Nov 16-Sagamore Hill

Today we got brave. We wanted to drive out to Oyster Bay and tour Sagamore Hill, which was Teddy Roosevelt's home. To do that from where we are in New Jersey, you drive through the Holland Tunnel ($6 toll), cross downtown Manhattan, cross the Brooklyn Bridge, and drive halfway up Long Island. WE MADE IT! Wasn't nearly as bad as I'd imagined. It was worth the trip because Sagamore is just the way I thought it should be. It sits at the top of a hill (duh, Sagamore HILL), surrounded by apple orchards. You can't take pictures inside, but its FULL of interesting items that were gifts to TR from all over the world. Dark paneling with trophy heads of all kinds of rare animals hanging on the walls. He was quite a hunter...and environmentalist, which seems to conflict today, but didn't in his day. The Roosevelt's had a ton of money, so when TR was 26 he decided that he didn't want to live in the city--bought 150 acres on Long Island in what was then the wilderness. This is the home he had built...he lived there from 1885 until he died in 1919. He was the 26th president so Sagamore was the summer White House while he was in office. The furnishings are authentic and you really get a sense of the man when you visit. They have an impressive museum too. I didn't know that TR was a Medal of Honor reciepient for his command during the Spanish American War (San Juan Hill) AND a Nobel Peace Prize winner for negotiating peace talks during the Russo-Japanese war. TR and his father were both Medal of Honor winners, one of two father/son sets. Gene wants you to guess who the other two are...I'll tell you later if you can't get it.
The funniest part of the day was trying to get home. By the time we finished at Sagamore it was rush hour. We had a leisurely dinner in Oyster Bay...just long enough to get some of the cars home, and for it to get dark and the rain to start. Gene had been wanting to drive around in Manhattan so thats just what he did! We crossed the bridge back onto Manhattan and drove up and down several times. Up Park to Central Park, down Fifth (right past the Empire State Building), back up Third, down to WTC accidently (we missed the turn)...FINALLY through the Holland Tunnel again and HOME. He is CRAZY. It was dark (and pouring rain!)--people wearing black and carrying black umbrellas--taxi cabs flying all around--nobody cares about lanes or red lights--busses--Gene loved it! I'm sure it was the highlight of his trip to NYC. This morning he says, "did you take any pictures of driving home last night?". Yeah, right. Between reading the maps and fearing for my life (and the lives of all the pedestrians) I was supposed to take pictures. You get the picture!!