Our final stop was for lunch at the famed Crabtrees Kittle House in Chappaqua, home to Bill and Hillary Clinton and other luminaries.

According to the restaurant’s website:

The Kittle House, constructed in 1790 as a barn and working farm for John Kittle and his family, has seen much over its 200 year-old history. Over the course of the next century, it was maintained as a farm and residence for the family’s descendants. In the 1880s, the barn was converted into a grand manor house, which is our main building today.

However, at the turn of the 19th century, the house and farm was sold & various establishments occupied the property for the next fifty years. If walls could talk, they would share tales of debauchery and wild nights from its brief tenure as a roadhouse during the 1920s, hosting many parties that we can only guess did not comply with the laws of Prohibition. They would speak of lesson plans and gossip from its brief tenure as a private girls school in the 1930s, & its conversion back into a tavern and exclusive guest house and retreat for citydwellers intent on escaping the crowds and prying eyes. The Kittle House hosted celebrities, actors, and public figures in the Golden Age of Hollywood — including Henry Fonda, Margaret Sullavan and Talullah Bankhead.

In 1981, the Crabtree family purchased the property and inherited all of its stories — restoring the inn and property to its historic grandeur, and bringing the art of hospitality back into the Inn, reviving its menu to reflect its farming heritage, and developing an extensive wine program that pairs well with the local, natural products provided by nearby farmers and producers. That tradition continues today, and The Kittle House has become synonymous with delicious, elegant and refined farm-to-table cuisine.

I very much enjoyed my meal, Charlie less so.

Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

Our first stop was on Warren Street in the Hudson Historic District where we had lunch at American Glory, which describes itself as:

“American Glory isn’t your typical rib joint or BBQ Roadhouse! We’re a contemporary American Restaurant and Offsite Catering Company located in Hudson NY, in a meticulously restored historic, red brick firehouse, Circa 1794. The old house’s ambiance in red brick and dark wood, accented with Edison lights, black and white photos of American icons, and custom music playlists full of 60s and 70s classics, which all contribute to our industrial, steampunk vibe.

The environment is casual and inviting. Upon entering you will sense the mouthwatering aroma of fresh food and smoked meats, and hear the sound of live music and roaring laughter throughout the restaurant. Voted 2019’s top Restaurant in the Hudson Valley, and Number One Restaurant in Columbia County by Hudson Valley Magazine Readers!

Our specialty is offering the bounty of the American melting pot. Our menu philosophy is simple. Our culinary team reinvents time-tested traditional family recipes brought to the USA by our great grandparents, by using the freshest local produce, meats,poultry, fish. Those old home recipes, reinvented yield incredibly flavorful food which is not only delicious to the mouth, but also appealing to the eye.”

When we arrived at the restaurant was in complete darkness. It seems that the area where it the restaurant is located had suffered a power cut. They were still able to cook, but we had to eat the first part of our meal by candlelight, which in such historic surroundings added interest – quite romantic. Thankfully the power was restored a few minutes later.

Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

“If you’re a true-born Kingstonian, you probably remember the days when our Mariner’s Harbor building was home to the Daily Freeman.

Back in the day, lower Broadway was the hub of our great city. Rondout Savings Bank was nearby. So was B & F Market, the post office, the Orpheum Theater, the shoe-shine shop, the five-and-dime store and Rookie’s Tavern on the Strand.

Those were the days when newspaper people were portrayed in the movies as heroes—the Cary Grants and the Clark Gables of a bygone era.

The Freeman occupied our historic building that dates back even further to 1851 when Jewish businessman Israel Sampson built it as the Sampson Opera House. A couple of fires—one in 1874 and another in 1885—destroyed much of the buildings original features. Some, like the cast-iron pillars at the ground level of our three-storied building remain in tact. It became the official home to the Daily Freeman in 1911, some 20 years after Jay Klock bought it in 1891.

Today when you visit our restaurant, you’ll come in through a corner door. Above it hangs a sculpted swordfish. Back in the day, the double doors leading into the Freeman were on the lower Broadway side.

Edward Palladino, a former city editor at the Freeman and 31 year veteran of the paper, shared with us, “All three stories of the building were used at the newspaper.” The editorial department occupied the second floor. It was the place where Palladino and the other news people settled down each morning to hunt the day’s stories. Back then, the Freeman was an afternoon paper. The presses would start their run at around 2 pm, and former Freeman staffer Bob Haines recalls what it was like. “Once the presses got going, the whole building would shake,” says Haines who worked as a Freeman photographer from 1967 till 2007. “I would come in each morning to pick up my assignments for the day, and I’d drop my pictures by at night.” Haines said he often put his finished work in a dumb waiter that would carry items up to the editorial floor. “We used to throw in all kinds of stuff like half-eaten baloney sandwiches, and once, someone put a cat in there. It was a real fun place to work,” Haines shared.

“It was a great atmosphere,” Palladino agreed. “The newspaper business to me is one of the most fascinating businesses in the world because everyday there’s something new.”

When Joan Saehloff was hired in 1950, the Freeman was still owned by the Klock family. After Saehloff put in her time as an “office girl,” she worked her way up to Society Page editor. “The downtown Freeman was just like what you’d see in the old movies. It was a busy place, and you could smell the paste pots and the ink,” says Saehloff, who at age 18 was in charge of the newspaper delivery boys. “You could see the big printing presses through the window.” Now those windows overlook the Rondout Creek.” (Mariners Harbor Website).

“Only the old-timers like us would remember. Overtime I go there, there’s a lot of nostalgia,” said Palladino.

We’re proud of our history here in Kingston!

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE