<snip>
Rick, thanks again for your insights and restaurant suggestions! Hope you can join us at some point... as noted above, all of these locations are contingent upon the conditions/colors we find that weekend.
Regarding Rockefeller State Park, we had discussed Kykuit for Friday afternoon, but I didn't want us to have to rush through it - and I thought the following would be of interest: "One road passes by the foundation of Rockwood Hall, once the 220 room home of William Rockefeller. Its Olmsted designed landscape with its panoramic view of the Hudson River remains a spot of beauty for all who visit." and "33 stone and wooden bridges; 1st triple-arch stone bridge in America; 180 species of birds (National Audubon Society 'Important Bird Area')"
As far as Kykuit goes, the shutdown won't affect it, since it's not a National Park Service (NPS) property - as opposed to Hyde Park, which is, as I mentioned.
The Union Church was something that I did research - the admission is $7. Given the limited hours and space, I just doubted it would work as an interior location (although an exterior stop certainly sounds doable).