Hudson River Cruise

 Monday, October 6th, Portland to Newark -- Not a noteworthy day and no photos.  We flew from Portland International Airport (first time checking in at the new airport layout, passing through security and grabbing a quick breakfast) and continued on a non-stop flight (4 hours and 22 minutes) to Newark International.  I watched 2 movies on my iPhone using the Alaska Air WiFi network; I should have used my Mac Air.  The movies were The Amateur and The Liar.  Betsy commented we have evolved from no inflight entertainment, to one large screen for every passenger, to individual seat monitors, and finally to viewing on your own individual "device."  We arrived on time, I guess, and then made our way for about a mile to the Best Western Hotel.  This required 2 phone calls to the hotel and an air train ride together to  "P4," the hotel shuttle pickup place.  One more call to the hotel to tell them we were awaiting at the correct spot.  After waiting for 20 minutes, we rode in the hotel van along various strands of road spaghetti  to the hotel -- we must have traveled 5 miles to the hotel that was probably less than 2 miles from the terminal.  We checked in, had burgers and fries at the restaurant, and retired.

Tuesday, October 7th (first part), Newark to Albany, NY -- Sunny and warm.  We were up early (given the time zone change) to catch the shuttle back to the airport, and then to the train station via the Air Train.  Note, the train station is about 300 yards from the hotel, but United Airlines bought the intervening land and built an employee parking lot, thereby eliminating a walkway to the train station.  We caught a hotel shuttle that traveled on a different part of the road spaghetti back to the airport, getting off at P4, then rode the Air Train to station.  We were early and waited at trackside for the Amtrak train to Penn Station (which is now the Patrick Moynihan Station).  The ride in was uneventful and quick.  The station had European style schedule boards, which identified the train numbers and destination, but without track information.  I asked an Amtrak rep. and got directed to the correct track.  We waited at the head of the escalator for about 15 minutes before hustling to board -- our car was the farthest away and we didn't reach it before the train started moving.  We initially landed in the wrong car, and was guided through the cafe to our proper seating area while the train left the station.  Sorry for the detail, but I am writing this during the two-hour train ride to Albany and have plenty of time to elaborate.

We have passed a number of Hudson River sites including the Palisades, West Point, Bannerman Castle, various bridges and rivers, and those iconic towns you have heard of -- Yonkers, Sleepy Hollow, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park, Kingston, Rhinecliff (next to Rhinebeck with its famous Old Rhinebeck Areodrome, which I visited once about 50 years ago to see WWI airplanes dogfighting), and Stuyvesant.  The route follows the river so it is very scenic, with just a hint of changing fall colors.  We arrived to Rensselaer (across the Hudson River from Albany) and taxied to our hotel (Hampton Inn Suites).  We downloaded a Volkswalk route for Albany Capital and went off for a 10k walk to see the sights. 

Photos for the rest of the day during the volkswalk will be in the next blog post.