FDR's home

There are many great historic sites within a a two-hour drive of our house. On Saturday, I headed west about 70 miles to Hyde Park, N.Y., site of President Franklin Roosevelt's birthplace, home and presidential library. The town of Hyde Park, just outside Poughkeepsie, isn't much to write home about. But Springwood, FDR's birthplace and home that overlooks the Hudson River, is an oasis. The sprawling estate is the only place in the United States where a president was born, maintained a lifelong connection and lies buried. Roosevelt gave two of his famous fireside chats there at his presidential library. FDR's home, while quite large (35 rooms, nine bathrooms), is not ostentatious. It's certainly not like some of the mansions we saw earlier this year in Newport, R.I.