A Beautiful View On A Beautiful Day

After a snoot-full of winter cold, snow and sleet, our weather began to turn (comparatively) warm and sunny. One recent day when I was not working, I headed to the gym to give myself a bit of exercise. The road takes me directly up a hill out of the Hudson River Valley and past an outpost of the State University of New York. The view of downtown Albany in the valley below is quite stunning from up there and I'd always wished I had a camera with me to get a photo or two. Well, this day I had a camera on the seat next to me.

I turned in at a driveway or two but could find no place to get off of the road and still see the view. Finally, I turned into the campus area and parked near this building which, according to the signs, is a University Cancer Research Center. It has an outdoor observation deck on the opposite end of what is shown in this photo. I parked and entered the building, camera in hand:

I was surprised to find the building open to visitors and even a friendly, helpful receptionist who told me which door to use to access the observation deck. The view was partially obscured by telephone poles and a tree, but it was a lot safer than standing in the middle of the busy road:

Albany's skyline is most notable for its State office building towers, the New York State Museum and the performance center called "The Egg." If you click on this photo to enlarge it, you'll see clearly toward the lower right why it's named after an egg:

The view was clear and inspiring, the day was sunny and pleasant. I shot a few a photos, thanked the friendly receptionist and went on way. I thought you might enjoy seeing a few photos: