One of the perks of having some time off during the weekday is the ability to partake in some local tourist attractions without the weekend crowd.

I have always meant to visit Kykuit, the home of the Rockefellers, hidden away in Pocantico Hills.  I went to the elementary school there, I spend many many hours walking and running the Rockefeller Preserve, but I have never had an opportunity to tour the house.  In fact, there is a spot on the trail, where after the leaves have fallen, you can see the house through the trees.

I took the classic tour, which gave a pretty good overview of the house and the grounds. My tour group consisted of a Women’s Club from Connecticut and me.  I felt so out of place in wrinkled clothes with dog hair, no makeup, hair still air drying and toting around my weekend bag with little whales on it.  I am most definitely not a lady of Connecticut.

My only gripe with the tour was the swiftness in which we moved from place to place.  I would have enjoyed the ability to wander the grounds a bit, and we were moving so fast, I felt like I just didn’t have the opportunity to take any pictures or really enjoy the various gardens we were whisked passed.

Otherwise, the tour was nice.  I don’t think it would be something I’d have my out of town guests consider during their stay here, but at least I had the opportunity to see what the view looked like from the top!