When the nephews came, I finally had an excuse to go to Sunnyside, which is Washington Irving's estate in...yes, Irvington. It's only a couple of miles from our apartment, but until now I dutifully shunned the trip (and spat in the intersection at the turnoff) because the Sunnyside intersection is Durf's most hated of his (3 mile) commute.
But geez, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are beloved stories in our family (anything dark and weird), so what could I do? Off we went.
The 10 nanosecond tour was delivered by six or seven costumed young women, each stationed in one room of Irving's house, and each poised to begin speaking when the first person in the tour group came in to view. Had we been at the back of the group, we would have missed half of every declamation.
Although we were told that the $1800 Irving paid for the estate bought him only a modest home, we were skeptical, especially after inspecting the "facilities." There were three toilet seats with three doors (thank god) and substantial housing for the whole thing. AND there was even a covered walkway leading back to the house. Holy cow! Seems like luxury to me.
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