I just booked my first ever MR. I will be arriving in Albany at 9:30 on a Sunday and flying out again at 2:25. What can I do with my five hours in Albany? Any yummy nearby restaurants to grab lunch? Any good shopping? I appreciate any and all recommendations!

I grew up in the Albany area. One of the advantages is that you can drive 20-30 minutes in any direction and be in total wilderness. Unfortunately, you aren't going to have enough time to do that, let alone that the weather is supposed to turn colder over the weekend. Also, the airport is in the town of Colonie, which is a good distance from downtown Albany.

Here's the restaurant blog from the Albany Times Union: http://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/restaurants/

If you like to do tourist things, downtown Albany is pretty unique. The Empire State Plaza is an underground and above-ground complex containing what locals call "The Egg." It's the Empire State Convention Center and looks like half of a hardboiled egg on a pedastal. Incendently, it was designed by the same architect and build using the same techniques as the Sydney Opera House. At the other end of the Plaza is the NY State Museum, which you can do in a couple of hours. Nearby is the Capitol Building. It's an old Dutch building and is only one of two State capitol buildings that is not a domed building. Along the Hudson River is a WWII destroyer, the USS Albany, that I believe is still open for tours. Pete Seeger's sloop, the Clearwater, also makes frequent visits to Albany. Just up the river is Quackenbush Square, which is a restored area containing buildings from the original Dutch settlement in the early 1600s. There are some small restaurants and cafes there.

Parking is easy on Sunday in downtown Albany, and, for the convenience and cost of a cab ride back & forth, I would just rent a car at the airport. There is shopping in the suburbs, but they are predominently malls that you can find anywhere. I think the Albany Hilton (I think it's still a Hilton) has Sunday brunch you might check out.

There is also the old First Church in Albany (Reformed Church in America). It contains the oldest (physical) pulpit in the US, dating back to 1628. FIrst Church also started the first drive-in church in the US, several years before the Crystal Cathedral. All of this stuff is within easy walking distance downtown.

If you like photography Empire State Plaza presents a good opportunity for some interesting photo ops. Some nice buildings and across the street is the New York state museum. Lots of neat stuff inside and you may wish to check out the 9/11 exhibit.

Wow, great recommendations! Thank you. I think I may go ahead and rent a car - just for ease of looking around.

I greatly appreciate your thoughts!

A couple of other suggestions:

1)You'd have time to drive to Saratoga (The Northway entrance is very close to the Airport). Depending on where you are coming from, it may be very scenic. The City of Saratoga has a number of nice restaurants. It's off season (The race track is the main attraction in summer). It will probably be much more scenic than downtown Albany on a Sunday morning (Which will be deserted).

2)If you like shopping, Cohoes Fashions http://cohoesfashions.com/ may be of interest. I have not been there in a long time, and the quality of bargains may have been reduced, but it is a local store that you wouldn't find elsewhere. It should be open early on Sundays if you're traveling before the holidays.

Are you doing the mileage run on United? (Your flights sound like a round trip from IAD). There are frequent delays on this route (At least I get a lot of them)

Car rentals are convenient. Most have cars in the attached parking garage, so you won't need to use a shuttle. Arriving an hour before your flight is more than enough.

It has been unseasonably warm in Albany so far this season; that could change quickly. Be prepared for cold and snow.

Good luck on the trip!

Yep, doing a UA run. I am going to try and standby on the 12:10 flight but it only has 2 seats left on it. I have heard that it's bad for delays. I greatly appreciate your tips!