A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend
- Danielle Dybiec
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
I spent the long Memorial Day weekend blissed out in my Happy Place: the region where New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts meet. For over 20 years I've made this annual pilgrimage, and I was happily unplugged, soaking up all the easy joy, profound peace, and natural beauty I find there. I curate each year's trip to include some places where I always go plus visits to new places too. One of my musts is heading to MassMoCA, my favorite museum in the world. The secret hideaway where I stay is near Bennington, Vermont, and this year I caught their Mayfest street fair featuring local artisans, food, distilleries, and great musicians.
For the first time I went to the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum in Adams, in the North Berkshires of Massachusetts. The museum has a fascinating collection including wild anti-suffragette items. It lays out the incredibly rich history of Susan B. Anthony's life and women's suffrage movement. I also met a kind woman named Muriel Dyas, who brings Susan alive through historical reenactment. Did you know that in 1872 Anthony voted for president (to re-elect Ulysses S. Grant) and for breaking the law, she was arrested and fined $100 by a judge who instructed the jury to find her guilty? She stated in court, "May it please your honor, I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty." The judge realized she was trying to get her case appealed to the Supreme Court, so he never enforced the judgement. Unfortunately, when she died in 1906, it was 13 years before the 19th amendment was passed.
On Memorial Day, I returned to the Roosevelt Baths and Spa in Saratoga Springs State Park for a 40-minute mineral waters soak in the deepest, dreamiest bath imaginable. You emerge on another planet; the unreal relaxation is one of the many health benefits from these potent waters. From there, I had lunch in downtown Saratoga Springs and enjoyed a sunny stroll around this pretty town where I also saw the legendary Caffè Lena, the country's longest continuously operating folk music venue.
I spent the afternoon just north of Saratoga, high atop Mt. McGregor learning about the final days of our 18th president at the Ulysses S. Grant Cottage, a State Historic Site and National Historic Landmark. After his family was swindled out of all their money, he finally relented and agreed to write his memoirs, also at the urging of his publisher Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain). The advance orders made Grant the equivalent of a modern-day millionaire, giving him the comforting knowledge that his family would be financial stable, as he was dying of throat cancer. He moved to the cottage on June 16, 1885, and we toured the rooms where he completed his two-volume memoirs only days before his death on July 23, 1885. It remains one of the most critically acclaimed memoirs ever by a president or military figure. When he died, they stopped the clock in his room, and it has stayed at that time for the last 140 years. You can also see the huge, half-empty bottle of cocaine water (!!) he was given for pain. The gift shop and museum have a wealth of information about this admirably fair man who fought for equal rights.
I recommend paying a visit also to learn about Mt. McGregor. Next to the cottage, a narrow-gauge railway to the mountaintop from Saratoga Springs was completed in 1882. Two years later, the Hotel Balmoral was opened with modern luxuries (indoor electricity!) and sweeping views from the foot of the Adirondacks to the Taconic, Green, Berkshire, and Catskill Mountains. This is only place I've ever seen ALL my happy places from one vantage point. The hotel gave Grant's guests and also journalists a place to stay; his movements were always closely followed, and he was one of the most photographed figures of the 19th century. Before the hotel burned in 1897, Susan B. Anthony and Oscar Wilde were guests, and Susan actually disliked the way Grant's cottage was preserved and found it far too morbid.
It was a fun weekend learning about the connections between Susan B. Anthony and Ulysses S. Grant, and it felt appropriate for Memorial Day to honor Grant's memory and accomplishments. Does learning more about American history factor into your trips closer to home? I can help you plan fun and informative travels all over our country!
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