the next question: what to do in Albany?

So now that we've done the hotels, tickets, bars, and roll call... can anyone familar with the area recommend some pre-hockey worthy tourist attractions, places to go, and places to eat? I have Thursday evenings, Friday morning/early afternoon and Saturday early afternoon to kill.

I've been to Albany twice, but never really ventured anywhere other than for food or hockey. Typical bashing of Albany aside, can anyone recommend things that are worth doing while there?

And while I do want to hear about restaurant recommendations, its usually not too too hard to find a good restaurant, but finding a unique and interesting tourist attraction can be more challenging and more rewarding.

Thanks!

Well, a quick 2 hours and change south on 87 is a decent tourist attraction...

As for Albany proper, I have no idea. Crossgates count?

Crossgates Mall is pretty sweet...

Look here:
[www.albany.org]

[Q]Jordan 04 Wrote:

Well, a quick 2 hours and change south on 87 is a decent tourist attraction...

As for Albany proper, I have no idea. Crossgates count?[/q]

In terms of trips, I would also offer the 45 minute drive north to Saratoga. It's a real famous, old-school, horse racing town that has a great night life. There are some nice cafes and coffee shops on Broadway Street.

If you're a history buff, the Canal System in Albany is pretty impressive. Albany also has some great architecture. The Empire State Plaza (including the Egg) and the Capitol are fun places to hang out. St. Peter's and City Hall are old buildings from the mid to late 1800's. There are some museums near the Empire State Plaza but I haven't been to them in over a decade.

Otherwise, might I suggest snowmobiling with a hockey stick in one hand and a beer in the other?

[Q]atb9 Wrote:

Otherwise, might I suggest snowmobiling with a hockey stick in one hand and a beer in the other?[/q]

It's catching on! Excellent.

Theater: Capitol Rep (near Jillian's)
Clubs: Jillian's (downtown)
Strip Clubs: DiCarlo's (Central Avenue about 3 miles west of downtown)

[Q]Jordan 04 Wrote:
Albany also has some great architecture. The Empire State Plaza (including the Egg)...[/q]

If you like Bob Moses-inspired, highway-swallowin', gargantuan-alien-welcomin', airplane-landin' tarmac. Your other suggestions are great. The Delaware & Hudson building is magnificent.

I'd also suggest contemplating what a nice railroad station used to be smack-dab downtown before they kicked out the tracks and turned it into a bank.

Oh, and, at night? There seem to be plenty of places in Albany to imbibe. In 2003, party central seemed to be [G,J]illian's.

Very good independent movie theater - The Spectrum - on delaware Ave. Some first run , some excellent non-commercial non mainstream or foreign films. Right next to a great Vietnamese restaurant - My Linh.

My best Capitol District Saturday entertainment was to drive to Cooperstown. But that's much harder to pull off with a 5pm consy start as opposed to a 7pm game at Achilles.

On the other end of the spectrum was sitting on the stage at the RPI Field House playing hearts while watching a kids hockey game. A three game series in Troy (1998 quarters) is really asking a lot.

I will put a plug in for a couple places:
-For those with kids, the New York State Museum, though severely underfunded (thank you Georgie...) is a very pleasant musuem and they usually have a few good special exhibits and a lot of things for kids.
-If you decide to head east to my hometown Troy I would recommend The Plum Blossom on Rte. 7. The Chinese food there is among some of the best that you can find. Other that that I would not recommend ever going to Troy...unless guys under 21 want to visit Emma Willard

If you only have a couple hours to kill and don't want to wander far from Pepsi Arena, I would recommend checking out the State Capitol Building. The architecture is very impressive (esp. ceiling in the library) and the Million Dollar Staircase visually impressive and historically fun.

[www.ogs.state.ny.us]

For art there is the Clark Museum in Williamstown Mass (and also the Williams College art gallery or museum or whatever). The Clark was started by some fairly eccentric people who after seeing art treasures ruined in the wars in Europe decided that the middle of nowhere beat the hell out of a location in New York or Boston. They own an amazing amount of art and so no two trips are ever quite the same. (An expansion is planned which will more than double the current size of the place.)

[www.clarkart.edu]

Speaking of art, if you’re into art deco you could checkout the Proctor's Theater in Schenectady or the newly renovated Palace in Albany. Both are 1920- 1930 style vaudeville theaters and have been nicely restored.

Proctor's has an oldies show on Friday night that may be more interesting than Sucks vs Colgate but I somehow doubt it - unless you're really into the Turtles.

A long walk from the Pepsi will bring you to Saso's Japanese Noodle House. The food, including sushi, is great but the seating limited, so call ahead.

[www.sasos.com]

The New York State Capitol building is a trip in itself (a closer walk than Saso's). This was built over many years with many architects and the overall effect is about the same as the teamwork at RPI. It's too bad that it wasn't all designed by one person…. Maybe Fridgen can get a job there renovating the place. With all the terror fears I don't imagine interior tours are too likely.

[assembly.state.ny.us]

For those looking for a job with qualifications beyond a hockey rink consider this:

[www.rpi.edu]

The newest and likely largest building on the campus of RIP is a site to behold. One of my friends is a prof emeritus at the Tute. He remarked on how large the building is. It is big! And of course they have to fill it with professors and such so get your resume ready.

And finally I second the idea of checking out downtown Saratoga, if you’ve never seen it. It is a very nice place to shop and stroll. The only negative is that the chain stores are creeping into town.

[Q]atb9 Wrote:
In terms of trips, I would also offer the 45 minute drive north to Saratoga. It's a real famous, old-school, horse racing town that has a great night life. There are some nice cafes and coffee shops on Broadway Street.
[/q]
Saratoga offers both the National Museum of Racing (horse, that is; a truly first-class museum) and the National Museum of Dance (for those who admire a different kind of leg).

The former is open every day, but the latter only on Saturday and Sunday this time of year.

[Q]marty Wrote:

The newest and likely largest building on the campus of RIP is a site to behold. One of my friends is a prof emeritus at the Tute. He remarked on how large the building is. It is big! And of course they have to fill it with professors and such so get your resume ready.

[/q]

With all due respect, Biotech's clean room is ghetto compared to Duffield's.

some things to do not mentioned:

1. also in saratoga is the gaming and raceway - [www.saratogaraceway.com]
fun for gambling, nonsmoking of course...mostly slots - it is at the harness track

2. crossgates as mentioned

3. there is usually the outdoor show the same days as the tourney at the egg - [www.pressrepublican.com]

4. wolf road has a bunch of places to eat. a good place to eat in schenectady is pinhead susan's, if u are near schenectady for hotel or what not. but as my wife just said, there are more places in albany

5. jillians is down the street from arena (part of dave and busters)

6. if you would like some hot lead, go to troy

7. there is always playing golf with onion and rip players

8. a short drive to a few ski areas is possible - [www.onthesnow.com]
and
[www.timesunion.com]

9. quick google search yielded these sources:
[www.epodunk.com]

10. placid, like cooperstown, and NYC, is a bit far

11. last but not least, my wife said if we were able to go she would be at her parents playing with their dogs

that may or may not have all helped. there is plenty to do in the area. hope u all have fun!

In Saratoga is the Casino. Albany has the NYS capitol,museum,Nature Walk area,Crossgates and Colonie Mall,Troy has some nice downtown shops. The Saratoga Battlefield which should be open I believe. Nice ride up and around the area. In terms of food if ya want cheap good mini hot dogs you gotta try Gus's in Watervliet or Hot Dog Charlies. try www.albany2go.com for other ideas. Cant wait to see all the great Cornell fans this weekend. Im an RPI fan by the way please bash away if your feel the need.

It's been a few years, but we enjoyed the NYS Museum, mentioned elsewhere. When we lived just to the west, we used to enjoy hiking and crosscountry skiing at John Boyd Thatcher State Park to the west. That's weather-dependent, of course.

[Q]jt Wrote:

In Saratoga is the Casino. Albany has the NYS capitol,museum,Nature Walk area,Crossgates and Colonie Mall,Troy has some nice downtown shops. The Saratoga Battlefield which should be open I believe. Nice ride up and around the area. In terms of food if ya want cheap good mini hot dogs you gotta try Gus's in Watervliet or Hot Dog Charlies. try www.albany2go.com for other ideas. Cant wait to see all the great Cornell fans this weekend. Im an RPI fan by the way please bash away if your feel the need.[/q]

My son would like to plug Famous Lunch (Congress Street in Troy) for the mini hotdog with zippy sause topping. (Gus's on 25th street in Watervliet has weirder ambiance.) He would also like to point out the Harvard is the center of all that is evil in the universe. I have already dissed and praised RIP in my other post.

Concerning Troy shopping check out Hummingbird Design if you are into jewelry and the "antique" district on River Street north of Congress if you are into vintage junk.

If you're thinking of driving as far as Cooperstown, one hour on the Thruway puts you in the lovely mid-Hudson Valley, which features picturesque towns like Woodstock (where they didn't hold the festival, thank you very much, but which is full of hippies and craft shops) and Rhinebeck (home of the Beekman Arms, the oldest Inn in North America). Plus the FDR estate in Hyde Park.

Most of my experience in Albany involved driving up to watch baseball games and then getting the hell out of town.

I'll second the plug for the Plum Blossom - that alone always made the Union/RPI roadtrip worth the while.

Beeeej

And chances are that if you haven't been to the Plum Blossum in a couple years you will be impressed with how far the owner has progressed in his woodworking/decoration of the dining area.

Beside the airport is the albany county hockey facility (rink). They have a public skate from 2-3:30 on Saturday and Sunday. Price for skate is $3. Rentals are $3 as well. I go a lot. It is a great time.

[Q]marty Wrote:
And chances are that if you haven't been to the Plum Blossum in a couple years you will be impressed with how far the owner has progressed in his woodworking/decoration of the dining area.[/q]

Well, I sure hope so - they've been working on it since 1997 or so!!

Beeeej

If you're looking for something to do between games on Friday (assuming they allow re-entry), there's a really good band called Sirsy playing a free show at a place called The Big House, which seems to be more-or-less across the street from Jillian's, maybe a bit further from the rink.

Here's a few more:

For food: There's a real cool place off of 15th St. in Troy, called Ali Baba's. 15th is right off of Rt.7 on the way to Plum Blossom. It's focus is on mediteranian/Turkish food. I usuly get the durum kabob, which is spiced beef wrapped in a large pita(basically) with tahini sauce. And it's only $6. Trust me, you can barely move after eating this thing. Two cool things about this place 1)their menu has pictures, so you know what you're ordering 2) It's in the heart of the RPI student ghetto, so it might be a little "offensive" for a bunch of OTHER red shirts to be there, oh well

For family fun: There is the Albany Institute of History and Art [www.albanyinstitute.org] it's just out of walking distance, but there should be plenty of parking on Saturday. It's a smaller museum, but it has paintings, busts(enter Beavis and Butthead), and an Egyption room. Also a changing exhibit, but I dont know what that is right now. Should easily burn a couple of hours with kids.

For real fun: Lark Street. Quirkiest road in Albany, runs between Madsison Ave. and State St. Ride Madison Ave. from 787 until you hit a Dunkin Donut's, turn right. Has a bunch of little shops and stores. Includes: tatoo parlor, jazz club(justin's), antique stores, a hed shop that if you mention ANYthing other than tobacco they throw you out(ShiningStar), a decent punk mexican place a la VivaTaquiria (Bombers), Ben & Jerry's, a few more bars, and a greek house. Across Madison Ave. from DunkinDonuts is Lionheart, a bar with good sized pool tables and REAL darts.

Hope this is helpful.

[Q]Beeeej Wrote:

marty Wrote:
And chances are that if you haven't been to the Plum Blossum in a couple years you will be impressed with how far the owner has progressed in his woodworking/decoration of the dining area.[/Q]
Well, I sure hope so - they've been working on it since 1997 or so!!

Beeeej[/q]

We always wondered who in the town was eating extra large portions of sesame chicken as a reward for letting the construction occur at the same time as the meal prep!