Last winter we were able to sneak in a few NPS sites while traveling to visit family and friends over the holidays. One site that was surprising and entertaining in an unexpected way was Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.  Only earning National Park status in 2014, previously the Blackstone River Valley was protected as a heritage corridor. Now, it encompasses several different sites and preserves the history of the Industrial Revolution in New England. In Woonsocket, Rhode Island we stopped to find a visitor center in an old train station. There were a couple of volunteers there who not only gave us information on the park, but told us that Hachi: A Dog’s Story was filmed there. Since Anthony and I went to Japan in 2009, we’ve both known the story of Hachiko, the dog who stands for loyalty and faithfulness in Tokyo. Hachiko waited for his owner every day at Shibuya Station, so that he could greet him and walk home with him after work. His owner died at work suddenly, and therefore did not return to the station. For over nine years, Hachiko continued to go to the train station every day, until his own death, to wait for his master. Now there is a statue of Hachiko at Shibuya Station that is a well known meeting spot. In Woonsocket, since an American version of Hachiko’s story was filmed there, a matching statue has been erected. The volunteers told us stories from the filming of the movie, which starred Richard Gere, and were more than happy to take our photo in front of the statue.

We also stopped in Pawtucket, Rhode Island to walk around the grounds of the Slater Mill, another piece of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park. We were able to watch an introductory film and take a short walk through the textile mill and surrounding preserved buildings. There are several other areas that are part of the park that we will have to find time to explore more fully in the future.

Our next NPS stop on this trip was Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York. Representative of the Gilded Age, the Vanderbilt Mansion is just one of forty separate homes built by the family during this era. In Asheville, we have the Biltmore House, the largest private home in America, so we have a special attachment to the Vanderbilt family. The mansion is largely unchanged from the time the family used it as a summer and fall retreat. When Margaret Louise Van Alen inherited the estate, after the death of Frederick Vanderbilt in 1938, and couldn’t find buyers because of the Depression, she donated the property to the National Park Service. We were able to tour the grounds and the house. Interestingly enough, during the Gilded Age, guests were placed in bedrooms based on importance. So if you were put up in the bedroom closest to Louise and Frederick Vanderbilt, the primary residents of the mansion, that meant you were very important to them. If you were given a separate house elsewhere on the property, you were probably lower class. Old money social niceties of this time period are so fascinating!

After spending time in the cold and snowy north, we headed down to south Florida to warm up. We were able to spend a day driving through Big Cypress National Preserve. Encompassing a large swath of land in south Florida, Big Cypress has tons of birds, alligators, and other animals. The Florida Trail also runs through this area. We hiked a couple of shorter trails, looking for alligators the whole time, while avoiding the mosquitos that are so prevalent in the steamy hot weather. The swamps hold a very different type of beauty from any other place I have been. Lush, green, damp, and resonant with the buzz of insects, Big Cypress is an engaging place, where it often feels like you can actually watch the greenery grow.

A varied trip, within a week span we visited areas preserved for industry, wealth, and wildlife.