The day kicked off with a walk to meet Linda, who was already a step ahead of us in morning energy. Together we made our way to the Iron Gate Café, where coffee and breakfast felt like the real starting line. Their courtyard was shady and calm, the kind of spot that tricks you into thinking you’ll be taking it easy all day. (Spoiler: we did not.)

Fueled up, we launched into our self-guided downtown Albany tour. Over twenty stops later, we’d seen just about every flavor of landmark the city could throw at us: the stately State Capitol, City Hall with its impressive tower, and more churches than Lucky cared to count. Each building seemed to one-up the last with history and architecture. Eventually, we walked across the Hudson River to the Corning Preserve, where the views were wide and breezy—though by then, Lucky was less interested in the scenery and more in finding the nearest patch of shade. His look said it all: “Guys, sidewalks are hot, paws are delicate, can we wrap this up?”

Back at our Airbnb, we happily gave in to a much-earned nap. Nothing like collapsing onto a cool bed after a marathon of sightseeing (and dog-managing).

By evening, we were revived and ready for part two. We scooped Linda up from her hotel and headed to The Dove + Deer, a cozy neighborhood restaurant where time slowed down. Between the good food and conversation, it felt like the perfect closing chapter to the day.

After dinner, we dropped Linda off and wandered back to our Airbnb, pleasantly full and maybe just a little smug about how much ground we’d covered. Albany gave us history, heat, and happy bellies all in one day—a solid trifecta.