A Day Trip to Frederic Church's Olana

I lead a very quiet life. My natural inclination is to be at my own home for much of my time. I do get a ton of enjoyment from visiting new places; I just sometimes have to remind myself to make the time to do that, that I never regret having gone.

Recently I went with my daughter on a day trip to Hudson, New York. It was a long and busy day. It was sweaty hot. And it was really great!

We spent part of our day visiting Olana State Historic Site. Some very brief tidbits for context:

• The site is set in the Catskill Mountains region and was home to Hudson River School painter Frederic Church.
• The Hudson River School was the first native school of painting in the United States. It consisted of a group of American landscape painters who primarily worked between 1825 and 1870.
• Church was considered the most successful painter of the school, at one time described by his teacher Thomas Cole as having “the finest eye for drawing in the world.”
  Heart of the Andes, Frederic Church, 1859. "The most popular display of a single artwork in the Civil War era." Public domain.
• Church collaborated on the construction of his estate, which encompassed two hundred fifty acres of landscape, five miles of carriage roads, and his Persian-, Victorian-, Moorish-inspired "castle" called Olana.
• The family moved in to Olana in 1872.

Day trips touring historic sites like this one are inspiring. They stimulate my imagination and deepen my connection with the past, helping me understand more about our world through those who have gone before.