A Side-Trip to Teddy's

So on Tuesday, I went to the gym for three hours in the morning and then took a trip over to Teddy Roosevelt's home - Sagamore Hill - in Oyster Bay on the Long Island north shore.  A beautiful place.

I went to the Visitors Center and tried to buy a ticket to go into the house, but I was told they were Sold Out for the rest of the day, so I went to their museum - in a separate building from the house - and saw some interesting stuff there. . . .

A lot of people don't know that Teddy's first wife, Alice, died a day after giving birth to her namesake, Alice. . . .  and on that same day in the same house her mother-in-law, Teddy's mom, also died. He came rushing back from his job as a State Assemblyman up in the state capital, but was too late to be at their bedsides.  His diary entry for that day - a big X and the words "The light has gone out of my life" was the last one that he made for many, many years. . . .  until he married his second wife, Edith.  I thought the placard for that was interesting:

After "going into seclusion" and living alone as a rancher in South Dakota for many years he DID marry Edith, "the girl next door" from his childhood.  They had four MORE kids. . . .  all of them very rambunctious. They say the White House was like their personal playground.  And the Oyster Bay home was where they REALLY cut loose. . . .

Tho Teddy was a hunter, and John Muir was a "tree hugger" they had a lot in common:

So after he went camping with Muir, the High Society of San Francisco gave Teddy one of California's best products. . . .  formed into a cup. . . .

It was a lot of fun to go there.  Hadn't been there in about 45 years!

It was a very good visit. After which I drove out to my cousin Patricia's and her Ray.  Had dinner with them and "caught up on things". We yakked for hours!  Stayed overnight and then went to church the next morning where I met sis-in-law Ruthann and the "old crowd" from St. Thomas More Church.  I ran a bit late getting there (STILL unused to how bad the traffic around here has gotten)!  After church, I took the mile or so trip over to Queen Of All Saints Cemetery to visit someone special. . . . .