A Delayed Travel Day 2 (photo heavy)

This post has been mostly written for a few weeks now, but I got distracted and didn't finish it. Hopefully I didn't bore you with our first day of travel. We packed a lot into that day.You can read about it here. Day 2 was much less busy, but also very interesting. It was another beautifully warm and sunny day. We started our day at the Home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The house was actually his mother Sara's home, but he grew up here and lived here once he was married to Eleanor. The statue below was outside the visitor center.

The home originally was just the center portion, but was enlarged with the two wings by the Roosevelt family.

This statue of FDR is just inside the front door.

This is FDR's main room where his desk was.

Another view to the left.

The dining room table was set for Thanksgiving dinner.

This is the Dresden room. It was redecorated by Sara for a visit by the King and Queen of England in 1939.

The photos on the piano are of friends and family, many of them famous people.

Another view of the same room.

Below is the Pink Room. Many foreign dignitaries slept in this room including Winston Churchill.

The Chintz Room was used by Queen Elizabeth during a visit. The beds were made at Val-kill (the furniture factory established by Eleanor Roosevelt).

The room below was FDR's room from when he was a child until he married Eleanor.

The Blue Room (no longer that color) is the room where FDR was born.

This is Sara's bedroom after the additions were constructed. 

Eleanor's bedroom that she used after FDR contracted Polio.

Finally, FDR's bedroom....

and dressing room.

There is quite a view from the rear of the home. I didn't notice the fire hydrant when I took the photo. 

FDR and Eleanor are buried on the grounds. Zoom in to see the engraving.

We sat through the introductory video at the end of our tour and it was so very informative. We felt that if FDR was trying to establish Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance as well as many of his other important programs that the citizens mostly accept and take for granted today, he would never be able to in the current divisive political climate of the USA. When you watch and listen to this video you understand the reasons for all these essential programs. It was extremely informative. Yes, I learned all of this in high school, but as an adult I find it far more interesting and relevant. 

We did not tour FDR's presidential library...the first one established. Instead, we traveled to nearby Val-Kill. Val-Killl is the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. It is the home of Eleanor Roosevelt and where she and Franklin entertained friends, state visitors and the press. You must remember that the home I showed above belonged to Franklin's mother Sara. This is a much more modest home.

The rooms are warm and cozy.

This was Eleanor's office. She lived here after FDR died. 

The dining room was set for Thanksgiving.

Eleanor loved having photos of friends and family surrounding her.

I could settle into this room.

More photos.

There are trails on the property that we wanted to hike, but the leaves were covering slippery rocks and we didn't want to fall so we only walked a little way.

Hubby walking ahead of me.

Well, that is the end of our weekend away. I hope you enjoyed the photos and can visit these historic and interesting places yourself someday.

Thanks for stopping by!