Getting to the Fair

One of the many things I've grown to love about living in Albany during the summer is hitting the Altamont Fair. I love traipsing through the mud (somehow there's always mud), putting my kid on rickety rides and visiting the all those stinky, happy and sometimes noisy (did you ever visit the poultry barn? zoinks. they are loud!) farm animals. There were years when I drove a car there (including one I'll never forget, where I got stuck in traffic like I'd never ever seen in upstate NY and my car over-heated), and there were years where I took the bus, sat back and relaxed, and enjoyed the ride... and it was free.

Then there was last year...when I didn't make it to the Altamont Fair because there was no bus service. Period.

I've been waiting to learn whether buses would venture to our tri-county fair this year, and before going to sleep tonight I decided to have a gander at the Altamont Fair website... to my surprise there was news. Good news. I then ventured over to my friends at CDTA to confirm... and to try to clarify this part of the announcement on the Altamont Fair site:

Purchase a CDTA Day Card for only $3 that provides one day unlimited use and includes round trip service from Crossgates Mall to the Altamont Fair.

Hmmm... does that mean the only way they'll take me on the shuttle is if I purchase an additional $3 pass for myself and each kid I have with me even if I already have a 7-day monthly pass for myself and Summer Fun Pass for my daughter? I sure hope not.

The CDTA press release was issued on Monday 7/21, I don't think there was coverage in today's TU. It's after 11 p.m. now, so I won't get my answer calling the CDTA customer information line at this hour. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the professionals over at the TU will do more than reprint the details of the press release, and let us know if our passes will be usable. I hope to see some fleshed out news when I pick that paper up off my porch in the a.m. , and if not... it'll be time for a bit of research from one of us on the bus.