Is there anything to do in Montreal? Or other day-trip destinations from Albany, NY

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

My best friend and I wanna go on a road trip but we can only take one day. Since we’re in the Albany, NY area, tehre doesn’t seem to be much we can do. We considered going to the Ben & Jerry’s factory in VT, swinging down and east to go to the Yankee Candle factory in MA, adn then heading home, but we don’t really want to go to either of those places too much. Then we thought we could go to Canada, which would put us near Montreal, but we realized we don’t have any clue what we’d do once there.

Anybody have any suggestions for what two 18 year old girls can do on a day trip?

2

Hmmm…nope. If you could get a week, I could think of plenty of places to see and people to do*…:wink:

*–for example: here, me :slight_smile:

3

First of all, 18 is the drinking age there, so be careful. Don’t try to drive back if you’re loaded.

They may hassle you at the border, thinking you may be coming up to interrupt the conference in Quebec City.

That said, Canada is where it’s at! I highly recommend it and have a friend there in Montreal (cool 21 year old guy who can advise better), anyway, there’s lot’s to do.

4

Hmm…there’s always Lake George…Bolton Landing and all (kind of early in the year). If you’re 18, there’s Turning Stone out in Onienta (I think). There’s New York City, or Boston. There’s the Great Escape or Catskill Game Farm. There’s also fishing or hiking in the Adarondacks. Wait a few months, there’s the track at Saratoga (I think the harness track is open now) Just some ideas.

5

That being the case, you may enjoy disrupting the conference in Quebec City.

And of course, the main thing to do in Montreal is, meet me!! I’ll be back from QC on Monday, so send me an email and I’ll give you my phone number. We could meet some afternoon/evening in the week!

6

OK, it’s obvious that matt_mcl is going to QC to start some shit. In that case, maybe he just wants you guys to show up with bail money?

You just need to go have fun.

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The harness track is definitely open now, and quite a few high school/college kids from my hometown hang out there from time to time. (One of them works the horses, so they all get to go down and have their pictures taken in the winner’s circle and whatnot.) Then again, I don’t know if Albany to Saratoga counts as an official roadtrip – they’re sorta close together.

If I were the lovely racinchikki, I’d drive on over to Boston. There’s whole heaps and bunches of things to do, plus it’s only about three hours from the Albany area.

8

Go rafting on the Hudson! I just took my first swim in the Hudson last weekend. I never knew water could be so cold without being frozen.

This is the time of year for whitewater fun in the northeast. The Hudson was running at about 7.5’ last weekend. Class III-V whitewater.

You’re about 1.5 hours south of big river fun. Just remember, drysuits are worth the extra $25 in the spring. Even if it’s warm out. And it’s not as hard as you think.

There are a bunch of companies that run the Hudson Gorge, but if you want some numbers/names of companies, email me.

Have fun daytripping!

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Thanks for the suggestions, y’all! :slight_smile:

We were considering Boston, but we’re country girls and neither one of us has the gumption to drive over there. Believe me, I’ve tried (I used to take conference courses at Boston University). :smiley:

Gatsby… that sounds like lots of fun, but we don’t do cold… lol Especially cold and wet. Warm and wet is something else altogether.

As far as Saratoga goes… we’ve been there, not for the harness track though (Saratoga’s where the annual New York State Stock Car Racing Association season preview is, and tehre are lots of good concerts at SPAC). I don’t think it counts as a roadtrip :stuck_out_tongue:

We cant’ afford the Great Escape. :frowning:

Montreal’s sounding like our best bet… we just need to get in touch with the people who know what’s going on up there so we don’t get ourselves lost!

10

I’m from the area (Schenectady). Montreal is nice, but the length of the drive eats into your time for a day trip. If you’re just there for a few hours, stop and wander in the Old City (especially on weekends, when there are entertainers) and eat. It doesn’t matter where – you can’t toss a rock in Montreal without hitting a great restaurant. And the exchange rate is fantastic; it’s like getting 1/3 off everything. (And if you buy enough, you get a refund of your tax, too!)

Other day trips depend on your interests. Some include:

Howe’s Cavern and the Indian Museum nearby, if you’re so inclined.

Lake Placid. Nice town even in the summer. Go to the Mt. Van Hoevenberg bobsled/luge runs; you can take a bobsled (even in summer) or just walk down them.

Cooperstown. Baseball Hall of Fame, of course, as well as their Farmer’s Museum.

Sturbridge, MA – Old Sturbridge Village is a great reconstruction of an 1830s community. There are events during the year that correspond to life at those times. It’s getting near sheep shearing time, BTW.

Bennington, VT – You can see the battle monument (the battlefield is actually in Hoosic, NY) and visit the shops and the Grandma Moses exhibit at the Bennington Museum. Be sure to go to the Chocolate Barn on Route 7 north of the city.

Stockbridge, MA – Pretty town made famous by Norman Rockwell. There’s the Rockwell Museum (his stuff looks better full-size) and the Red Lion Inn.

Albany – If you haven’t visited the State Museum, give it a try. Also check for the various festivals at the Empire State Plaza.

Saratoga/Stillwater – Take a look at the battlefield if you have any interest in history. This was a key battle for American independence.

Saratoga Springs – Nice shopping downtown, plus Congress Park. Try the water at your own risk (salty and sour). In the State Park, though one of the springs is great for fixing sinus problems. The State Park is free until Memorial Day. There’s also the Museum of Dance.

Schenectady – the Schenectady Museum is celebrating astronomy week. I’ll be on a panel tomorrow at 2:30; come by and say hello.

11

Ohhhh yes, the Chocolate Barn. It used to be a tradition for the women in my family to gather for a week every summer … my mother, my sister and I, my grandmother, my great-aunt, and two of my four maternal aunts, up from Virginia … pile into Mom’s minivan, and head to Vermont to go antique shopping. We’d always stop at the Chocolate Barn and buy some of their delicious fudge (they’re the only place we can find that makes mocha fudge, which is my mom’s favorite), and there’s a garden place near there that sells plants and garden gnomes and sunballs and stuff. Well do I remember our annual Bennington trip! :slight_smile:

We went there for a field trip in 7th grade! :slight_smile: Don’t tell me about sheep shearing, though… there’s a flock here on the farm and they’re probably going to ask me to help with the shearing. :stuck_out_tongue:

How long is it, exactly, do you know? We’ll be leaving Valatie at about 7 am and we won’t need to be home until 8 or 9 pm at the earliest (later if we go on a Saturday).

Shows how much I know - I wasn’t even aware there WAS a Schenectady Museum! I’ve been to the NYS Museum (are they having a motorcycle exhibit now? I thought I saw a sign to that effect but I haven’t been in that part of Albany in two weeks) but I’ve never heard of the Schenectady Museum. Where is it?

12

It’s a bit of a hike from Valatie, about 250 miles or so. I keep thinking I’ll try to get up to Montreal some time, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. (I also keep thinking we should do an Albany area Dopefest sometime.) I don’t really have any suggestions since I’m fairly new to the area.

BTW, racinchikki, check out the NYC Dopefest thread. I offered you a ride if I’m able to get down for it.

13

The Schenectady Museum’s on Nott Terrace Heights, overlooking Nott Terrace (across from the Holiday Inn). There’s a nice view of the city. I’ll be talking about aliens in science fiction.

I’d say it’s about 4-5 hours to Montreal. I don’t like long drives like that, but if you don’t mind, Montreal is a great place to visit.