Day Trips--New York Hudson River Valley

One of the best things about living on the East Coast is the abundance of history within such a small place.  With so many historical sites, museums, and other things to see, there are many fun day trips that are easy to take if you have a car and a sense of adventure.  Some of our favorites so far (and a few we want to do in the near future) are:

NEW YORK--HUDSON RIVER VALLEY

United States Military Academy, West Point
Roughly an hour from Stamford, CT.  There is a visitor's center and a military museum.  The visitor's center closes at 4:45pm and the museum closes at 4:15pm, so plan to go earlier in the day.  More information for visitors: http://www.usma.edu/visiting.asp.

Definitely visit the Ice Cream Shop (419 Main Street, Highland Falls, NY) right across the street from the West Point Museum.  They have fun flavors and huge scoops.  What is more American than military and ice cream?


Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library
The FDR library is about an hour and a half from Stamford, near Poughkeepsie, and the drive is beautiful.  Info: http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/

If you are in or near Poughkeepsie, Alex's Restaurant is a fun and tasty place to stop for lunch.  Locals have warned me though that it is best to avoid downtown Poughkeepsie outside of normal business hours.  The place shuts down on weekends and in the evenings.

Alex's Restaurant
1 Market Street at corner of Main
Poughkeepsie, NY
Phone: (845) 452-1125
http://www.alexsrestaurant.org/Alexs_Restaurant/Home.html


Sleepy Hollow (and nearby)
The original Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is also about an hour from Stamford in New York.  The town of Sleepy Hollow has a variety of fun things to see and do.

Cemetery: http://www.sleepyhollowcemetery.org/
Village of Sleepy Hollow: http://www.sleepyhollowny.gov/
Jack O'Lantern Blaze (near Halloween every year, sells out early): http://www.hudsonvalley.org/events/blaze
Rockefeller Estate: http://www.hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/kykuit
Van Cortlandt Manor (Revolutionary era home): http://www.hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/van-cortlandt-manor