I Could Totally Live There (part 1)

While thinking about possible posts, I decided it would be fun to do a top ten list of sorts. In this case, ten houses (or castles or palaces, really) in which I wouldn't mind living. As it turns out, there are way too many to limit this to ten. So I'll just start with a few and go from there, every so often. Plus, it’s a huge pain to upload all the pictures.


Anyway, the keyword here is ostentatious. I'm really only talking about ridiculously grand, fabulous, waaay over-the-top places. And, since we're civilized here at Travel Rambling, there are a few rules:


1. These are all places I've been. And generally been inside. I may bend that part a little.

2. They must be habitable. As in, there must be a ceiling and enough walls to keep out rain/animals/ax-wielding psychopaths etc.

3. They have to at least be somewhat open to the public. No (currently) private houses.

4. All these places are or were meant to be lived in.



Okay, on with the list!



Number 1: Pena Palace, Sintra, Portugal



Since this amazing palace actually inspired this post, I figured it would be a good place to start. Located on a mountain in Sintra Portugal, this is one of the most bizarre looking buildings I've ever seen. It was built in the mid-19th century but I think there was a monastery on the site before the palace was built and that was somehow incorporated. The result is strange but really amazing. I honestly think the building looks like it belongs in a fairy tale or something. First, the exterior colors are varied and bright. Some of it's red, some yellow, and some blue and white tile. There are numerous towers built in various styles. Also, the thing is absolutely enormous. I don't think I could ever see the whole thing, let alone fit it all in a picture. Unfortunately, photography is prohibited inside but there are some pictures (worth seeing) on the Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pena_Palace). I can't seem to find any pictures of the part I liked best which consisted of rooms opening out into a courtyard.

Even better than the palace itself (maybe…) is the incredible view. I do have pictures of that:

Note the Moorish castle on the top of another hill. I’m not sure if the palace is as precarious as I remember it. I’m a little (or a lot) afraid of heights and walking around the walled perimeter was just a little bit scary. In fact, I think one woman in the group had to turn back. So, maybe avoid that part in bad weather.


Number 2: Versailles Palace, Versailles, France

(Yeah, that's just a corner...)


Sure, everyone knows Versailles, Louis XIV's palace in France. How could I not include it? It's not only huge and fancy but a symbol of the French monarchy. Located just outside Paris, Versailles would be an ideal home for someone who likes the suburbs. A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll city. Close enough to count.

What is there to say about Versailles that hasn’t been said? Well, the grounds are pretty fabulous:

Not to mention the interior:

And the front gates are pretty imposing. Good for scaring off the peasants who don’t travel in large packs (if that’s a concern).

For another, slightly less fancy royal chateau in France, try number 3:

Number 3: Fontainebleu Chateau, Fontainebleu, France

What’s there to say about Fontainebleu? Well, it’s big. It’s grand. It’s got a great front yard.

Fontainebleu’s setting is much more rural than Versailles’s is. If you’re royal and in need of a palace but would prefer a country setting, Fontainebleu would be a great choice.


Number 4: Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee

Graceland (where Elvis lived, remember?) is definitely worthy of a high rating on the Tack-O-Meter and therefore worth a mention here. Yes, the kitchen is carpeted. Since Graceland was already covered here (http://mytravelrambling.blogspot.com/2010/01/bsc-in-usa-part-1_14.html), I won’t go into detail.

I just have to say, it’s really tough to upload a lot of photos. If anyone knows of an easier/better way than the standard Blogger way, please let me know!

ANDORRABLE

We interrupt our previously scheduled program to bring you a special guest post! The following is an account of a visit to the tiny country of Andorra, written by my travel mentor who also happens to be my mother.

Andorrable

Well…not completely. The Principality of Andorra is the sixth smallest nation in Europe, having an area of 468 km² (181 sq mi) and an estimated population of 84,484 in 2008. If size qualifies a location as “adorable”, there it is. But wait, there’s more.

Why travel to this tiny sovereign country nestled in the Pyrenees between France and Spain? Because it is there? Ali’s dad thought so, and since he: 1. Drives our rental cars and 2. Does not usually request specific destinations, leaving those decisions to me (to our mutual benefit) it was off to Andorra we went, by way of Montserrat, one of the most fantastic places in the world . Go there when you visit Barcelona and plan to spend the day.

Until 2006 I had no idea that Andorra has a capital city and that the name is Andorra La Vella (Andorra the Old in Catalan, more on that shortly). I learned that fact from my daughter, the owner of this blog, in a trivia game. (Yes I am a librarian.) Andorra La Vella is not an attractive city. Its dual purposes appear to be to hide copious amounts of currency (a la Switzerland) judging from the number of international banks lining the streets and to facilitate large tax free purchases of alcohol and cigarettes for Europeans. We were not in the market for either of those items; still we were stopped by Spanish customs officers upon our exit. Andorra is not a member of the EU and apparently the tax free issues are taken seriously by the border patrol. Once they heard our American accents and my poor attempt at speaking Spanish and non-knowledge of Catalan, they waved us on and we were on our way back to Spain.

Andorra La Vella does have a tiny old town (well the whole place is tiny) that is reachable by hiking up a mountain or taking an elevator. Guess which option was taken by 50somethings in the dusk and drizzle. Old Town does have a certain charm, including the smallest parliament building in Europe which was locked, although the woman in the TI told us it would be open. It was Saturday night, dark by then with a more steady rain, so we purchased a copy of Harry Potter in Catalan for Ali’s cousin who collects Harry Potter in as many languages as possible, found a non-descript cafeteria for a quick bite and headed back to the charmless New Town.

In a departure from my usual, nay obsessive research I chose the first hotel I could find in my online search, the Andorra La Vella Crowne Plaza. Not a good choice, virtually indistinguishable from any other CP in the world, and expensive to boot. It turned out that there are quaint looking small hotels in Old Town. However parking our rental car/lugging our suitcase up the mountain might have been problematic.

By Sunday morning, a difficult time to find things to do in many smaller places in Europe, it was snowing lightly, and despite that the fact that we were heading up a mountain we decided to visit Ordino, a small Pyrenean village which IS charming. Ordino is also distinguished by two tiny museums housed in the same building, right on the main street. At this point the snow was really coming down, but since we are intrepid upstate New Yorkers who know how to deal with snow, we decided to visit one of the two museums, both founded by a Ukrainian named Nicolaï Syadristy who found himself in Andorra. The Museum of Russian Icons looked interesting but we had just been in Russia six months earlier, so we chose the Museum of Micro Miniatures. In reading about this museum in the tourist brochure—my only source of information since this librarian could not locate a travel book dedicated to Andorra—we pictured some of the small portraits in tiny perfect frames that we had seen in other museums. NOT SO. This museum had miniscule objects and scenes in gold leaf—the one that immediately comes to mind is a desert scene complete with camels and pyramids. It fits in the eye of a needle. I later learned that this scene is the favorite among museum visitors. There are powerful monoculars to view these objects. We could not comprehend how they had been created.

We could have spent hours studying these fascinating creations but at this point the snow was really heavy and discretion won out. We headed down the mountain and into Spain where the sun was shining. We had originally intended to exit through France since we like to travel in a circle, but were dissuaded by the snow and by the admonition of the TI lady in Andorra La Vella that it is “really far”. Actually nothing is truly very far in Andorra.

About the Catalan language: it is an amalgamation of all the other Romance languages however it sounds like none of them. In spite of our experiences traveling in Barcelona and the rest of Catalunya, I had no idea that Catalan is the national language of Andorra. And French appears to be #2. To my admittedly non-linguistically trained eye Catalan most resembles Portuguese in its written form. Since I speak decent French and have a basic reading knowledge of Spanish and even a smattering of Portuguese (from one visit) and Italian (from travels, but mainly from opera) I thought I would pick up some Catalan phrases. Here it is: “Si us plau”—that’s “please”. And that’s it.

Even though not a member of the European Union, the unit of currency is the euro since Andorra has no currency of its own. Prior to the advent of the euro Spanish pesetas and French francs were both accepted.

There are also no airports anywhere in the county, nor is there a train station. You must fly to Toulouse, France or Barcelona, Spain . The best way to get around is to rent a car. The roads are good, although frequently snow-covered. We were there at the beginning of November and the snowstorm we encountered did not seem to be a rare occurrence.

Do we expect to visit Andorra again? Nope. There are too many other places on our bucket list. Are we sorry we went? Nope. We’ve visited other places “because they were there”. It makes for interesting party conversation. On to Liechtenstein!

BSC in the USA (part 1)

I've talked about it long enough. It's time for me to join the world of snark. For your reading pleasure, it's BSC in the USA, the absolutely ridiculous Baby-Sitters Club super special in which the whole club (unless you count Logan and Shannon) and a few family members travel across the country in two RVs. For the BSC uninitiated: http://www.scholastic.com/annmartin/bsc/index.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baby-sitters_Club


There are many fabulous blogs out there (promotion anyone?) that recap BSC books, snark the ridiculous, and discuss the finer points of the series. My purpose is slightly different. Since this blog is supposed to be about travel, I'll be covering the books that are about, well, travel. And hopefully adding some of my own experiences where they fit. And I figure a good place to start is the horrible wonderful horrible BSC in the USA. One quick note: my current plan is to go chapter by chapter so as not to miss anything. This also might take a few parts to finish... So now, without further ado, let's begin!


BSC in the USA opens with some handwriting from Dawn. At this point in the series, Dawn lives full time (minus vacations and summers) in California. She's currently in Stoneybrook for the summer, but that's about to be cut short as her father has agreed to drive an RV cross country for a friend. Despite Dawn's environmental protests, she agrees to go along, as does Jeff. When Dawn mentions the trip to the rest of the BSC, they're so excited about it they want to join in. Because Watson somehow can't help stealing vacation plans, he decides that a cross-country trip would be just the thing for the Thomas/Brewer clan. Minus Sam and Charlie. And Emily Michelle. And Nannie. What Watson lacks in desire for family togetherness he gains in generosity to Kristy's friends. And thus, the rest of the baby-sitters are invited along.


Not to be outdone, Jack (Dawn's father, remember? No?) insists Dawn invite friends as well. Basically, all the BSCers get to go. Each person gets to choose a destination. Just for the sake of simplicity, the RVs are divided up as follows:


Heading north with the Schafers: Jack (driving, San Francisco), Dawn (a ghost town), Jeff (rock climbing), Mary Anne (Maynard, Iowa, home of her grandmother), Kristy (major league ballparks), Claudia (Art Institute of Chicago), and Stacey (Seattle).


South with the Thomas/Brewers: Watson (driving, Lester, Oklahoma), Elizabeth (someplace scenic), Karen (Four Corners), Andrew (San Diego Zoo), Mallory (Chincoteague), Jessi (Dalton, Mississippi), and Abby (Graceland).


First off, half those places are fictional. Second, you'll notice that quite a few people had trouble with the concept of picking a place to visit. But we'll get to that.


Anyway, there's a lot that's snarkable in the first few chapters (before anything actually happens) but I'm skipping most of that because it's boring. On with the trip!
The first chapter on the road belongs to Jessi on account of the southern RV stopping for a visit with Jessi's relatives in Oakley, NJ. In case you didn't already know Jessi's black, her grandparents have an "African theme" to their house and her grandmother has provided a large meal consisting entirely of soul food. I just find all of that... a bit interesting I guess.

The only thing remotely interesting that happens in this chapter is that Jessi accuses Mallory, her best friend, of racism. Way to go Jessi! I mean, I get that racism is something she's dealt with and that's definitely not cool. But, seriously? Her best friend? Anyway, since I haven't been to the fictional town of Oakley, NJ, it's time to move on.

Sticking with the southerners, their next stop is Chincoteague (or, in Kristy's spelling if I remember correctly, Chinkateeg. Sure it's a hard word, but, you're not Claudia, Kristy.) This is Mallory's destination. Well, to be more precise, Assateague is. For the non-horse book fans (like me, and Mal and Jessi would so not approve) these islands have something to do with books. See Misty of Chincoteague for more info if you actually care. I don't.

While on Chincoteague, they get into an accident. It's not Watson's fault (or so we're led to believe, dun dun dun) but as a result, the group meets the annoying Hoyer family and their brat granddaughter Felicitas (or as she would say, "It's Liz, dammit!"). I wouldn't mention it except it sort of comes up later.

From there, Team South (as I think I'll call them from now on) head over to Assateague, where the wild, make that feral, horses actually are. Even though the island is big and visitors are only allowed on a tiny part of it, they get to see the horses. Of course they do. Mallory cries. (C'mon Mallory, you're not Mary Anne!)

Next stop, Graceland. Now we're getting somewhere. Graceland is one of those places I've actually visited. I therefore know exactly how ridiculous it is that Watson and Elizabeth leave the kids and take some "time off". In Memphis. A big, unfamiliar city. Five kids 13 and under (Abby, the oldest, being the only 13 year old) are left to visit Graceland by themselves. Honestly? If I had seen a group of young kids alone at Graceland, I probably would have... made an idle threat. But seriously, that's kinda cause for concern.

Abby, the supposedly ultimate Elvis fan actually doesn't seem too thrilled with Graceland. It seems like she's more interested in convincing the others that Elvis is still alive. Abby, you're already in a cult. You've sworn allegiance to the BSC, participate in ritual sacrifices "meetings" three times a week, and devote most of your free time to brainwashing America's youth through the power of Kid Kits. You don't have room in your life for this.

On to the house! Graceland is amazing. Amazing in an unbelievably tacky way. Rather than describe it, I'll let the pictures do the talking. Check this out:

The outside, obviously. I couldn't get a good picture thanks to the constant influx of people and tour buses.






The living room, I think. I think the style is called tacky fabulous.

Dining room.

Kitchen, complete with carpet.

And finally:

In particular, Abby comments on the tackiness of the den, noting its "jungle decor". Uh, they call it the jungle room for a reason, Abby. Some Elvis fan you are. That room's famous. I actually plan to talk about the Graceland house in more detail in an upcoming post so enough about that for now.



Moving on, Abby et. al. decide to stalk an Elvis impersonator (who may or may not actually be Elvis) by following him to a motel. I really do hope it's the Heartbreak Hotel. Yes, there is one literally right next door to the whole Graceland complex. I have to say, though, it looked kind of seedy to me. Maybe not the best place for a bunch of kids to be wandering around? Well, no one's offered Watson and Elizabeth any parent of the year awards, at least as far as I can tell.


The kids supposedly meet up with the grown-ups at the mall "across the street from Graceland". Here I have to rant a little bit. Now, I don't know how much Graceland changed in the ten or so years between the publishing of this book and my visit. However, as it is now, the mansion, a museum, some Presley graves (Elvis is buried there) and some other things (property owned by Elvis) are on one side of a street. The information center, some other museums (maybe newer museums?) gift shops, etc. are on the other side. If the layout is the same as it was, saying "across the street" really doesn't make sense. The tickets are bought and the tour starts from that side of the street. (Does that make sense? I'll consider clarifying... eventually.) And I don't know what "mall" they were talking about. Strip mall of Elvis gift shops, maybe. Personally, I think maybe Watson and Elizabeth were just trying to ditch the kids. Considering one of them is Karen, I really wouldn't blame them.


Are you fed up with this yet? I am. For now. Thus ends part one. Part two hopefully coming very soon!

(Sidenote: I'm doing this from memory so please feel free to correct any details!)

Bannerman (Okay, Pollepel) Island: Hudson River Part 2

Because I finish what I start, I have to do a second post about the Hudson River. And because 2009 is the 400th anniversary, I have to do it before Friday. Bugger. So this is gonna be a short one.

The subject? An island I always thought was called Bannerman. Turns out it's called Pollepel but I don't think I'll really bother with that.

Anyone who's taken the train north from New York City, along the Hudson, as far as the <>lovely destination< /sarcasm> of Beacon may have seen an interesting sight oh, maybe a third of the way across the river (maybe a little less?) or so. Yeah, I know that's probably not very many people but honestly, it is a worthwhile sight. What is it? Why, it's Bannerman Pollepel Island, of course!

And what is this island other than just an island? It's a supposedly haunted island that now has some ruined castle-like buildings on it. And I mean really cool castle-y buildings. I've taken that along-the-Hudson train many, many times and that island is something I've always watched out for and, as I child, something I was always curious about.

The people who eventually owned the island (the Bannerman family, though they weren't the first owners) and did all the building there owned some kind of munitions business. I have some vague memory that they also had something to do with fireworks or something? Maybe just ammo? I think some of the buildings were eventually destroyed thanks to some kind of explosion or something. I keep saying "or something" because I really don't remember, their website isn't specific, and I'm feeling a bit too lazy to actually do the research.

The point: Bannerman Island is a really cool place with some ruined castle buildings on it. Why am I going on and on about it? Because I've been there.

A few years ago, it became possible to visit the island on a boat tour. I think my mother thought it would be a nice family excursion (I know I agreed) and so we went. The visit begins with a nice boat ride but that's the boring part.

Once on the island, everyone has to wear a hard hat. I know the island's buildings aren't stable but I have to wonder if the whole hard hat thing maybe isn't somewhat of a gimmick. The island is overgrown and it can be hard to walk, even on the paths. Unlike many castles I've visited, it isn't possible to go into or really very close to the buildings. They don't build 'em like they used to, I guess.

For some reason, I don't remember this island visit in all that much detail. I certainly remember being there, I know what it looked like, and I definitely learned some history. It's still a little fuzzy, though. This is especially strange since this visit was, at most, six years ago.

Unfortunately, no one brought a camera that day. I really wish I had because it really is a neat-looking place. I'd post some pictures from elsewhere on the internet but I'm still a little scared of that "may be subject to copyright" thing. Instead, here's a link to the Bannerman Castle Trust with more info and some pictures: http://www.bannermancastle.org/

Here's one picture, I think it's kind of old and it doesn't really do it justice:

According to an article I just read, the Bannerman family that owned/developed the island were descendants of the MacDonald clan that mostly got slaughtered at Glencoe. I may be the only person who finds that interesting but I do. That might only be because I've been to Glencoe, though. And just FTR, those MacDonalds were (mostly?) killed by members of the Campbell clan. They went on to make soup. According to my tour guide in Scotland, many people still think of them as traitors... Just thought I'd pass that along, no judging here. (For those who like history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe Apologies for using Wikipedia.)

Since I have been there, here's a picture that might be of Glencoe:

Edited to fix my sadly unrecognized "sarcasm" html code and to add the following:

While there is more info about the island itself out there, I do think I should mention that part of the castle just collapsed. There's a fund to stabilize the buildings and the need for that is currently more urgent than usual.

And the Winner Is...

Me!

No, wait. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK!

No, wait, Sadako and Sabrina!
Expect email/comments soon and thanks again all for participating.

As everyone was able to guess, the answer was in fact Yellowstone National Park. Which will be featured in both a post of its own (some day!) and in BSC in the USA, the snark/recap of which I'm working on.

In other news, I am actually a winner, too! I have a lovely Beautiful Blogger Award courtesy of Sadako! Thank you very much, Sadako. And I'm actually gonna try to do it (can there be blog overlap? I hope so...)



Here are the rules that came with the award:

1) Thank the person who nominated me for this award.
2) Copy the award & place it on my blog.
3) Link to the person who nominated me for this award.
4) Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself.
5) Nominate 7 bloggers.
6) Post links to the 7 blogs I nominate.

As I said, from Sadako, of the amazing Dibbly Fresh: http://dibblyfresh1.blogspot.com/


Hmm, interesting things...
1. I have perfect pitch (I'm told this is interesting).
2. I am a somewhat crazy collector of autographs/slightly stalkerish fangirl. (Might waiting for Bebe Neuwirth at 1 in the morning be a pretty good story? It wasn't cold but it was late...) I often have a most excellent partner in crime for this so it's all good.
3. I once (co-)won a bottle of port thanks to my knowledge of countries and their capitals and my competitive spirit. (The capital of Liechtenstein is Vaduz, in case you were wondering.)
4. I probably (re)read about as many kids books as I do adult books. Especially BSC. Because they are amazing(ly bad). Except they're actually fantastic.
5. One of my goals is to visit all 50 states. I'm at 48. Stupid Alaska and Hawaii.
6. Even though I love to travel, I really hate flying. I'd never do it if the other ways weren't so slow. (eh, that's not that interesting. It's true, though.)
7. I play the viola. Even so, I think I have quite a few brain cells.

Blogs I nominate:
1. Get a Pencil and Your Casebook: http://pencilcasebook.blogspot.com/ See what I did there? It is a great blog...
2.Not That Kind of Girl: http://notthatkindofgirl.net/ Am I cheating? It's all the crazy stuff I know I could never do and funny.
3. Psyched on the Prairie: http://psychedontheprairie.blogspot.com/ More fun than a long winter. (Careful though, that book hasn't been reached yet.) I might be cheating again.
4. BSCAG: http://bscag.blogspot.com/ Baby-Sitter's Club and continuity. New but great.
5. Are you there youth? It's me, Nikki: http://whatireadbackthen.blogspot.com/ Fun book blog!
6. Luke's Diner: http://coffeeatlukes.com/Lukes/ Yay Gilmore Girls!
7. BSC Chronologically: http://bscchronologically.blogspot.com/ Isn't the BSC great? Book by book and everything!

Contest/Chance to Win Stuff!!! WHERE AM I?

Inspired by some great blogs out there and filled with holiday spirit (kidding, sort of), I've decided to have a CONTEST with a chance to win PRIZES! Actually, I plan to do this fairly often and eventually I'll be offering stuff from my prize closet (yes, I really have a prize closet. If virtual closets and real shelves/boxes count). For this contest, the prizes are a bit more specific. And they are:

1. The Food Prize. Consists of one Peppermint Pig (http://www.saratogasweets.com/), a Christmas/New Year Victorian tradition. They are delicious and totally unique (like, in the world) to my hometown. Aaaand a box of potato chips. But not just any potato chips, original recipe potato chips like they were when they were invented. Which happened in my hometown. (Or so they say, and believe me, they do say. Did that make sense?)

2. The Book Prize. One copy of Bill Bryson's amazing book A Walk in the Woods (http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Rediscovering-Appalachian-Official/dp/0767902521). One of these days I'll do a whole post on it. I did pick that book for a reason (other than it's general awesomeness) but if you win and you don't like it have already read it, we'll work something out.

BTW, two prizes means two winners! I'll mention here that winning takes some work. My contests are trivia based (20 Questions-ish) and may require a little research sometimes. I think this one's pretty easy, though.

Next up, how to enter:

Anyone reading this can have up to three entries in the contest.

Entry one: the freebie. Everyone gets one just by leaving a comment (and, uh, guessing).

Entry two: Be(come) a follower. Whether through Google, Facebook, RSS, or whatever, I don't care. If it's RSS, mention in a comment.

Entry three: All about networking. Post about the contest on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you like (with a link please!) and mention in a comment. Please.

I have turned on comment moderation for the duration of the contest (I hope) so no cheating that way! When the contest ends (at 11:59 on 12/22), all correct entries (and remember you can have three and if you are sure of the answer, using it three times does increase your odds. Otherwise, three guesses means one might be right!) will be put in a hat and two winners will be selected. Make sense? On with the contest!

The contest itself is, as I said, sort of like 20 Questions. I pick a place somewhere in the world (for now we're staying on Earth), probably a place I've been though that might not be much help. I'll give a series of clues that lead to the one (hopefully) specific answer. I think I'm starting with a pretty easy one and just for the record, this place will be featured in an upcoming post. On with the contest.

Where AM I?

• The Grand Canyon is not located within my borders.
• My visitors like things that are faithful.
• Part of me can be described as mammoth.
• One might ask me, "What's the story, Morning Glory?" (The author of this blog thinks I should respond with, "What's the tale, nightingale" but that's not really relevant.)
• I sit on a massive supervolcano.
• Most of me (though not all) is found in one U.S. state.

I AM.....................

The contest is open until 11:59 on Tuesday, December 22. Happy guessing!

400 Years of the Hudson River (part 1)

Once again, I'm adding a new feature to the blog. I'm from (upstate) New York and I've decided to (re)visit interesting places near where I live and to then post about them. Why? Because it's fun, for one. And to, well, point things out to people who may not be aware of what there is to see in my (and possibly their) part of the world. So, if you're from NY, um, hello neighbor? And if not, here's why you should visit:

First up, the Hudson River. 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson sailing up the river that now bears his name. On his ship, the Half Moon, Hudson sailed up the river as far as Albany which is about 150 miles north of what's now New York City. There's a lot of interesting history about the area, the Native American tribes that lived there, and the eventual Dutch and English settlements. I, however, am going to skip most of that. For now. I may expand upon the history in later posts but for now, I'm going to focus on me.

Before I do, here's a little geography. The Hudson River begins (some sources say) at Lake Tear of the Clouds which is on Mount Marcy, the tallest mountain in New York. I remember being taught that the lake is at the top of the mountain. It isn't. I know that because I've been to the top of Mount Marcy and also because I've since read about it. The river meanders downhill and south, often as little more than a wide stream. Driving through upstate NY's Adirondack Mountains (something I'll post about later), you may cross the river often or simply drive along it. The river eventually widens, flattens, curves a bit, and flows down to New York City. Enough for now?

For most of my life, I've lived within ten or so miles of the Hudson River (and much closer, like within two blocks, when I was in college). As a result of that, I have many fond memories, pictures, and experiences that somehow involve the river. Here are a few of them:

Growing up, I often traveled to Poughkeepsie, NY to visit my grandparents who, for some unknown reason, decided to stay there even after retiring. On these visits, I always noticed a tall, imposing railway bridge slightly north of the Mid-Hudson Bridge which is used by cars. Somehow, I always knew that that railway bridge had "burned down" although I never quite understood that. How could something burn down and still be standing? I guess "caught fire" might be a better description, and that's certainly true. There was a fire on that bridge, in 1974, that stopped trains from crossing the bridge after nearly a century. In 1992, efforts began to turn the bridge into a walkway. On October 3 of this year, that walkway opened. The bridge/walkway is now a state park, allowing pedestrians to cross the Hudson between Poughkeepsie and Highland (places you may have never heard of).

I visited the bridge and crossed it (both ways) just a few weeks later. The leaves were at their peak (changing color, remember?) and the view was clear and colorful: blue sky, blue water, red and gold leaves, and enough sun to make the water shimmer. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera.

Not just a walkway and a state park, the bridge also contains information panels detailing the history of the bridge and the area as well as the kinds of fish found in the water. Even more than that, there's a cellphone guide where visitors can call a number and hear all sorts of information. I learned a lot including that the bridge was considered a technical wonder when it was built. It doesn't seem so special now! I seem to remember also learning that a Native American name for the river means something along the lines of "the river that flows both ways" because the river is tidal for many miles, I've heard as far as Albany. As I said, that's 150 miles.

More Information (and pictures!): http://www.walkway.org/index.php

Next up, the Hadley Parabolic Bridge (sometimes called the Hadley Bow Bridge). I hear what you're saying already: that's over the Sacandaga River, not the Hudson. You were thinking that, right? Well, if you were, you are correct. So why am I writing about it? 1. It happens to be right next to a no-longer-in-used railroad bridge. Weird, huh? 2. It's considered a technological oddity of sorts. 3. It's within spitting distance of the Hudson.

This bridge was built in a somewhat unusual style and is quite unique. It's now on the National Register of Historic Places. I'd rather not go into the technical details and history of the bridge (much too complicated and I'm not sure I completely understand it all) so instead, here's the Wikipedia page. Not that I recommend Wikipedia or have any idea if the information is accurate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadley_Parabolic_Bridge

Once again, I hear what you're saying. You want to know why I visited this bridge, right? Well, I was actually driving along on a road parallel to the road with the bridge (the old road's replacement, basically) when I saw a sign for the "parabolic bridge". Naturally, I was curious. Wouldn't you be? Having decided to check it out, I found this neat looking little bridge:

The railway bridge River!

Sign!

Today's third Hudson River mention is very close geographically to the parabolic bridge. On the same day I visited the bridge, I saw Rockwell Falls (name courtesy of this fabulous site: http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/waterfalls/home.html), a small but powerful waterfall in the Hudson River.

Waterfall?

The river below the falls (I think).



More on Hudson 400: http://www.hudson400.com/
Part 2 coming soon! Along with Seattle (/Washington), BSC in the USA and Yosemite.