This wonderful first-time tour could be called “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous!” If you like touring mansions, estates, presidential homes and libraries, state capitols, homes of legends, military academies, viewing colorful fall foliage, not to mention Halloween Jack O’Lanterns by the thousands and cemeteries, be sure to watch for this tour to be repeated! Personally, I had not even read the itinerary when I found myself unexpectedly assigned to escort this six-day tour. As I like to tell people, I keep my bags half-packed so I can get on the road again quickly.

Our first full day of travel took us to Carlisle, PA. Timing was right for our lunch location to be Mehlmans Cafeteria in St. Clairesville, a favorite place to stop. I made a call to the restaurant to let them know our time of arrival. A few minutes later my phone rang. It was an escort from another Croswell tour. I was surprised when she asked if we were stopping at Mehlmans! She said they were too! What are the chances?! Their tour was returning from Maine, heading home. So two buses met in Mehlmans parking lot, one going east and one going west, just long enough to say hello and goodbye!

On our second day, we had a short morning drive to Harrisburg where we toured the State Capital building. This awe-inspiring building should be on one’s bucket list to visit. It’s beauty and elegance rivals sights one would expect to see in Washington DC or in countries overseas. We were told the cost to build in 1906 was $13 million. If it happened to get destroyed, it would be impossible to replace. In other words, it is priceless.

We continued our drive, destination Irvington, New York, located on the Hudson River and twenty miles north of midtown Manhattan. This small town has had some of the wealthiest people in America as residents. Some current notable residents include Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. We toured the famous author, Washington Irving’s home, Sunnyside. The town was named Irvington in 1854 to honor him, and Sunnyside is preserved as a museum. His book, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” was first published in 1820, and has been in continuous publication for over 200 years.

Next on our list was a visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. This was a walking tour with a guide. We passed Washington Irving’s family plot, heard interesting stories about him and his friends, and was even allowed to walk inside a crypt. Most people chose to do this! Of course, the crypt hadn’t been used for years. Our overnight was at the Hampton Inn White plains/Tarrytown, Elmsford, NY, where we spent two nights.

This morning, we toured the Rockefeller Estate, the summer home to four generations of the Rockefeller family. It is called Kykuit. Our group was shuttled from the Visitors’ Center to the mansion. There were guides to provide details of the area and the family. No photos were allowed inside, however, with the fall colors on full display, we were able to get lots of nice photos of the grounds.

Our next stop was the Sleepy Hollow Historical Society and Museum where we met a guide. The guide had interesting stories to share. We saw the headstone of Katrina Van Tassel, the romantic interest of Icabod Crane in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Next, was a visit to the Lyndhurst estate in Tarrytown, NY. This estate was built in 1838 and was owned by a New York Mayor and later by a railroad tycoon. The railroad tycoon, Jay Gould’s daughter, donated it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Our dinner this evening was at Tarry Tavern in Tarrytown, another yummy meal with pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. We had a nice surprise for our evening event, The Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze, at Croton-on-Hudson. Our itinerary said 7,000 glowing, intricately carved pumpkins. Really? Sure enough, what a wonderful arrangement and display of carved pumpkins lining the half-mile walkway, creations of many beautiful designs, soft music playing, lights blinking and changing. There was nothing scary, very family friendly, even the Headless Horseman and Icabod Crane on horseback was done in a tasteful and fascinating manner. The group thoroughly enjoyed this experience.

This morning’s visit was to the well known West Point Military Academy at Highland Falls, NY. Today’s weather was misty with slight rain, which inhibited much of the views, including the Hudson River. Our step-on guide offered to take a photo with the Hudson River as a backdrop. This was a useless attempt, so we turned around and used the beautiful fall colors as a backdrop. We toured the beautiful Old Cadet Chapel. We had time for lunch and a visit to the Museum on the main street near the Visitor’s Center.

Our afternoon was filled with a visit to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Home in Hyde Park, NY. This is a huge complex and we were scheduled to visit the Presidential Library the following day. Our dinner this evening was at Shadows on the Hudson, a very elegant waterfront restaurant in Poughkeepsie, NY. The appetizers, food and desserts were amazing.

Our first stop today was at the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park. This is the same family that built the Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC. The story is that a niece of the Vanderbilt’s inherited this estate, and since she had a larger estate in New York, she didn’t want it. It was sold for $1, original furnishings and all, to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who donated it to the National Parks Service in 1940. From 1941 to 1943, Roosevelt’s Secret Service was housed in the basement.

Diner’s are plentiful in this part of the country. The Eveready Diner had a wonderful menu to choose from for lunch, items that normally cannot be found such as lentil soup. My lunch was lentil soup and an egg salad sandwich.

Next, we returned to the Franklin D. Roosevelt complex for a tour of the Presidential Library. After our time here, we began our trip west, stopping in Greentown, PA, for dinner at John’s Italian Restaurant. Since I had not yet chosen New York cheesecake, this was a must. One cannot find any cheesecake finer than New York cheesecake. We traveled a short distance to Wilkes Barre, PA, for an overnight.

Our last day was a long travel day home, beginning at 8:00 am. As mentioned, this was the first time this trip was on Croswell’s itinerary. From all indications, it was a huge success. I know I thoroughly enjoyed all the activities and a great group of travelers!

From the escort seat of,

Maxine Harris

Croswell's Sleepy Hollow & Hudson Valley Estates