Rainy Day Trippin'

Saratoga Battlefield overlooking the Hudson River

Unfortunately, our first day in Lake George was overcast and rainy so we decided that would be the best day to head down to Albany and check out New York's capital.  On the way down, we caught another national park site, Saratoga National Historical Park.  The Battle at Saratoga was very early in the Revolutionary War, but may have been the turning point to American victory as it was the first time the mighty British Army had ever surrendered.  While there had been previous defeats, the British had always retreated in those instances.  Their surrender at Saratoga gave the Americans legitimacy and caused the French to join the American cause culminating in the ultimate British defeat at Yorktown.

New York Capitol

This trip provided another chance to complete our lifelong quest to visit all 50 states and 50 state capitals.  While we've been to well over half of the states, we haven't yet visited all of the capitals in those states.  Albany marks the turning point, as we're now more than halfway towards our goal of all 50 state capitals and capitol buildings.

The New York State Capitol is a gorgeous building that is not the quintessential capitol

The Great Western Staircase

with massive columns and a rotunda.  It was completed in 1899 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  it has three massive staircases in the building, each with it's own different architectural flair.  Unlike our visit in Nevada, we didn't run into the governor this time.  In one way, the gorgeous architecture of this building is wasted as the surrounding square and other government buildings are very drab and utilitarian.  Given the history of the nation and the important role New York played, especially in the early days, one would think a more complementary, cohesive style or architecture would grace such an important area.

We concluded our time in Albany with a visit to the Stephen and Harriet Myers House.  You likely won't read about this in many guidebooks, but the Myers and this home were an integral part of the Underground Railroad.  As the only ones there that day, we were treated to a personal tour and learned about the history of the Myers family and how they helped so many former slaves during that time period.  Unlike visiting other historic sites, this is clearly a work in progress.  The house still needs a tremendous amount of restoration work on the interior, but the small non-profit that owns and operates the house are working diligently to raise the funds needed to make this a reality.  This is an important story to tell and history to preserve, so I certainly hope they are successful.