Hudson Valley Gardens Tour

JUNE 11 TO 18, 2006

Texas Garden Friends Tours
Invites you to join us for Eight days in
the Magnificent Hudson River Valley

“The Hudson is this nation's Rhine...the mighty river, complete with our own humble castles, legends and ancient ssociations” -- James Fenimore Cooper

Our week begins when our bus picks us up at the airport in Newark, and you check in to our river-bank hotel. We first meet as a group at dinner to get acquainted, to talk about the trip and to see slides of some of our upcoming visits.

Statue of Liberty, from the deck of the windjammer Richard Robbins

Monday June 12

This morning our adventure will begin with a harbor cruise on the 1902 wooden hulled windjammer, the Richard Robbins. Passing the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the battery, Wall street, and the site of the missing twin towers.

Our first visit, after disembarking, will be to the The Cloisters where you will feel like you have gone back to the Middle Ages. The Cloisters is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, devoted to that period. We will have lunch there and then visit the magnificent gardens at Wave Hill and view the stunning vistas of the Palisades. This mansion was at various times the home of Mark Twain and of Arturo Toscanini. When we check into the Westchester Mariott hotel you will still have time to enjoy their health spa and pool, before (or after) supper.

Tuesday June 13

This will be our West Point Day. First thing in the morning we will board the historic wooden vessel The Commander, for a cruise across Haverstraw Bay and into the Hudson Highlands. This is the only water level gap in the Appalachian Mountain chain.

The beauty of this gap is comparable to the Romantic Rhine. Out boat will dock at the United  States Military Academy pier at West Point where we will be met by our now familiar bus and driver. We will have lunch at the legendary Thayer Hotel, on the grounds of the Academy. After lunch there will be free time to visit the West Point Museum.

This afternoon you will be thrilled by our visit to one of the country’s most beautiful homes, Boscobel.  Inside it is a museum of Federal Period furniture. The view from the gardens, looking into the Highlands, is unsurpassed.  We will check into the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel for four nights. Supper will be at an interesting Inn.

Wednesday, June 14

The private garden at Broccoli Hill will fascinate and amaze you and will be followed by our visit to the gardens of Innisfree Estate, with it’s Asian influence. Lunch will be at an interesting nearby village. This afternoon we will drive to the top of the mountain to Olana, the home of Frederic and Isabele Church, (founder of the Hudson Vally Style of Painting) The home is in the Moorish Style with magnificent views of the river. Return to the hotel for dinner.

Thursday June 15

Our first visit will be at Locust Lawn and then on to lunch at the Culinary Institute of America “CIA” An afternoon visit to Montgomery Place, Livingston mansion. A 200 year old estate, until recently, maintained by the original family, with it’s house furnishing, gardens, woodlands, orchard, and hamlet - makes it a unique American treasure. Dinner wil be at the Brass Lantern, a restaurant on the banks of the Hudson River.

Friday June 16

A short distance West of the Hudson River lies Mohonk Mountain House, a Victorian resort on the shores of rocky Mohonk Lake, where we will enjoy lunch. It is the last of the great mountain destination hotels from the mid 1800’s.

Mohonk Mountain House

We will stroll thru the picturesque Victorian Gardens noted for their balanced combination of formal and old fashioned plantings surrounded by fantastic blooming laurel. Our visit to the Stone Houses of the Huguenots, in New Paltz, will renew your interest in their colorful past. Dinner will be in an old country Inn.

Saturday June 17

We will leave the Grand Hotel to visit Sleepy Hollow Church and hear all of the tales of the area. Lunch will be at Philipsburgh Manor dating from the late 17th century.milling, farming, and trading complex owned by an Anglo-Dutch family of merchants, tenanted by farmers of diverse European background, and operated by enslaved Africans. This afternoon we will visit the Rockefeller estate, Kykuit with it’s gardens and sculptures and magnificent views that will delight everyone. Check into the Hampton Inn, Tarrytown , where we will have a farewell dinner and relive our fabulous week and the wonders of the Hudson River.

Sunday June 18

Our week is not complete usless we visit Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving. It is one of the most picturesque homes in the Valley. Luncheon will be en route to the airport.

Price for this trip is $2199 per person,
double occupency

($475 supplement for a single room)

To enroll:

Phone Karl Rodman (our guide throughout the trip)
1 239-395-2191

Enroll now, as stour will be limited to 25 participants.