George Washington Slept Here

He really did! And so did Philip Schuyler, Benedict Arnold, Alexander Hamilton, Horace Greeley, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, among others. More recent guests with recognizable names are Bill and Hillary Clinton. They stopped in for lunch.

'Here' is the Beekman Arms, the oldest continuously operating Inn in the United States located in Rhinebeck, New York. With three weeks left to my car lease and 3,000 miles to use up, my husband and I took a road trip downstate on a lovely but hot Saturday afternoon. We got a pretty late start but managed to fit in some neat locations, including Lyndhurst Castle and a picturesque drive up historic Route 9. Parts of Route 9 share the same route the Old Albany Post Road, a mail delivery road that connected New York City and Albany and followed the Hudson River.

My husband suggested dinner at the Beekman Arms, and when I took a look at the menu I was completely on board. They serve French Onion Soup!

The Inn sits on the main street, surrounded by historic buildings, restaurants, and homes. We walked around a bit before and after dinner. Rhinebeck is not far from Hyde Park, home of the best school for the culinary arts in the world, the Culinary Institute of America, otherwise known as the CIA. Yes, it shares those initials with another CIA, but in these parts most of us equate 'CIA' with pies not spies, among other culinary delights. (The culinarily-talented part of the family attended CIA.)

William Traphagen opened Traphagen Inn in the early 1700s, in an area then known as Ryn Beck. In 1766 the inn and tavern was relocated by Arent Traphagen, son of William, to the town's crossroads, then the King's Highway and the Sepasco Trail. The King's Highway is today's Route 9. The Sepasco Trail is now Route 308, an old Indian trail that connected the Hudson River to Lake Sepacso. During the American Revolution the Arms was called Bogardus Tavern. In 1802 Asa Potter bought it and renamed it Potter's Tavern. At some point it became the Beekman Arms, although I have not been able to ascertain when. (For more on the history of the Inn see here.)

Today the crossroads lines the Rhinebeck Village Historic District, a 2.6 square mile area that contains 272 historical structures and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The Beekman Arms is charming both inside and out.
 

We were greeted by a charming gentleman (Okay, I know I already used that descriptor but he really was charming!) who took us around and offered us a choice of seats. We found out later that his son had been our waiter, and he is currently a student at the CIA. We chose to sit in the bar area, which I believe is the oldest part of the building where the original tavern was located. 

I started the meal with the French Onion Soup, which was delicious. The soup was topped with Swiss and mozzarella, a perfect amount that enabled me to enjoy without having to chop up hefty chucks of cheese. If you are an FOS lover you know what I mean. It starts all warm and easy to eat but as the cheese cools it gets a bit more challenging. I love cheese just as much as the next gal, but too much of a good thing is, well, too much of a good thing. Hubby had the Wedge, a nicely plated chunk of iceberg lettuce with bacon and gorgonzola bleu cheese dressing. His only nit were the grape tomatoes that accompanied the salad. He does not like raw tomatoes of any kind, so that was no reflection on the salad. (I am not a big fan of raw tomatoes either, but I will eat them on a BLT! Otherwise what's the point of eating a BLT?)

For dinner I ordered the House Potato Gnocchi minus the chicken. It was served with blistered tomatoes and a basil pesto cream sauce. It was so tasty that hubby would not let me finish it because he wanted leftovers the next day. The blistered tomatoes were a pleasant surprise. They were the same grape tomatoes that adorned hubby's salad, but they were cooked. Cooked whole, and appearance-wise they looked as if they were still raw. So when I bit into one it burst and surprised me. Very nice. The basil pesto cream sauce was full of flavor and not too heavy.

Hubby had the Tavern Burger, complete with bacon, pepper jack cheese and horseradish sauce. He shared some of the house-cut fries that came with it. It was under protest but I reminded him that I was saving leftovers for him and that made him a bit more generous.

We also ordered two sides. We had to. First of all, we're both big fans of risotto, and when we saw parmesan reggiano risotto as a side we were forced to order it. My arms still hurt from the twisting. I say 'arms' because the other side we were forced to get was house-smoked bacon mac and cheese. I must say that R. Preston Faust, the executive chef, is totally out to ruin our diet.

I looked up the chef and found this:

Preston Faust came to the Hudson Valley to attend the CIA and got a job working for Larry Forgione at the Beekman Arms 1766 Restaurant while still in school. In 2001, the restaurant was renovated and renamed Traphagen Restaurant—Forgione's no longer involved, but Faust remained the chef. The idea was to honor Willem Traphagen, who founded the town of Rhinebeck and the tavern that became the Beekman Arms in 1766. Despite being the oldest continuously run hotel in the country, its food is contemporary and delicious. Last year, citysearch.com noted that Faust "continues Forgione's tradition of matching contemporary comfort food with rich local ingredients." (source)

The restaurant is now called The Tavern at the Beekman Arms, and if you're in the area or in the mood for a road trip, I highly recommend this place. We cannot wait to go back! 

Next time I'll share pictures of the inside, complete with orbs! Until then, enjoy anther picture of the gardens in front of the Arms.

And Happy Birthday to my history-loving Mom. I miss you.

Location, Location, Location

Overheard at breakfast this morning:

Young woman, wearing dark sunglasses, approximately 10:30 in the morning at my local diner with a male companion. She looked a little scruffy, he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

She ordered a coffee and a screwdriver. Her companion preempted their waitress and said it was too early for her to order a drink. Her mouth twisted a little and she said, "No it's not."

He said, "You can't order alcohol before noon on Sunday, it's the law."

She looked at him for a second then asked, "What state are we in?"

Cheers!

Shiver Me Timbers

So apparently pirates weren't just limited to sailing the seven seas. We had them on the Hudson River as well. It may not be much of a surprise to some of you but it is to me. I must not have been paying attention when I was learning history.

Dundee, Scotland is a long way from Sleepy Hollow, New York. Even so, William Kidd, born in Dundee in January, 1654, managed to make his way up the Hudson River, or so legend has it. William Kidd, better known as Captain Kidd, is one of the most famous, or infamous, pirates in history, although there is some debate as to the extent of his guilt.

Regardless, he was hung in Wapping (East London, the Docklands), on May 23, 1701, on Execution Dock. He wasn't found guilty of piracy, but of the murder of his gunner, William Moore, in October, 1697. His execution was botched when the first rope broke. After his execution his body was gibbeted and left to hang over the River Thames for three years as a warning to other would-be pirates. This may explain why he is said to haunt various locations, including some in Tarrytown (see 14, 15 & 16).

On a side note, the Docklands were the target of an IRA bombing in 1996. Canary Wharf suffered extensive damage and two people were killed. I was in London that fall and the sight of the damage is still imprinted in my mind. 

Back to Captain Kidd.

In the same park that we traipsed through to find the lighthouse is a large rock known as Kidd's Rock.

The sign, erected by the Parks department, says this:

In legend, this rock was where Frederick Philipse I conspired with Captain William Kidd, the notorious pirate. Legend has it that Philipse would light a fire on this rock to beckon Kidd's ship. Philipse owned significant shipping interests and was known to be engaged in smuggling as were many other Americans of the colonial period. Lord Bellomont, the British colonial governor suspected that Philipse had obtained and hidden Kidd's contraband "treasures". Kidd was captured, transported to England and executed in 1701.

Frederick Philipse I was a Dutchman who left a big mark on the downstate New York area. The previously mentioned Philipsburg Manor and Philipse Manor Hall (Yonkers) were both constructed by his family and were part of his 52,000 acre property that stretched along the Hudson River.

The rock is still pretty impressive, although I imagine it was much more prominent in Captain  Kidd's era before sediment enclosed it.

And in the spirit of it's all connected, Captain Kidd has a connection to 9/11.

More on that soon ...

The Great Lighthouse Hunt

On a recent road trip to Tarrytown, New York (more on the trip in the next couple of posts), we (okay, mostly me but my husband is a real trooper) wanted to stop by the Tarrytown Lighthouse, a pretty white structure on the Hudson River just this side of the Tappen Zee Bridge.

We had seen the lighthouse from Lyndhurst Castle, and it looked pretty close. After all, we were in Tarrytown and the name of the lighthouse as I had found it online was the Tarrytown Lighthouse, or just Tarrytown Light. However, according to the GPS it didn't exist. The closest thing we could find was Lighthouse Ice Cream. We applied our extensive logical abilities and figured the lighthouse was nearby. We were on our way to Rhinebeck for dinner, but the GPS said it was a 10 minute ride from Lyndhurst Castle so we headed out for a quick pit stop.

The first snafu occurred when we were less than a minute from our destination. The GPS had us taking a left at the fork and then doing a U-Turn. What it didn't tell us was that we were supposed to take a left at the fork that was across the intersection from the fork we were at. That added about 8 minutes to our trip while the GPS recalculated.

We finally made it to the ice cream place and went beyond it to a small marina, looking around for the lighthouse. No luck. We pestered a man walking with his kids and he told us we could walk there from a pathway nearby. It was about a mile but it was sweltering heat so we asked if we could drive there. He gave us directions through the construction site next door that would take us 'pretty close'.

Since we had a few hours before dinner we decided to make a pit stop at the ice cream store. If you're ever in Tarrytown I recommend the black raspberry. We also asked the employees if they could direct us to the lighthouse but neither one of them had heard of it. Ah youth!

We cut through the construction (no worries, we were not trespassing or otherwise lawbreaking) and reached a dead end, literally. No lighthouse in sight, just more construction and abandoned warehouses. Between the ice cream and dead end we added 30 minutes to our quest.

Husband rechecked the GPS to no avail. I remembered that the lighthouse was in a park but that still didn't help. The next logic we applied was to follow the shoreline. How hard could that be? We knew the lighthouse was just within reach. Hug the shoreline and look for a park.

Yup. Actually, no. Next thing we knew we're at the visitors' entrance to Kykuit and Philipsburg Manor. So we circle back and stalk a woman walking her dog for directions. She was very helpful and gave us the name of the park the lighthouse was in, Kingsland. She also said it was next to the Philipburg Manor train station. We put that into the GPS and thought we were on the right track (ha ha) when we saw signs for the train station. The GPS took us straight to the park.

But it was not the Kingsland Park, it was the DeVries Park. The signs said for residents only, it was mainly a playground and sports field park, and it was on the wrong side of the railroad tracks. Now into almost an hour of our 10 minute trip, I decided that we were just wasting our time and we headed back from whence we started.

By this time hubby had to use the restroom, and I decided to give it one more shot. We pulled into the visitor lot for Kykuit etc. and luckily it was still open. The reason for stopping there was an off-chance that my aunt, a docent for Kykuit, might be there and we could say hello. End result was that she was not, but hubby did get to use the restroom and I got a couple of cool books in the gift shop. The woman working the gift shop was pretty uppity and unhelpful, just saying, and was not too thrilled to give me specific directions to the lighthouse. She knew exactly where it was, but her directions consisted of go right, then left, then right. Not kidding. There were multiple streets between there and the park so that was like saying just go that way. I guess I annoyed her because I asked her what Philipsburg Manor was. She looked down her nose at me and explained with one eyebrow up the entire time.

Sigh. I love history so I truly wanted to know for a future visit. Oh well, back on the hunt.

We decided to go back to the train station and take another shot from that angle. Lo and behold, there was a tiny sign for the lighthouse and Kingsland Point Park. We drove down the shady lane and there it was. The sign, that is.

Apologies for the poor picture quality. There was no fog or ghostly apparitions floating by. The a/c was cranked in the car and when we stuck the camera out of the window the lens fogged up.

We had to pay $4.00 to get into the park, but hey, support the local economy. And the gentleman collecting the cash was a riot! (The visitor center lady should take people skills lessons from him.)

It was still beastly hot out when we parked the car. I asked hubby if he was getting out and he said "After all the %^&* we went through to find this thing, you better believe it!" And of course it was a bit of a hike to find it once we got into the park.

The best surprise of all was that we could not get even close to it. The pathway to the lighthouse was padlocked shut. /sarcasm

Maybe some day it will be opened again. In the meantime, I got some from-a-distance pictures for you.

This lighthouse is also known as the Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse and Kingsland Point Lighthouse. This lighthouse was originally half a mile off shore, but over the years debris from a demolished General Motors factory moved the shoreline a few feet from the lighthouse. If you go to this link you can see an old postcard of the lighthouse from the early twentieth century which shows the lighthouse in its original location.

The link also gives a comprehensive history of the lighthouse's 78 years of operation, which was officially lit in 1883. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1961 when its light was replaced by the navigation lights installed on the Tappen Zee Bridge. The Hudson River has quite a few lighthouses, some of which I hope to visit in time.

This lighthouse was unique to the lower Hudson River lighthouses because it has living quarters for the keeper and his family. The first keeper, Jacob Ackerman, manned the lighthouse until 1904. The last keepers, Richard and Agnes Moreland, were a young couple who lived there for two years. Both of their daughters were born during that time.

In the end, our 10 minute ride took about 90 minutes, but what can you do. The park itself was beautiful, especially the views of the river. Next up, an interesting rock in the park. In the meantime, enjoy some views from the park.

Scary or Sweet?

Keep in mind while reading that before my shopping spree I just watched a movie about a seemingly normal guy who was a stalker of the worst kind ...

I finished picking up all the items on my shopping list at my local grocery store. Of course when I got home I realized that I'd forgotten something, but that is usually what happens when you feel confident that you can remember everything in your head. But that is not the point of my little story.

It was another busy day, and because I had an item that was not scan-able I decided to use the human-manned checkout. Lucky for me my item count did not exceed the 15 item express lane limit so I was able to take advantage of the quicker checkout option. 

The cashier was a young man, pleasant face, average looking. The only thing out of kilter was that while scanning the items of the woman in front of he kept talking to himself under his breath. He did not appear to be angry or upset, so I assumed he was perhaps counting the items he was scanning. I was not close enough to hear, nor was I paying very close attention.

When it was my turn he asked me how my day was going, which was very nice, and we exchanged the usual resulting pleasantries. At the same time a pretty young lady got in line behind me, and when he looked up at her he mumbled. "Oh no."

Strange, thinks I, and then he says to himself in a low voice, "I can't, she's too pretty" while shaking his head. He repeated it a couple of times then in a perfectly normal tone said thank you to me as he handed me my receipt.

So, scary or sweet?

You decide.

 

Ghosts and Books!

If you've been reading along you know I am into both books and ghosts. 

One of the paranormal shows on Syfy that I enjoy is Haunted Collector, which revolves around John Zaffis and his team of paranormal investigators, two of whom are his son and daughter. I had the pleasure of listening to John speak in the past. He was interesting, articulate, well-informed, and pretty darn cool. I learned later that he is nephew of Ed and Lorraine Warren, noted paranormal investigators (Amityville Horror).

Mr. Zaffis opened a paranormal museum to house the 'affected' objects he has collected over the years. It is currently closed due to the shooting schedule for Haunted Collector. I was considering visiting it at some point in time but maybe not. A mutual friend recently told me a story about the process of moving the objects from John's house to the museum. Objects are 'cleansed' via a binding ritual performed by members of the clergy, although this ritual does not always remove whatever is attached to the object. Apparently things got very interesting when the objects were temporarily displaced and the binding rituals had to be repeated. So maybe I'll give that visit careful consideration. You never know. 

I caught an episode of one of the many (too many for my husband's taste but not too many for mine) paranormal shows airing these days, and it contained a segment about some folks' experiences at Browse Awhile Books in Tipp City, Ohio. (Facebook, couldn't find a website for the bookstore) So I was intrigued when a recent episode of Haunted Collector featured this very same bookstore. Even cooler that it made the Huffington Post news.

Claims made include the presence of a child spirit, and toys are left out for the child to play with. The team caught a small ball move quickly sideways as if it had been pushed. The team also caught a book falling off the shelf, a book that was spine out, in between other like-shelved books. The book was an Anne Perry book, one of my favorite authors.

So it appears that I have something in common with a ghost!

 

(Just a Reminder that) Crime Fiction Rocks!

Are you a mystery fan?

If so, considering heading to Cleveland this October 4 - 7 for some up-close and personal mystery fun. The fun is not a mystery, it's a given. You'll be spending four days with fellow fans, mystery (and other genre) authors, booksellers, and industry professionals who share your love of reading.

Bouchercon 2012 is getting close! 

And it's not just for mystery fans, you'll find all sorts of authors there.

This year's Bouchercon is being held in Cleveland, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which itself is home to the opening ceremonies.

(Shameless plug: Bouchercon 2013 will be held in my neck of the woods, Albany, New York.)

This year's special guests are Elizabeth George (American Guest of Honor), Robin Cook (Distinguished Contribution to the Genre), Mary Higgins Clark (Lifetime Achievement Award), Les Roberts (Special Cleveland Guest), Doris Ann Norris (Fan Guest of Honor), and John Connolly (Toastmaster).

 

Hope to see you there!