The Long Island Experience

We’ll breakfast at the Hyatt before visiting Old Westbury Gardens, former home of John and Margarita Phipps. Completed in 1906 by English designer George Crawley, the magnificent Charles II-style mansion is nestled amid 200-acres of formal gardens, landscaped grounds, woodlands, ponds and lakes. Westbury House boasts fine English antiques and decorative arts from the 50+ years of the Phipps family's residence and was a filming location of Love Story, North-by-Northwest, Arthur, and The Age of Innocence. Next, we visit the Cradle of Aviation Museum, a world-renowned institution dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and educating visitors about the history of aviation and space exploration. After 1911 the nearby Roosevelt Field became the departure point for numerous record-setting flights, including the historic transatlantic solo flight by Charles Lindbergh in 1927.

We’ll breakfast at the hotel before visiting Caumsett, one of the grandest estates in America. When Marshal Field purchased 2,000 acres on Lloyd Neck it was a track of overgrown woodlands and meadows dotted with derelict and abandoned farms. Drawing on the landscape genius of Olmstead and architectural talent of John Russell Pope, this rural backwash was transformed into a residential masterpiece. “Every hour of every day is an unspeakably perfect miracle.” So wrote Walt Whitman, widely recognized as America’s greatest poet. This afternoon we’ll visit the poet’s modest birthplace in Huntington Station, NY (in 1819 the rural community of West Hills). Whitman’s writings are treasured for their celebration of 19th century democracy, their Civil War associations, and their radical break with more traditional styles of subject matter.

After breakfast at the Hyatt we’ll visit The Hamptons, a cluster of oceanside towns, villages, and hamlets that provide a popular getaway for New Yorkers. This seaside region is notably associated with celebrity sightings. Many of the rich and famous spend their summers on spacious Hampton estates. We’ll sample the area’s luxurious shops and dine on the freshest seafood before making our way to the island’s far eastern tip and the iconic Montauk Point Lighthouse, commissioned by George Washington in 1792. This afternoon promises unforgettable views of Block Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. This waterway is a marine inlet to the open Atlantic, approximately 10 miles wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island.

After breakfast at the hotel we’ll visit Old Bethpage Village, a collection of 19 historical structures from 1660 to 1875, assembled from all over Long Island and all walks of life. At the nearby Southold Bay Oyster Farm, we’ll experience the fascinating industry of oyster cultivation. Our tour includes instruction in the proper methods of shucking an oyster, plus a waterfront sampling of their prized Southold Shindig Oysters. After lunch we visit Long Island’s North Fork, one of the largest, most productive agricultural regions in New York State and home of Long Island’s award-winning Wine Country. Our final stop today is Duck Walk Vineyards, a celebrated winery encompassing some 140 scenic acres and producing 5,000 cases of awarding winning wine each year.

Breakfast at the Hyatt followed by a visit to Eagle’s Nest, the 43-acre estate of William Vanderbilt II, great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Initially constructed in 1910 as a simple English cottage, over the next 30 years the house grew into a sprawling 24 room Spanish-Revival mansion. Besides living space for Vanderbilt and his family, it’s a museum showcasing thousands of natural history and cultural specimens Vanderbilt collected on his travels. Next, lunch and a tour of the sprawling estate of financier and philanthropist Otto Hermann Kahn occupies a 443-acre plot on the highest point on Long Island in Cold Spring Harbor. Built at the cost of $11 million ($158 million in today’s currency), Oheka Castle is a French-style chateau. The second-largest private residence ever built in America, during the 1920s, Kahn used the 109,000-square-foot, 127-room palace as a summer home where he hosted lavish parties that inspired Jay Gatsby’s revels in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famed novel. We round out our day with a visit to the Long Island Museum of Art & Carriages in Stony Brook Village. The museum’s 40,000 square foot Carriage Museum is home to the world’s largest collection of American horse-drawn transportation vehicles.

After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll enter a world of intrigue, as we follow the trail of George Washington’s Spies (as seen on AMC’s acclaimed "TURN: Washington's Spies"). We’ll go beyond the Revolutionary battlefront to a cryptic world of double agents, covert operations and codebreaking. Meet Abe Woodhull, a young farmer torn between loyalty to his Tory family and respect for those who are fighting for America’s Patriot cause. Living on British-occupied Long Island, Abe and a group of trusted friends form what becomes known as the Culper Spy Ring, under the direction of General Washington himself and charged with unearthing British military secrets. In Stony Brook we’ll visit Brewster House. During the American Revolution, Joseph Brewster operated the house as a tavern and general store, entertaining British troops. American Patriot Caleb Brewster, cousin of Joseph Brewster and presumably a frequent visitor to the house, was a member of Washington’s Culper Ring. A break in the espionage to enjoy a Discovery Wetlands Cruise, a 90-minute boat ride through 88 breathtaking acres of wetlands preserve. An on-board naturalist will describe the varied wildlife and the natural (and human) history of the region. Our final stop today is Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay, home of Sameul Townsend, one of the founding fathers of Oyster Bay and a fellow member of Washington's Culper Ring. Our last night returns us to the Aloft NY LaGuardia Hotel. A special Farewell Dinner is planned this evening.

It’s been a great tour! After a final full breakfast, we depart per our own schedules.