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:
