Dangerous Bushisms

“I have a question,” Daughter said as we watched the news last night. “How could a president be so stupid?”

Daughter is a very bright child.

Dubya’s statements are often ripe with gaffs. The incompetent way in which he speaks has come to be one of the few things we can count on with this administration. Well… actually… we also can count on our rights being ripped away – one by one. What right is being stripped now? What gaff has this leader presented? An intentional one. He has been waging a deliberate war for years - not against terrorism – against women.

First he stacked the Supreme Court with extreme-right, anti-choice judges – one (Samuel Alito) who, in 1991, while a judge on the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, voted to uphold a Pennsylvania law requiring a woman opting for an abortion to first notify her husband. This is how women are seen by this administration and its appointees – as second-class citizens who must seek approval or permission before making decisions based on their own needs or wants. Second, he browbeat the FDA into postponing a decision on the already approved Plan B, forced them to make it available by prescription only, and only after a public outcry and several resignations was that overturned to make it available over the counter to women over 18.

And now this. What is it? It’s Dubya’s new definition of abortion – as if the abortion issue is not controversial enough.

An apparent memo from the HHS reads thus -

“The Department proposes to define abortion as ‘any of the various procedures — including the prescription and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action — that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation.”

So… by taking the pill, women are having abortions? An IUD is an abortion? Plan B is an abortion?

You can read the whole article here:

ABCnews

I have a ‘bush countdown’ keychain that actually counts the days and hours before he’s finally out of office. i can’t wait for it to reach zero. You can order yours here – Backwards Bush

Unfortunately, despite the pleasure of seeing his time in office tick away, a lot more damage can be done in these remaining days and hours.

Fortunately, there are still some sane people in our government – few as they may be.  

 

What can you do? You can write to your representatives and tell them what you think of this additional attempt to restrain women’s choices. Women’s rights. And you can think long and hard on all the needs of this country when Election Day comes this November… and every November after that.

Vegetarian Brunswick Stew

I’m trying to make all of my daughter’s favorite foods this week so when she comes home from day camp, she has a good meal to look forward to. She’s starting to enjoy bits of her days at camp now – little by little fitting in with the other kids – but it’s not something, she says, that she’d like to do again.

So… this week, I’ve made zucchini quiche and crab cakes, baked ziti and now, last night, Vegetarian Brunswick Stew, popovers and pumpkin fritters. 

 

The popovers were a delight as always – crispy outside, soft and moist inside. The pumpkin fritters? Well… even with the recipe from the Farnsworth House, I didn’t do so well with them. Crisp and perfect on the outside – raw on the inside. :-( They’ll take practice, methinks.

However… this stew is always great if you like vegetables. I got this recipe years ago when we went to Williamsburg, Virginia. In one of the period taverns there – an 18th century rowdy tavern – they served regular Brunswick Stew as well as this vegetarian version. Since we do not eat meat – except on very rare occasions – this has become a staple in our home. It’s delicious, hearty and fairly easy to make.

Vegetarian Brunswick Stew

2 – large onions sliced or diced

4 – cups fresh tomatoes chopped

2 – cups lima beans

3 – medium potatoes diced

2 – 16-ounce cans of corn (drain but reserve liquid in case stew is too thick)

1 – tablespoon sugar

1 – quart vegetable broth

salt and pepper to taste (I omit extra salt because of the broth)

Add vegetables to broth and simmer, uncovered, until beans and potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. Add seasonings. Simmer an hour or more, adding liquid as necessary – IF necessary.

“Brunswick stew is delectable if allowed to slow cook. It is said to never be eaten the same day as it is cooked because the longer it sits, the more deletable the flavor becomes.”

While it’s true the flavor is more delectable the next day, if made early enough and allowed to rest, the flavors are delectable enough to enjoy the same day as it’s prepared. That’s what we do. Every time, with no complaints.

Summer Camp

For the first time ever, Daughter started summer camp yesterday. It’s just day camp and only for this week and next. It’s a sports camp with swimming included daily. We thought it would be fun – of course we did, why else would we send her? She loves sports and she loves swimming. What better way to spend a couple of weeks than doing what you love with like-minded people? Fun, right?

Apparently not. Or so she said.

Sadly, as this is our first experience with summer camp, we didn’t realize that “3rd session” meant kids had already been attending for the two sessions prior, it’s a continuation, not a 3rd of 4 option. <sigh>

And so, friendships have already been formed and Daughter was the odd one out. Not only that, but the ’sports’ group she’s in includes four children only and only one of them… that being Daughter… is a girl.

About three hours into her day, I received a phone call from the University where this is held. It was the nurse. Yes. The nurse. Daughter was hit in the face by a soccer ball. Oh… and a football. She’s fine though…

She was fine – just a black eye. <sniff>

Getting her up this morning to go there again was no easy feat. I hope as the days progress she’ll find a way to enjoy it. This was supposed to be a fun time. Not a punishment or taste of torture.

Days 7 – 10 Vacation

What South Carolina vacation would be complete without a trip to Fort Sumter?

On our last day in Charleston, we hustled about the historic district, trying to fit in as many historic building tours as possible. We also managed to tour the oldest original plantation home in the state – Dreyton Hall.

  

This home was built in 1725 and while it stands empty, it stands. The paint on the walls has faded with time, but the history and grandeur of the home is still quite evident.

  

We were fortunate to have a tour guide whose expertise was in architecture. The details of the structure were too many to recall but fascinating as they were heard.

   

The reason this home escaped Sherman’s burning of the city, was because of a sign posted on the property. What was written on that sign? It stated that the home was used as a hospital to treat people infected with small pox. Was this true? Well, we will never know for sure but we are grateful for the sign whether sad truth or ingenious lie.

This final day in the Carolinas was the hottest. Nearly 100. We’re told that’s actually about 20 degrees cooler than it normally is there at this time of year. That worked out well for us, because of all days, we lost our car. <sigh> We must have circled the same area seven times before we finally found it. I’m guessing all the driving, touring and heat finally caught up with us and delirium took over.

However, we found the car and managed to get to our Fort Sumter ferry in the nic of time. NIC of time. What an amazing place this fort is. The outer walls are five feet thick. Mortar shells can still be seen in the walls and the original flags – from Union as well as Confederate troops – are on display in the museum there.

  

Did you know…

The Union officer in charge of the fort at the start of the war  – Anderson – told his men to sleep in the morning of the original bombardment of the fort by the confederates. He knew the fort was tenths of a mile further than was needed for a cannon ball fired from the mainland to do damage. However, Beauregard, a confederate officer who had trained under Anderson before the Civil War (which in Charleston, btw, is referred to as either The War Between the States, or more often as The War of Northern Aggression) ordered his men to fire up the cannon balls. They heated them to a red glow and fired them off. They didn’t blast through anything but they did start several fires and between putting out the fires and firing back, the limited Union troops were overtaken and Fort Sumter fell into enemy… oops… Confederate hands.

We were up early the next morning, ready for a 9-hour drive up to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Our goal was to get there in time to have dinner at the Farnsworth House. If ever you are in Gettysburg (I may have already said this, but it’s worth repeating) GO to the Farnsworth House. Eat in the garden or in the dining room, it doesn’t matter, just eat there and make sure you have their spoon bread and pumpkin fritters. Heaven on earth. With a few ghosts thrown in. LOL.

  

Seriously, the Farnsworth House is one of America’s top ten haunted inns. We were going to take their ghost tour after dinner, but the screams from the basement while we dined sorta changed our minds. One day…

We barely made it in time for dinner, btw. We hit traffic in D.C. and lost a full hour. Ten hours on the road made us want to drop into bed instead of eat, but we went anyway and were VERY glad we did.

There are over 100 civil war bullet holes in the side of the Farnsworth House. All still quite visible. The food is scrumptious with contemporary fare as well as that of the period. Best of all… I GOT RECIPES!!!! They now offer a cookbook that contains recipes for their famous spoon bread and pumpkin fritters. Of course, just because I can now make them, it doesn’t mean we’ll ever miss an opportunity to dine there… and maybe one day we’ll even work up the nerve to stay overnight at their inn…despite the top-ten haunted inn rating… and then again… maybe not. :-/

The next day, we walked around the town of Gettysburg…

  

…and then we drove the battlefield with an audio tour CD. Too much information to absorb on one listen, but clearly bloody and disturbing. Then again, it was war.

After the battlefield tour, we drove an hour to Hershey, PA. Chocolate Town! With Hershey kiss-shaped street lights.

The park was a thrill – what amusement park isn’t?

  

And though it rained on us the next day – so hard at one point, they shut down all the rides – we had a blast.

   

This vacation put 1804 miles on our car. I drove about 1700 of those miles and loved almost every minute of it. Considering we went from views like this in the south and in Pennsylvania…

To views like this as we neared home…

 

I’m guessing you can understand which part of the drive I enjoyed, and which I didn’t.

It took us two days at home to recover but we’re raring to go now and already looking ahead to next year. But first… we have over 1,000 photos to sort through and place into albums. So… if I’m AWOL again, you’ll know where I am. Sitting in front of mounds of photos trying to recall every facet of our wonderfully adventurous trip.

Thank you for letting me share my family vacation with you. We, obviously, had a great time and I hope you enjoyed hearing about it.

Day 4,5 and 6 – South Carolina

Well, Thursday evening was slightly stormy here and yet we had reservations for a dinner cruise. It’s always that way when we’re on vacation, so we dressed up and, with umbrellas in hand, off we went to the pier.

Beautiful.

Yes. It rained. Hard at times, but we still had a phenomenal time.

There was a wedding reception on the boat during our three-hour cruise. We had a two-piece band for wonderful dinner music then dancing afterward. The moon on the water was glorious and the food… ah… the food… unbelievably delicious. Mine was a cooked-to-perfection salmon fillet on fresh mashed potatoes with a honey and brown sugar glaze.

To. Die. For.

Dessert? Key lime pie. A perfect, perfect evening.

Friday we headed over to one of the many plantation homes here. Middleton Plantation. The disappointments for us there were many. First, as mentioned in not one of their advertisements that I noticed, various tours of the plantation – including a narrated horse and carriage ride and a slave’s life tour – were given only until noon while the property and house are open until 5:30. We arrived late after enjoying the hotel pool for an hour before starting our day so not one of the extra tours was available to us. Sadly, the cost of admission to the plantation was not a penny less despite the lack of tour ability.

The other disappointment was a biggie – the original plantation house was burned down by union soldiers after the civil war, and so, the only thing remaining from that period are ruins.

This was not mentioned anywhere or at anytime until we arrived at the plantation and paid. However, we did enjoy a tour of one of the later-built flank buildings.

 

Considering our car was the last in the parking lot at close of day, I’d say we made the most of what was available to us. There were costumed interpreters in the fields, in the barn, the mill and more. And the grounds themselves – acres and acres - were just a wonder to see.

   

How on earth did one family amass such wealth? Rice. Slaves from Africa brought with them a knowledge of growing that precious grain and then were forced to apply that knowledge for a headmaster who made it into a booming business. A business that has allowed generation after generation to own and operate the property to this day.

After admiring the grounds, the reflecting pool and gardens, we were humbled and saddened to be brought back to the reality of the times. The Middleton family owned hundreds and hundreds of slaves, and a list of their names is posted in one of the still-standing free-slave homes.

 

Also posted in that home was the 10-pound ‘reward’ notice for the capture of an escaped slave as well as the 20-pound reward for information about who might have been harboring that poor soul. It was amazing and sickening to me to see how important it was to slave owners to not only recapture their slaves but to put double the price on someone who dared to have a heart and give them refuge. I know it was the ‘times’ but it’s simply impossible for me to comprehend.

Today, we toured another plantation – Magnolia Plantation.

                        

Rice was the same product of this plantation. Fortunately, we were able to take a boat tour along what was once a rice field (over 100 years ago) but is now flooded and home to an abundance of wildlife – including alligators.

Alligators! We spent the day before at Middleton Plantation searching for some sign of alligators, then we came to Magnolia Plantation and there they were. Everywhere!

 

Planks for the alligators to sun on were built when water was drained from the rice fields. This was done because there is a ‘nature train’ that takes visitors through the property and often the alligators would be blocking the road, trying to warm up and dry off. Thinking it better to keep them away from the wheels of the train - not to mention human flesh ON that train – the planks were built in the middle of the fields. Once the fields were flooded again, the alligators started sunbathing there on their own. Win-win.

        

There is so much more to tell you but I’ll close with an observation – in history and today, humans, animals, and indeed even plants, take advantage of those less able to defend themselves. The European settlers turned on the Indians who befriended them and hoped they’d help protect them from more powerful tribes. Europeans, Americans and more abducted Africans who were less organized and less likely to revolt or commit suicide rather than be enslaved. Slaves threatened their children with ‘hard labor’ if they did not behave… alligators eat ducks, turtles, etc… but when alligators have their young, they must move them and guard them closely because baby alligators are a particular favorite of owls… who move into the area at breeding season.

So I wonder… when the moral compass kicks in and some of us decide not to take advantage of those weaker than us, does that make us the weaker ones? If we were threatened would we fight to the death or bend to the will of those stronger than us? And would we reproduce? Bring children into a world where they, too, would be beaten, threatened, owned? If truly pushed… if our children or our parents were threatened… would we toss that moral compass and become as twisted as those in power?

It’s disturbing to think of the evils man has done to man. It’s disturbing to think we’ve seen the horrors of it in the past… and yet on various levels, it’s still happening today.

These plantations were beautiful – the homes, the grounds, the views – but the way in which they gained their beauty is as ugly as it comes.

Days 1, 2 and 3 – Charleston, South Carolina

Tuesday we drove and drove and drove. We drove for so many hours from New York to Charleston, that by the time we arrived, we were all dizzy with fatigue. However… we’d arrived!

Downtown Charleston – the historic district – is a mirror into the past. Stunning porched homes with crape myrtle blooming in the yards, sit close to the street and close to each other.

   

 The area now is almost exactly as it was 200 years ago, and honestly, when we blurred the vision of autos and parking meters, we could just about see hooped-shirted ladies with parasols strolling down the narrow walks.

  

Sadly, it seems much of the town has not had the funding it very much needs and deserves. However, attempts are clearly being made to restore some of the old and glorious structures.

While the everyday homes were a joy to see, the homes along the battery were a wonder for the imagination.

Our first full day here included a narrated horse and carriage ride through town and then a walking ghost and dungeon tour in the evening.

 

Though we never met up with a spirit from the nether world, I can assure you, it wasn’t for lack of trying. We even had dinner in one of the ‘haunted’ restaurants. No one haunted it while we were there (that we know of), but that did not stop our imaginations from wandering – and after all, isn’t the imagination the most playful and exciting thing there is?

Today, we toured Charles Towne Landing Historic Site. Charles Towne was the first settlement in the Carolinas, settled by the English 1670. Archaeological digging is still being done on the acreage but it is still an amazing place to be. It’s actually impossible to grasp the concept of how these people lived – here in a brand new world, months away from their homeland, their village guarded by palisades and marshes for fear of attack from either Spaniards or natives.

Holes for posts from the original palisade were uncovered – which in itself amazes me - and a replica has been built in its place. A portion of the palisade is still being excavated, as are other areas within the site.  Still visible, are the earthen works and trenches for fortification of the settlement – which is similar to areas of Yorktown, Virginia and of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 

I’d love to come back here in a few years and see what else they’ve uncovered from this historic site… or to simply enjoy the gorgeous landscape.

   

 

 

Oh! And just a small oddity I need to share with those of you who know about my ‘raccoon in the roof’ issue… I thought maybe we were being stalked. LOL. Check out what was foraging while we were strolling through Charles Towne Landing… and yes, at mid-day, this is a rather curious sight…

Apparently, there is a mama raccoon and her babies here. For some reason, it’s not unual to see members of this particular family nosing around the area during the day. I’m glad, because I’d hate to think this cutie was sick.

Anyway… tonight, we’re off to a dinner cruise along the harbor…

The new (improved?) My Yahoo

I’ve had Yahoo as my homepage for ages. I’ve customized it to the T – with the colors I like, the content I want to see and the order in which I want to see it. My mail, local weather, lottery numbers and traffic reports are all right there at a glance. The news is there, too – front and center. World news, local news, political news and odd news. You name it, it’s there.

Until today, apparently.

Now, I’m all for keeping up with the times. I’d hate for anyone to be left in the dust as the world around us goes blooey on technology and such. However… when keeping up with the times means revamping everything I’m comfy-cozy with… well… that just pisses me off.

Yahoo? You’ve pissed me off. Royally.

They’ve revamped the entire page. Yes, I can customize it – but not to my specs. To theirs. With all the crap going on in the world, you’d think this ‘upgrade’ and ‘enhancement’ would be a trivial matter. Ah, but to me, having this constant, this simple place to visit each morning as a start to my day, was a comfort. A sign that at least something in the world was unchanged and familiar.

Alas… the unchanged and familiar is no longer so. Yahoo’s new homepage is busy with graphics, displaced modules, and advertisements. Instead of slowly waking to Yahoo news and other features of my pretty purple homepage, I’m greeted with a blitz of visual noise and confusion. So, how did I solve this problem? Well, I’ve reset my homepage from Yahoo’s main page to my inbox page. Yup. Yahoo mail is now my home page. Granted, I can’t see the news or other features but at least when I first go online, I’m not hit with that weapon of mass confusion.

I should probably make this blog my homepage… and in fact, if you soon see a Google search button somewhere over there to the right… well… you’ll know that’s just what I did.

Change? Yeah. Change is good. To a point. I expect at least some say in what that change might be and how it will affect me. I want options. I want choice. Yup. I suppose that sums it up. I’m simply a pro-choice kinda gal. 

Sorry Yahoo. You lose.

Vacation

I can’t believe our vacation is finally here. Well… almost finally here. We leave Tuesday for nearly a week in Charleston, South Carolina.

I’ve been researching Charleston activities and have come up with an exciting list of must-dos. First on the list – because we’re all into anything historic – is the Civil War Walking Tour. That is a must. Actually, we’ll do that on our last day there because straight from Charleston, we’re driving up to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where we will do the Union’s version of a Civil War walking tour. 

We’ve been to Gettysburg several times already but I’m going to say this upfront for any of you planning to go – Visit the Farnsworth House Inn.

 

There is a civil war cannon shell sticking out of the side of the building, a building riddled with civil war bullets. They offer a ghost tour in their basement – which we have yet to attend but hope to this time. It is said a ghost walks the halls of this Inn – and people spend the night there!! And, best of all, in my opinion, they make the most amazing – A. Mazing. – spoon bread and pumpkin fritters in all the world. Every time we go there, I say I’m going to ask for a recipe but I chicken out. This time… this time… well… we’ll see.

An hour closer to home from Gettysburg is Hershey Park, so, we’ll spend one day and night in Gettysburg and the final day in Hershey then head home.

Ah, but Charleston will be the highlight. My must-do list is packed with exciting things – the Festival of Houses and Gardens, which says it all, I think. A visit to the Heyward-Washington House - which is a house built in 1772.

1772!

Charlesston offers Ghost and Legend walks, Slavery and Freedom walks, of course the civil war walks and for one evening, a dinner cruise. Daughter is excited about the glass-bottom boat ride in the marsh. Yikes. Being on the water in a glass-bottom boat when crocs are following us with their eyes and hungry mouths… I dunno. “Fun” isn’t the word that leaps into my head.

Of course, we will also visit Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. I’ve heard some truly amazing things about this place. It sounds like a full day trip. Sprawling grounds with bridges and ponds, gardens… ah, imagine how some of us lived way back when. As opposed to how others of us survived.

 

Our week will be filled with excitement, I am sure. But two of the most exciting things I’m looking forward to are the ride down – there’s something about packing up the car with luggage and cooler and leaving in the wee hours of the morning that I find thrilling – and the hotel pool. Yay! Swimming. In a pool. I don’t care what state we’re in – a pool is a pool and we’re diving right in!

The only downer is leaving the cats behind. <sigh> I do miss them so when we’re on vacation. And I worry about them – do they miss us? Are they scared? Of course, I have great cat sitters, so in my head, I know they’ll be fine, but…

Well… seriously, if these were your furry loves, you’d hate leaving them, too, wouldn’t you?

TNR

I volunteer at an animal shelter. It’s rewarding work but often sad as well.

We’re a no-kill cat shelter. On the surface, that sounds wonderful, and it is. We don’t kill cats that have been there “too long” in order to make room for new cats. However, what that means is we become filled to capacity quickly – and often. If our older cats are not adopted, and sadly, most people choose kittens over adult cats, then they remain with us until they live out their natural lives, never to have a loving family of their own. That severely limits our ability to rescue new cats or kittens and get them into loving homes.

This is kitten season. Kittens arrive at the shelter en masse now and while MOST of them will find homes, the young mothers of these kittens will be returned from whence they came. Yes, they’ve been spayed, so they will not repopulate the area, but they’re out there on their own again, having to fend for themselves. Why? Because we haven’t the room to house them.

The most humane way to treat the cat overpopulation problem is with a relatively simple thing called “TNR”, or trap-neuter-return. Strays are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, allowed to heal, then returned to their community. Sadly, some of the trapped cats were once family pets but have since been abandoned for various reasons – some of which you cannot imagine. They’re friendly and innocent and have only survived the ‘wild’ because of luck. They need homes. They need to feel and be safe again. Unless the cat population is controlled by the practice of TNR, too many of these sweet things will continue to reproduce and add yet more strain on an already strained system – where too many shelters filled to capacity will destroy the animals they hold or be so overwhelmed they’ll unwittingly lose sight of the reason they’re volunteering there in the first place. To rescue animals and to find them safe and loving homes where they can give (and receive) affection only those privy to a cat’s world will ever fully appreciate.

Trap-neuter-return. A solution to so many problems.

And on a personal note – Bonita, you sweet beautiful thing, you will be missed by all of us, human and feline alike.

Falaise – “cliff”

Long Island’s Castle Gould was built to look like Ireland’s Castle Kilkenny.

 

Castle Gould                                                           Castle Kilkenny

The Gould family, who commissioned this castle were displeased with the results and never stepped foot in it. The castle stood abandoned for two years before Daniel Guggenheim – whose wealth was  derived from silver mining – purchased the castle and surrounding 250 acres of prime Long Island land in 1910. The acres, bordering the Long Island sound, were part of Long Island’s famed Gold Coast.

The Guggenheim’s never lived in the Castle Gould either. Instead, they used it as the stables and built Hempstead House on the vast property.

  

Harry Guggenheim - son to Daniel Guggenheim - was given 90 acres of the property and on it, built Falaise.

Ah… Falaise. This is a house at Sands Point Preserve in Port Washington, Long Island. And what a house it is. We’ve been trying to get in to see it for about 8 years. Daughter was only 4 at the time and children under 10 are not permitted. Since she’s turned ten, we’ve made several attempts to get tickets to see the home but arrived on holidays when it was closed to the public, or on Wednesdays (our Sunday) when, again, it was closed to the public. FINALLY we made it one day. There was time – one more tour for the day. We parked and RAN to the office to buy three first-come-first-serve tickets only to be told they’d sold the last two tickets of the day seconds earlier. Yesterday – unplanned – we arrived at Sands Point Preserve and took a chance. Voilà! Three tickets. We didn’t crack a smile or hoot in celebration until that shuttle bus stopped at those magnificent front gates and the amazing courtyard beyond.

      

From the outside looking in                                   From the inside looking out

  

 

 

All five of the above photos are taken from within the courtyard. The entire house is impossible to get in one shot… I couldn’t even capture it all in these five.

Falaise, translated from French to English, means “cliff”, and there is a perfect reason this home was named, “Falaise”. In the style of a medieval French Manor house, it is built to sit on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Long Island Sound. It’s a sprawling mansion – wider than the eye can see – but narrow, a corridor of stunning architecture.

        

Hand-carved stones and lava (magma) pillars in the arch over the front door

When you walk into the home, you enter the foyer and from that entry you can look straight through to windows on the other side, not thirty feet away. Step down five or so stairs and you enter the receiving room. Glorious in it’s decor – with Renaissance paintings, medieval wooden beams and an incredible collection of medieval carvings set into the walls. Truly a magnificent room.

The layout of this home is unique. Narrow and long, each room is set on a different level - up one step, down two, up a full flight, down three stairs. The intricacies of layout are exciting and made me think of mystery and dark castle halls. Though the home is in no way frightening but rather beckons one to search and discover.

My favorite room of all was the breakfast room. After all the heavy medieval wood and artwork, the windowed walls in the breakfast room were a wondrous sight. Though we were there on a very overcast day, the daylight filtered in and warmed us in a way that bid us welcome.

  

Harry Guggenheim was ambassador to Cuba during Herbert Hoover’s presidency. Harry was a highly decorated pilot in both world wars, he had a vast interest in flight and invested both in Charles Lindbergh’s adventures and those of Robert H. Goddard (“one of the fathers of modern-day rocketry” and for whom the Goddard Space Flight Center is named). Having founded Newsday, the front pages of that newspaper – for which his third wife was editor – were framed and hung on the walls touting the headline ”Man Walks on the Moon!”

Sadly, photos are not permitted within the home but there were plenty of photo ops on the outside.

  

Of the home from the terrace               The pool and gardens

Through a window – a photo of one of the medieval stone carvings that decorated the walls within the home. Truly remarkable.

Falaise was donated to Nassau County by Harry Guggenheim. It was his wish that the house be seen as he lived in it – with all of his belongings in place and not to be disturbed in any way. He mapped out which rooms the public should see and he mapped out the precise path the public should take through the mansion. His wish was for us to see how he lived and ‘live’ for a short time along with him. It felt that way, we felt wanted and comfortable, if not just a tad envious of the glorious richness that once graced this land.