A NY Weekend

The weekend began Friday. My hectic work-week threw a curve ball at me, and I was 45 minutes late at arriving at Oak Grove. Luckily Kate was patient with me. Some Middle aged dude was trying to pick her up when I arrived.

We headed back to my apartment where I quickly grabbed my things. Next we headed out and stopped at "Liberty Bell Roast Beef" in Stoneham, where I had a chicken finger platter. It was too much food but I ate it anyway. Kate had a meatball sub and a side of French Fries.

From here we headed out into the night. For a little nostalgia and summer music I played some Tom Petty & some Rubber Soul from the Beatles. Additionally on the play list was some Mark Kozelek, Julian Lennon- Valotte and Photograph Smile which are actually quite good. I was a bit too lazy (aside from Petty, which I purposefully grabbed) to switch around my cds, so we just got what was in the changer. Some Gnarls Barkley, Secret Machines, and Beta Band, & Supergrass I believe made their way in but were just accented the prior list.

The ride was not too bad, a hair over three hours to Schenectady, where Kate's Mom & Aunt live. It is a suburb of Albany. Kate's Mom has a nice cape on a dead end road. It is an attractive old house that had much of its 40s/50s charm intact. There is a fairly sizable yard with a white picked fence and many flowers and shrubs which Kate's mom has tended to with discipline.

The next day we got up around 9:00, had a quick light breakfast at the house, while Kate's mom helped with the directions for our scenic drive.

As luck would have it for most of the day it poured buckets. It was actually really sort of funny. I think we both had a great time in spite of it. I couldn't help but laugh from time to time about the rain. I actually forgot my umbrella. When we made it to our first stop on the tour "Glens Falls" where Kate lived for a couple of years and went to Community college, before moving on to New York State University at Fredonia, I employed a plastic covering to get from the car to buildings. It was fun, and people were laughing at me... ah to spread joy.

Glens Falls is a typical old paper mill town. The mill at a glance is ugly, but has a sort of industrial beauty and charm as well. The town built around it is picturesque, and appears to be going through a revitalization. The area appears to be booming on the edge of town where new box stores, additions to malls, and chain restaurants seem to be popping up everywhere.

Next on the tour was Lake Luzerne which is a picture perfect sleepy valley of lakes and streams in the southern Adirondacks. This is the town where Kate spent most of her childhood. Homes look like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting, and amongst camp grounds and a few tourist accommodations are gems like a unique ice cream/ candy parlor called Papa's, a gorgeous little waterfall, a high bridge over churning water, and the foundations of long forgotten mills. When we were there the clouds and mists hung down upon the foothills providing a lush mystique to this quiet mountain town.

Next up, and last for Saturday was Saratoga. Saratoga was a key revolutionary war community, as well as a resort community built around natural springs and spas. To this very day, this small city seems to provide a lot in the way of recreation. Broadway St. is filled with shops, boutiques, and sidewalk cafes. There are multiple city parks, and one of them even had a pretty carousel. It seems like it would be a nice place to live or visit if one lived nearby.

Sunday: After breakfast, Sunday was all about Albany. Luckily the rain cleared up. Aside from one shower in the AM we stayed pretty dry.

The first part of our time in Albany was spent walking around the Rockefeller plaza and concourse which had a "Distopia" feel to it. It was stark and modern looking, and one couldn't help but feel they were being watched for some emergency. The "egg" seen right is an example of this particular "sterile" modern architecture. This was by far the most exciting exhibit on the plaza, the other buildings more angular and imposing.

We went on a tour of the capitol building which was very interesting. It is one of the few state capitol buildings that does not have a dome. At one time it was the largest government building on the east coast. Construction took 32 years to complete (and technically was never finished). Supposedly one of the designers was involved in the designing of parliament in Ottawa Canada. A definite link can be seen between the designs, specifically the gothic influences.

After the tour let out we headed up to a popular street in Albany known for restaurants and bars. We went to a burrito bar called bombers. We ate upstairs which had a very trendy decor, complete with booths that reminded one of carnival ride seats (metallic pain). The servings were huge, and the food was cheap & delicious.

Next we headed to Washington Park which is a huge park in the Center of Albany that is big enough to have its own system of roads through it.

Albany had a lot of assets going for it, but the industry seems a little lack luster, and the area seems depressed. More relics from the 70s and the 80s exist there which is very atypical in other areas.

Sunday evening it was time to go home, but even the drive back was beautiful.... and so now its back to work.