A grandiose claim, I know, but this verdant, gently rolling valley north of New York City is packed with historic mansions, woodlands, fine cultural institutions, and small towns that are a mix of sophisticated and classic Americana. The corridor leading 130 miles up from New York City toward state capital Albany boasts an impressive pedigree: here George Washington set up his most famous Revolutionary War headquarters; inventor Robert Fulton debuted the first steamboat; U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt made his home; Rockefellers, Astors, and Vanderbilts summered and weekended; and reknowned landscape painter Frederick Church lived and immortalized its... keep reading