Someone once said that you don’t go on vacation to rest, and if that’s so, today we proved the point. We started at Olana, the estate of Fredric Church, one of America’s most renowned landscape painters. We roamed the grounds of the estate among colorful fall trees and pristine habitats. Afterward, we moved on to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, home of the painter who launched the art movement known as the Hudson River School. After lunch, we had the chance to visit the Churchtown Dairy, founded to be a beacon for those working to promote organic agriculture and sustainable communities. The interesting architecture of the buildings and the livestock were fascinating and amusing.