The author of the famous children’s book The Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum, grew up in Chittenango, NY near Syracuse. There;’s a yellow brick road on the main street of town (instead of a regular sidewalk), an Aunt Em’s Restaurant, an Emerald City Grill, and a museum honoring Mr. Baum and his classic story.  An annual [...]

At one time, the Erie Canal was the main travel route between the east and west portions of New York State.  Syracuse was a major port on the canal, and Old Erie Canal State Historic Park bears witness to that history. Opportunities for hiking, picnicking, horseback riding, bicycling, canoeing, fishing, and snowmobiling means  that you can enjoy the area any time of the [...]

At the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park, you and your family may watch the penguins do their things through 6 viewing windows. More than 20 different animal species can be spotted along their wildlife=2 0trail.  Numerous varieties of birds, mammals and sea creatures can be found here. From tiny milkweed bugs to an 11,000-pound African elephant to an Amazon parrot more than 50 years old, [...]

Interested in history? Sainte Marie among the Iroquois recreates the French Mission that operated on Onondaga Lake in the mid 1600’s. Museum workers, dressed in costumes of the time, will discuss life in that time period. You can watch demonstrations of early colonial ironwork, cooking and weaving.

Want to enjoy the gre at outdoors?  Check out nearby suburbs. Take a walk in Beaver Lake Parkin Baldwinsville or Green Lakes Park in Fayetteville, where winding trails and  natural scenery beckon.  Green Lake and Round Lake are meromicitc scientific wonders; the top surface of their waters and water at the bottom of lake never mix. You will find an 18 hole golf course here, as well. Both parks offer canoe [...]

Right in the heart of old town Syracuse is Armory Square. It is a wonderful place to shop or browse, have a beer, snack on the local cuisine or sit down to a fine dinner. The many small independent shops offer clothing, gifts, accessories, homemade chocolates and art works. Many items are one of a kind, often [...]

Tipperary Hill is a fun evening destination. This Irish section of town boasts the only working traffic light in the United States with the green light on top. In the 1920′s, when government officials installed the traffic light, Irish youths threw stones at it, upset that the British red was put above the Irish green. After several [...]