springwood and olana

I enjoyed strolling the grounds of springwood, especially the walk down to the ice pond and the tidal marsh along the river (technically the hudson is an estuary as far north as Troy) --- i wasn't moved to take the house tour, but the exterior was interesting, especially in the rear where later remodelings, including fdr's massive expansion in 1915, didn't obscure the original 1845 Italianate house, which itself apparently enveloped an even earlier ca. 1800 farm house --- skipped the vanderbilt house and eleanor's house entirely ---

olana was simply spectacular --- it was late afternoon and impossible to get a decent shot of the view from the top of that hill --- i rounded the corner of the house to see the hudson and the catskills spread out in front of me, and it was very much a "whoa" moment ---

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