Recently people have been joining me on my Sunday Walks in Downtown Albany. Typically, I walk in Albany when I'm scheduled as a tour guide on the USS Slater (DE Docent). A slide show and a map are detailed at this blog entry. The USS Slater is now open. I plan on walking in Albany on Monday, Memorial Day, May 27. You can contact me at: dedocent@gmail.com.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

2011-05-08 - USS Slater - Washington Park



In the past I described several walks around Albany that start at the USS Slater. This is direct walk to Washington Park. From the USS Slater, walk up Madison Ave., and loop around Washington Park. Return by State Street and the Hudson River Way Pedestrian Bridge.
Once a year (since 1949) Albany hosts a Tulip Festival. I took the walk during this year's event (Sunday Morning, May 8th). This year the city planted over 200,000 bulbs (~ 140 varieties).






2011-05-31 Monthly Log

For May, I logged 155 mile. My daily goal is 3 miles, this month I averaged 5 miles per day. We started the month in Los Vegas. During Memorial Day weekend we had 4 days off and we walked all over.

Since I started logging my walks 13 months ago (April 2010), I logged 1,597 Miles.

Walks Included:
  • Oakwood Cemetery Loop (4.6 - 5.8 miles), 11 times
  • At Home Video (~ 2.0 - 3.0 miles), 2 times
  • Neighborhood walk (1.7 - 2.9 miles), 23 times
  • Lake George Bike Path (round trip, walking, 8.8 miles), 1 time
  • USS Slater - Albany Loop (3.5-4.5 miles), 2 times
  • USS Slater - Washington Park, Tulip Festival (5.7 miles), 1 time
  • Grandview / South Park Loop, NV (1.2 miles), 2 times
  • Vooresville Loop (4.5 Miles), 1 Time
  • Saratoga Battlefield - Wilkinson National Recreation Trail (4.4 miles), 1 time
  • Saratoga Spa State Park, Volks Walker (5.7 miles), 1 time
  • Round Lake - Zim Smith Trail (3.2 miles), 1 time

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Weight Watcher Walk - 5/22/2011

Walk will start at 9:00 AM Sunday, 5/22 at the USS Slater Parking Lot (Directions). Probably take 2 hours.

Weight Watcher's has been very good to me (down over 100 lbs). Walking is an important element of my weight loss program. Every year Weight Watcher's encourages members to walk a 5K in May. While this is not an official walk, it's one of my favorites. On many Sundays I am a volunteer tour guide on the USS Slater. Often times I start the day with a 1-1/2 hour walk through down town Albany. Albany is built on a hill, so the climb is 285 ft. It is a little longer than a 5K (full loop is 4.2 miles, 6.7K). However, if you don't want to walk the distance there are cut-offs that can shorten the route and reduce the climb. The short loop is less than 2 miles, and avoids most of the climb. In any case, bring good shoes, and make sure you can walk. If you need coffee, Bruegger's and Starbucks are on the route (about half way).

The history of Albany is spectacular. Albany can trace it's settlement to an early fort built in 1540. Permanent settlement was established in 1614 (6 years before Plymouth, Mass). Albany also claims to be the longest continuously chartered city in the United States (since 1686). I'll try to point out interesting sites along the way. The route that I organized follows in the footsteps of Henry Hudson, Ben Franklin, Benedict Arnold (when he was still a hero), George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Abe Lincoln, General Grant, Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt.

After the tour of Albany, if anyone still has energy I will be happy to give a tour of the USS Slater. My shipmates and I will be there until 4:00 PM (so you can take a lunch break before starting). There will be a fee for touring the Slater. There is a little stair climbing, but the ship is only 306' long. The Slater tour will take approximately an 1-1/2 hours.

Last year when I offered to do this at my regular weight watcher meeting no one took me up on the offer. This year, I'm not sure how popular this will be. It would help with my planning if you could send me an e-mail (dedocent@gmail.com), or let Chris know. There are limits on how many people I can accommodate on a tour.

A few relevant Links:

Sunday, May 1, 2011

2011-04-30 Monthly Log

Total Miles logged 132 for April. I logged 1,430 Miles since I started logging my walks. Finished the month with a Las Vegas vacation (walked approximately 33 miles here).

Walks Included:
  • Oakwood Cemetery Loop (4.6 - 5.8 miles), 7 times
  • Early Morning, Cross Gates Mall (~ 1.0 mile), 2 times
  • At Home Video (~ 2.0 - 3.0 miles), 4 times
  • Neighborhood walk (1.7 - 2.9 miles), 15 times
  • Loop around Albany Country Club (5.8 miles), 1 time
  • Glens Falls Bike Path (still under snow cover, 1.5 miles), 1 time
  • Cohoes Bike Path (3.1 miles), 1 time
  • USS Slater - Albany Loop (5.4 miles), 2 times
  • Las Vegas Strip (2.7 - 4.5 miles), 5 times
  • Red Rock Canyon, NV (2.5 miles), 1 time
  • Grandview / South Park Loop, NV (1.2 miles), 6 times
  • Clark Country Museum (~ 1.0 mile), 1 time