold’s name and date of death were rubbed out by a cadet who wanted to remove the traitor from a place of honor. We drove past both the Catholic and Jewish Chapels.




The cemetery is primarily for graduates, their spouse and one child. Among the names are Abner Doubleday of baseball fame, Sylvanius Thayer who made West Point the educational institution it is today, and Thaddeus Kosciuszko the Polish fortification engineer during the Revolutionary War. The most visited site in the cemetery is of Mickey Marcus, the West Point graduate who helped create the Israeli Army. The grave markers frequently have small stones atop them indicating that someone has come to pay respect. This is a custom borrowed from a Jewish tradition. A monument stands over the river with canons bearing the names of the battles the Army has fought.

After another delicious buffet luncheon at the Thayer Hotel (founded by former graduates), we spent time touring the West Point Museum with its displays of ancient and modern weaponry and wars.





It’s difficult to believe, but we had to eat again. This time it was pizza at the campground and cakes to honor birthdays and anniversaries celebrated during the caravan. Some people got a bit “physical” during the celebration.

Farmers Market

You’d think with all the eating we have done that we would be sated. No, we were just out of food, so we headed to a couple of local farmer’s markets. There we loaded up with tomatoes, melons, corn, eggplant, and, most important of all, pies.


Those pies were destined as dessert after our fabulous bbq ribs dinner prepared by Chef Mitch and his crew. With side dishes of special potato salad, beans and local corn, we had to be careful to save room for the pies filled with apples, peaches, cherries or raspberries. Debates about which were better went on late into the night.

The Culinary Institute of America

The CIA (New York not Washington, DC) is delicious, savory, mouthwatering, delectable, heavenly, luscious, scrumptious, toothsome, yummy, etc. It took a thesaurus of words to describe the luncheon we enjoyed after our tour of the CIA. Founded in 1946, it is dedicated to providing the world with outstanding chefs. The school has two sections, culinary arts and baking and pastry. Students specialize in one or the other. Then they go on to restaurants and hotels or get further degrees in the field.



Some of us just could not wait for the tour or the lunch. We had to try something now and the Apple Pie Bakery just fit the bill.



Our tour took us in front of large windows of demonstration kitchens that let us see students in action and past lecture halls where note taking alternated with wine tastings. The class that appealed most was chocolate because the students had to take home their creations at the end of the day.





Walking the halls of the CIA caused us to build up quite an appetite. This was sated at Catrina de Medici where we started with crepes with spinach and ricotta followed by pork loin. Our Torta di Cioccolato con Panna Montata was a plate-licking flourless chocolate cake.

With satisfied palates, we then raided the gift store buying cookbooks and utensils.

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site

The Vanderbilt’s, starting with “The Commodore,” rose from modest means to the very richest of the very richest. Making most of his money in shipping and railroads, the Commodore was the one who standardized track gauge, created a continuous track from New York to Chicago and made the trains run on time. He and his descendants built forty-three mansions, with the one we saw in Hyde Park being the smallest.

Built in 1895 by Frederick and Louise for $2.25 million, the mansion has fifty-four rooms and is a modest 56,000 square feet. It has central heating, flush toilets, and was the first to have electricity (even before neighbor FDR). The couple had no children and their niece tried to sell the property in the late ‘30s for as little as $250,000. With no buyers, she donated it to the National Park Service where today it is a prime example of the Gilded Age.

Hyde Park

We spent a day with the Roosevelt’s starting with an excellent tour of Springwood, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s home from childhood. As an only child, FDR lived a most privileged life doted upon by his mother Sara. After college he returned to the home with his new bride Eleanor. The house contains his collection of birds he had shot, naval pictures, political cartoons and an extensive library. Through his terms as Governor of New York and President of the United States, it remained his home.



Eleanor was never comfortable in the home run by her mother-in-law so Franklin helped design her own home known at Val-Kill. Where Springwood was a more stately manor, Val-Kill was a comfortable cottage, though originally it was a factory where local men, unemployed during the Great Depression, learned to make furniture. Eleanor entertained such luminaries as Churchill, Nehru, Khrushchev and a young candidate named John F. Kennedy. She continued to live in the home until her death. Both FDR and Eleanor are buried in the rose garden near Springwood.




The Stone Cottage near Val-Kill was home to Eleanor’s assistants and later her son.

The library and museum chronicle his early political career through his four terms as president. The private study and oval office desk contain items from his time in the White House. The map room where he followed the action of World War II is replicated in life scale.

Dinner at the Brewster's

As mention repeatedly, this caravan is well fed. We were the fortunate guests at the beautiful home of Jack and Terri Brewster. He is first vice-president of Monaco International. It may not be listed in his official duties, but he and his wife treated us to an amazing dinner of hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs and chicken accompanied by four salads, beans, and corn. The green salad included savory tomatoes from their garden. The vegetable garden also contributed zucchini to a wonderful zucchini bread. Dessert was as colorful as it was delicious. We send them a huge thanks for such generous hospitality.
















On a side note, it is great to travel the country with a personal chef and Mitch is ours. Great cooking sir.

Relocation Day

We left Saratoga for Plattekill, near the Catskills. According to leader Steve, Kill is Dutch for waterway. Today is a day of rest in preparation for going non stop from here on out.

This is a good time to explain a caravan for those of you who do not know what we are doing. If you do know, feel free to skip this explanation.


Our caravan consists of sixteen motorhomes following leaders who worked for over a year to plan our trip. These leaders are volunteers who work to develop a route filled with outstanding sites to visit, meals to relish and campsites that we can fit into. Generally the caravan is based upon a theme, this one the 400th year celebration of Henry Hudson going up the river. There are paid professionals who do these same trips for a lot of money but they are no more “professional” than our volunteer leaders. To say this is a lot of work is an understatement; but the leaders call it a “labor of love.”

We travel in waves, four coaches to a wave, so as not to obstruct traffic. Each wave leader has a map of our fairly brief route. We stay in touch via walkie talkies and cell phones. Getting lost is a rare occurrence. The first wave consists of “parkers” who are responsible for helping everyone get into their site without incident. The parkers help each other first for practice.

In addition to meals at places described in the blog, teams from the caravan take turns preparing several breakfasts and dinners. It is surprising how many great cooks can prepare gourmet meals in a motorhome kitchen. Tonight we enjoyed an Italian dinner with a large salad, ziti, meatballs, bread and an array of lush desserts, all but the desserts prepared in the wee kitchens of a motorhome.

As we go out each day to see more and more historic and cultural sites, we carpool in our tow vehicles. The leaders have set up a rotating list so that we all get to travel together at least once on the trip. This gives us a chance to get better acquainted.

We also socialize most evenings as a group, sharing libations and appetizers. Some of us arrived as strangers but at the end of the caravan we all leave as great friends looking forward to future travels together.

And They’re Off

As mentioned earlier, Saratoga Springs is horse race center during August. The facility looks great for a hundred-year-old track. The buildings and lawns overflowed with about 30,000 racing fans. We were fortunate to have our own area in the Paddock Tent where we again enjoyed a great buffet lunch and watched the saddling of the horses right out the window. Everyone got a free long sleeve Tshirt as a souvenir. We were all winners in a day free of rain and filled with good fun.

Saratoga Performing Arts Center

For three weeks every summer, SPAC, as it is called, is home to the Philadelphia Orchestra. We were there for the final performance and what an amazing experience. The theater is open to the air, with a covering over the reserved seats (like the Concord Pavilion). The strong storms we have had throughout the trip hit before intermission and the house invited those seated on the lawn to find dry seats.

The concert included the Overture to William Tell, Rachmaninoff, Grieg, and Falla. It concluded with a breathtaking Bolero. The sky lit with fireworks as the concert ended and we made our way out of this impressive venue.

Gourmet Dining at the Hall of Springs

There are buffets and there are buffets. To call our dinner at the Hall of Springs at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center a buffet is such an understatement. The table settings were lovely; the decor beaux arts, the diners dressed for fine dining. The salads included a capressa salad with three types of tomatoes and grilled asparagus. Dinner included crusted trout, lamb, turkey, and roast. Desserts were heavenly and we happily ate more than our share.

Saratoga Battlefield

Our visit through The Saratoga Battlefield National Historic Site took us right to the fields and bluffs where Revolutionary fighters aided by a few Native tribes turned back the British forces with their German Mercenaries and Native supporters. At the ten stops along the route, we heard personal stories from both Loyalist and Patriots, detailing battles, telling of loss and sharing the feelings of the division between family and neighbor.

Saratoga Springs

We relocated to a new campground in Saratoga Springs. This area is rich in history, is an arts center, and known for its health giving waters, but wherever one goes, one claim to fame is touted from banners, statues, and all over the media. Saratoga is home to the first horse racing track in the US and the sport of kings is still a significant part of the life and culture of the area. We too will partake of this activity, but that is later in the week.

On arriving, under heavy rain, we drove around orienting ourselves to the town for more exploration later. Building a large appetite, we sated it at the buffet of Golden Corral.



Two different museums caught our attention. The automobile museum featured cars from the 50s and 60s. There is only one word for these cars, “cool.” Both men and women were drooling over them. Those with more refined taste headed to the Museum of Dance.

A few of us continued to whet our appetites with the wonderful movie, Julia and Julie, a story of love of mates and passion for food.

Last day at Lake George

Like families, sometimes caravan members need space, so we spent our last day in Lake George heading in many directions. Our intrepid leader was so driven to distraction he went batty, no hatty.



Lake Placid with its Olympic Museum, shops and view on Mirror Lake attracted some of us. Others crossed the state line into Vermont to visit Shelburne Museum with its rich history and excellent art gallery. Wandering through Lake George visiting the tourist shops and seeing the historic sites was another choice. One of the options was going to visit the headwaters of the Hudson River. Would you believe some of us actually walked across it.
















We all gathered in the evening for a buffet dinner cruise aboard the Adirondack on Lake George. The food was good but the conversations were better. The evening ended with a fireworks display over the lake.

Adirondack Museum

The roads through the Adirondacks are beautiful. The birch, fir and few maples, though cut down many times, provide dense cover along the road. Many caravan members even went to the headwaters of the Hudson River and some were even brave enough to wade across.

Every so often there is an Adirondack chair built on the side of the road that looks like it was built for Paul Bunyan or his kin. Some buildings have old ski gondolas as decorations.







Our destination was the Adirondack Museum, a complex of furnished 19th century vacation camps (cabins), a buckboard and carriage museum, boat museum, private rail cars and other exhibits. Some enjoyed watching a boatwright building a beautiful wooden guide boat. She had been working on the boat for two years and will not finish until next year. Others watched demonstrations of crafts included watching an oar carver. The complex hovers above Blue Lake affording a spectacular view.



Several members of the caravan had true backwood adventures getting back to the campground but that is their story to tell.