A visit to Kinderhook!

Hello hello my friends! I'm sorry I haven't posted on my blog in so long- I've been pretty busy with school and the different groups I belong to. However, this past weekend, my family took a little trip north of NYC. Our first stop was Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook, New York.

The historic site offers tours of Martin Van Buren's home. That's his house behind me! The site is doing some work on the front of the house; that's why there's all the construction. My family was lucky to join a tour of the house given by Ranger Dawn! The visitors met in front of the house, where Ranger Dawn gave us an introduction to President Van Buren. He was elected to be the 8th president in 1836. He was called "Old Kinderhook" because of his hometown.

The inside of the Van Buren home is fun to visit. It was originally a lot smaller, but the home was expanded at the urging of one of the president's sons. I loved seeing all the old furniture and reproduction wallpaper. Did you know President Van Buren was pretty short? He was!

Here I am in the president's bedroom. The sleigh bed in the photo is original to the house! Cool, right? Here's a fact: President Van Buren was the first president to be born a citizen of the United States.

After the tour of the house, my parents and I walked around the outside of Van Buren's home. His estate is called Lindenwald after the linden trees that grew on the property. This photo is of me on the mounting block that was used to get on horses!

Here I am with the big National Park Service arrowhead. Someday I hope to wear a patch of it when I grow up and become a park ranger. It was pretty cold in Kinderhook! I should have worn a fleece. Brr!

Soon it was time to receive my Junior Ranger badge! Ranger Dawn gave me the badge and we posed for a photo together. She's an excellent tour guide; if you're lucky, she might even be giving a tour when you visit! She taught me quite a bit about Old Kinderhook. Now that I'm home, I want to do some more reading to learn more about him and his presidency.

Here's one last photo of me. I'm standing in front of the Visitor Center! I enjoyed my visit to Martin Van Buren National Historic Site. If you'd like to visit, check out the site's webpage for more details.

Have you ever been to a president's home? Which one was it and what was it like? If you haven't been, which president's home would you like to visit most?

In this post I'm wearing: Junior Ranger vest custom-made for me by Ardently Admire; corduroy trousers by Liberty Jane Clothing, tee (with homemade decal) and boots by American Girl.