New York Day 4 - FDR, ER, CIA

Day 4 of our trip was the day we were all waiting for: the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum! This was the first presidential museum and the only museum to have been built and opened with the president still in office. Located in Hyde Park, NY - it sits on a campus which includes FDR's home, a National Historic Site, and is very close to Eleanor Roosevelt's National Historic Site and the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site.

We arrived bright and early at the Library/Museum and immediately secured tickets for the FDR Home tour. We enjoyed learning more about President Roosevelt and his family through the interesting tour through his home. By this point we had started to become quite good at evaluating tour guides, and Pres, our FDR Home guide, was one of the best. With clear enthusiasm for the subject and easy manor, we thoroughly enjoyed this tour.

Next - the museum! We made it through the exhibit covering his boyhood and pre-presidential history before needing a lunch break. After grabbing a bit to eat at the museum's cafe, we ventured across the way to Eleanor Roosevelt's National Historic Site since our tickets would be good for two days. Here we toured the house that was to become her retreat (Val-Kill) when FDR was in Washington and after his death. We learned a lot at this site and felt a much greater appreciation for Eleanor Roosevelt and how she worked tirelessly to make the world a better place. Mike, in particular, become a huge ER fan.

Cousin Christine had made reservations for us to tour the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), our next stop for the day. Our tour gave us great insight into life for these dedicated culinary students and we were even able to observe classes in session through large zoo-like windows. After the tour of the beautiful campus, we stopped by the student run Apple Pie Cafe and Bakery for some decadent and unique deserts (carrot cake pictured above).

Again we returned to our hotel and ate at the nearby La Luna Pizzeria before retiring to our hotel room. We finished out the day enjoying wine from the winery, teaching Mike and Christine a new card game, and playing Apples to Apples into the wee hours. Who could ask for more?