Drive. Pray. Scream?: Day 50: Backroads

We rambled through the Berkshires of western Massachusetts this morning on our way to the Norman Rockwell museum in Stockbridge. It's easy to see why the area was so inspirational for Rockwell and his view of America...everywhere we looked was a scene prettier than the last. Many "cottages" of the rich were caught in glimpses through the trees; tennis courts were hidden behind picturesque barns and gardens. And the land isn't wasted; we saw rows of corn planted on a steep slope that had a ski lift running up its middle...an out-of-season use for a winter resort!

The Rockwell Museum was a trip to the land of nostalgia; all of his Saturday Evening Post covers and many other significant paintings are exhibited in a lovely gallery. And just a few steps away, his studio is open to the public. It's presented in a mid-1960s representation of his working years, when he was at the height of his skill and output. We believed he and his work were primarily beloved by Americans, so we were quite surprised to hear many languages spoken among the other visitors today: French, German, Dutch and what we would guess as Vietnamese. Also, we didn't expect crowds that rivaled what we've encountered on one of the busier days at a national park. Evidently, Rockwell still speaks into hearts. It's fun to see our kids discover him for the first time while others are obviously remembering when certain pieces made their first appearance on the scene of the American conscience.

We decided to let our truck's navigation system, fondly known as "Lauren," direct our path to our next stop: Lindenwald, home of Martin Van Buren, our 8th president. She gave us a choice of fastest or shortest, and as they were both the same in terms of time, we opted for shortest. Boy, were we in for a crazy but fun ride! We were directed along logging roads, heading west into the southern Albany area of New York. The compass relieved any fears...we knew our direction was correct. We never needed the 4-wheel drive on the truck, but we weren't far from engaging it a couple of times!

The Van Buren estate is quite beautiful, and there's a sad undertone to it that spoke to us. His wife died just 12 years into their young marriage, leaving him with four sons. He never remarried. A successful lawyer, he provided a comfortable existence for all of them and was, over time, a popular judge, state senator, federal senator and Secretary of State (to Andrew Jackson) before he was elected to the presidency in 1836. Just days following his inauguration in 1837, the banking system collapsed, mostly due to overextension on land deals that were grossly inflated. Sound familiar? His term was clouded by the disaster, and his two subsequent runs for the presidency were failures.

Van Buren purchased Lindenwald while in his term as president, and over the years he and his sons ordered many modifications and improvements to the house, including doubling its size, changing the exterior to an Italianate design, and the additions of a "modern" kitchen, laundry room and a four-story tower from which his fields and orchards were visible. In his retirement years, he enjoyed his life as a "gentleman farmer," surrounded by his sons and their families.

One fact we found particularly interesting about Van Buren: he was the first president born under the United States flag; all previous presidents had been born into British citizenship in the colonies.