“ Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons. Jim Bishop

After arriving home from a quick trip with Aaron and Tess to Mississippi we had about two weeks to finish packing and preparing for our next adventure... a fall colors trip to upstate New York for four days then off to Rome to meet good friends of ours and help them celebrate their 50th anniversary on the Mediterranean Mosaic Cruise.  But more about that later 🚢

We were up very early for our Uber ride to the airport on Oct 9th.  By 5:30 we were at the airport and checked in. We had one stop in Atlanta and then on to LaGuardia. But our connection was late due to some airport construction in Atlanta so it made getting into New York an hour late.  We decided to spend the night at the airport and then pick up our car in the morning and head north.  Our flight to Rome was from JFK so we asked at the car rental agency if we could drop off there.  We had booked most of our hotels and car through our Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card which has been a great travel tool for us.  The gal at the car rental gave us a few extra hours and the alternate drop off location at no extra charge!!!  That had to be a first for us.  We took her name down and dropped a nice thank you to her via her boss. 

Dan planned most of our route but we both decided that getting out of New York City took a driver AND a co-pilot!  Even with our iPhone maps giving us directions it still took two pairs of eyes and ears to take it all in and stay in the right lane.  When we looked at our route initially we decided we would do best staying two nights at each of our hotels on the road and then branch out from them and see as much as we could.  The Catskills and The Adirondacks were our destinations for color “peeping”.  Neither of us had ever been to this part of the country or New York except for one day many years ago when we visited Todd in Cape Cod and we came in to the city for a day trip.  

Our first two nights were spent at Kingston, NY which turned out to be an excellent stop. We were amazed at the length and breadth of the Hudson River!  We passed Yankee Stadium and drove by exits of places we have only heard about in books, on TV or in movies like Yonkers, the Bronx, Sleep Hollow, Cornwall on the Hudson and many more.  We took hi-way 87 north which closely follows  the Hudson River.  We crossed the river around Poughkeepsie and saw the signs for the Franklin Roosevelt National Park in Hyde Park.  The beautiful fall afternoon was spent here taking a narrated tour of Roosevelt’s home, the grounds and then the presidential library which was the first presidential library.  One could spend days here!  The visit prompted a hunger within us to read more about both Franklin and Eleanor along with learning about the children and grandchildren.  W writhing about the Park was done thoughtfully and aesthetically beautiful.   The nostalgic feeling that overcomes you is warm, sad and sweet all in one breath.  It was really by accident that we stopped off here but it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. 

The colors of the turning trees wasn’t quite as impressive as the trip we took a few years ago through the Blue Ridge Mountains but still from all reports we hit the perfect time.  The rains have not come yet to strip the leaves off the trees and the temperatures have been cool enough along with the shortened days to still present some heartwarming vistas and camera worthy photos.  We passed by the Vanderbilt Mansion on our way out of the park but the time was too short to take a tour.  We headed to the hotel and along the way stopped to snap photos and take in all the exquisite Victorian homes, mansions and bed and breakfasts.  

We took as many back roads as we could and as many jaunts to lakes and waterfronts.  The area is really rural with heavily forested areas everywhere.  It was obvious to us that summer is most possibly their peak season with lots of little eateries, ice cream shops, kayak and canoe re talks along with beaches and camping /RV parks.  Lots of these were closed up but I imagine it’s a loud, busy and congested area in the summer.  The next few days we visited several state parks, refuges and stopped for an Octoberfest and some oompah!!  We stayed two nights in Clifton Park and from there traveled to Round Lake, Saratoga, Lake George, Lake Lucerne and took a hike in Prospect Peak. One of our lasts parks was Saratoga National Park which again was a unique stop over depicting the chilling battle between the Redcoats and The Patriots in the Campaign of 1777. The visitors center was full of interesting exhibits and a well done movie. One can take a 9 mile drive through the park to see the locations of the battles, the Redoubts which are wooden and earthen fortifications.  It’s hazard to imagine the bloodshed and loss of life when looking at the peaceful farmlands and serene vistas.  

We slept in a little on Monday the 14th and then with our trusty iPhone plugged into the car we took off for New York City to return our car and spend  the night at the Holiday Inn Airport. Tomorrow the 15th we fly to Rome. We will get there Wednesday morning early then spend the night at the Marriot at the airport.  On the 17th we will take a transport to the port of Civitavecchia where we will board the Nieuw Statendam for 24 days doing the Greek Isles, the Mediterranean and then cross the Atlantic bringing us back to Ft Lauderdale on November 10th. 

If you are reading this please leave a comment.  You will find it on the Comment Box button which may say “no comment” but do try to leave me a note.  I have worked often to make sure it is on the blog. 

Thanks for following us.  Maybe you have suggestions for our next adventure or maybe you even want to come along 😄

Almost to LaGuardia and what a shot!!  I think I should send this to Southwest!!

Where we started the tour of Roosevelt’s home and library. 

One of the beautiful trees on his estate 

 His home 

The room he had added on to the old original homestead. Each end had a fireplace. You notice his wheelchair in the photo. The place had 9 bathrooms, servants quarters, at least 9 bedrooms , and lovely porches and vistas. Roosevelt has a lift otherwise the dumb waiter which held his wheelchair to get from floor to floor. 

His burial site... his wife is close by 

Just lots of fall photos

Lots of milkweed was found and several Monarchs were spotted!

Dan found two salamanders.  That made his day. 

A squeeze shoot where folks were rock climbing. If you couldn’t get into this shoot you wouldn’t be able to get through the crevice to get to the climbing area!

Nice reflection! 

This was a self serve kayak rental!  We had never seen this before. You call a number and give your cc. Then they give you the code to unlock your kayak!!  Pretty great idea 

More beautiful colors 

Top of Prospect Mountain Home

Oompah! 

Saratoga City Park 




Photo in the visitor center of the Campaign of 1777 battle