We actually managed to get up and going at a decent time today. It appears to be about 250 miles to our next stop. We decided to do most of it on state roads. It seemed it would be more direct and definitely more scenic.
Our last stop in Auburn was at the Harriet Tubman home. Here was another museum that is just getting started. There are loads of historic things in NY so I would imagine that funding is tight. This white house is a home that Tubman ran for aged, destitute blacks. Her home was across the lawn and is in the process of being gutted and restored. Tubman on the advice of Seward purchased this land in Auburn. She had a farm here and planted many apple trees. When she was a slave she had to work in the apple orchards. Even though she was starving she or the other slaves dared not to eat any of the apples. She planted her orchard so that anyone that was hungry could eat. Tubman made scores of trips back to slave country and rescued hundreds including her own family members. A huge price was on her head, but she did it anyway.
Following an hour or so at the Tubman sight we headed east on Hwy 20 through the heart of New York state. It was very hilly and covered in orchards and vineyards. It seemed to take forever to get to Poughkeepsie. Once we turned south we could see many huge old homes along the Hudson River. Our only other tourist stop was at Martin Van Buren's home in Kinderhook. We managed to get a stamp for our passport and in on the last tour of the day. His house was very progressive for its time (mid 1800's). He had running water and to the dismay of his guests, indoor plumbing. Van Buren had a huge built in copper tub and he bathed every day! This was Kurt's favorite home of all those we toured.
Traffic was getting much worse in this part of the state. We came upon an accident that had just occurred minutes before so we got flagged off in a different direction. We ended up driving though the tiny village of Tivoli. It had a very high concentration of what looked like very yummy restaurants. The CIA (Culinary Institute of America) is in Poughkeepsie so lots of chefs start up in the villages surrounding the school. It would have been awesome to have stopped and dined at one of the them but we were exhausted and just wanted to find our hotel.
Once we did find the hotel we ordered in some NY style pizza. I had a shower and a fabulous nap. Once I woke up piping hot pizza was at my door. Fantastic!
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