Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Visit with Mary Bea and Kurt in Poughkeepsie, NY

Since Poughkeepsie, NY is only a day's drive from Cleveland, we decided to make the trip to visit my good friend, Mary Bea, and her husband, Kurt.  Mary Bea recently had her leg amputated and is now getting used to her prosthesis.  She got lots of practice while we were there.  Our first outing was to a farm where she and Kurt used to live.  The owners sold the property to some nuns with the promise that they would keep it as a working farm which they have done.  They make cheese and have a nice little shop.





When we got back to the house we had a really nice visit.  I got the job of throwing out the spoiled alcohol drink that had curdled.  Yuch.  But I was happy to help out.




We did enjoy drinking some Sambuca  and making up silly rhymes to go with it.  We laughed pretty hard.



They live near a walking bridge that goes across the Hudson River so we did that.  It was a couple of miles.  Mary Bea wisely decided to use her wheel chair for this little jaunt which made it much more enjoyable for her.









We didn't realize the culinary pleasure of eating at diners.  We  ate at three different ones, and we enjoyed the meals at each one.  Here are some pictures of one of them.


Each diner greeted you with this enticing display of desserts.  It was hard to resist them although we usually did, except for once.





Nearby is Hyde Park which is where FDR was born and spent a lot of his years.  We visited his house and his library.  We didn't see all of it, but most of it.

















FDR and his wife, Eleanor, are buried on the grounds.  They are surrounded by a beautiful garden.


This is a display on the grounds with materials from the Berlin Wall with a great message about freedoms.


This is FDR's library.



Nearby is the Vanderbilt Mansion.  It wasn't open, but we took this picture of the view of the Hudson River from the estate grounds.


We drove to a nearby town, Rhinebeck, but since it rained we didn't get to see much.  It was a nice quaint town.  We ate some delicious pizza and ice cream at the Village Pizza Restaurant.



We had a nice visit too.  Picture time.





It was hard to say good-bye.  It was so nice to be able to spend some quality time with a long lost friend with whom I have reconnected.  Hopefully there will be other visits in the future.  Thanks, Mary Bea and Kurt, for a wonderful time.  Until next time.

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