New York outside of NYC

Lake Ontario is quite beautiful and offers a lot of water recreation. Weather in August is perfect - in the 70's - for enjoying the outdoors. The women's movement started in Upstate New York, and the house in Rochester where Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting is open to the public (716-235-6124). Harriet Tubman (Underground Railroad) is buried in the area. There is a lighthouse to visit. Seneca Park Zoo offers penguins as well as African elephants (716-467-9453) though it closes fairly early in the afternoons (4 PM). There is a water and amusement park available for the kids. To be honest, however, we had the most fun just driving around the scenic downtown - through the campus of Rochester University - and playing in the parks along the way.

Quick Tips:

Rochester is separated into sections even though Rochester itself is not that large, so don't be confused when you see signs saying you're in Greece. You havn't left the country by accident!

Best Way To Get Around:

There is a bus system in place in Rochester that is supposed to be fairly efficient. I can not testify to this, however, because we rented a car. I do know some bus and shuttle services within the inner loop of the city are free, but we liked the freedom of having a car, moving at the pace we liked, and being able to make the drive to Niagra Falls (c. 90 miles away) when we wanted to.

The Marriott Airport Hotel is what you would expect from a Marriott. The rooms are large and comfortable though the decor is typical 'big-chain' generic. The location was great for us - 10 minutes from the airport - so that we didn't have to get up too early to catch our morning flight. Rochester is not a huge place, and we had no problems getting anywhere in the city from the Marriot in a reasonably quick amount of time.
There is also a decent restaurant downstairs. Room Service is even reasonable. There is a small, in-door pool that my son liked, and there is a work-out facility though I did not check out what kind of exercise equipment was available. There is a drugstore directly across the street if you need to quickly pick up something like the tube of toothpaste you forgot to put in your suitcase. The main thing about staying in a hotel like this is you know what to expect from it.

Don Pablos is a fairly nice Mexican chain restaurant that is popping up in different locations all across the country. A Don Pablos was located withing walking distance of our hotel, so we tried it out for lunch. The inside is a big room with exposed orange pipes on the ceiling. The ambiance is nice and open and big. The service is good, and the food is good for chain-Mexican. There is a good children's menu, and we enjoyed our meals.

The wedding reception we attended was at the Newport House, so some of my information may be skewed. I actually don't know what the regular menu would be as the food we enjoyed (all of it good) was served buffet style in a private room. The view of the Bay on which the Newport House is situated, however, is quite lovely, and I know that won't change for future visitors! The water from the Bay led out to Lake Ontario, and there was a nice view of the water from the second story balcony of the Newport House. I noticed when we were leaving the reception, too, that downstairs was a dance floor and night club.

If you appreciate flora and fauna of any type, you should take a couple of hours to visit the Highland Botanical Park. The grounds are beautiful and different flowers are blooming throughout all year long. We played a game of hide-and-seek with our son on the grounds, ducking behind majestic Maple and Beech trees. I saw many runners making their ways along the paths looping around the grounds, and I wished for my running shoes instead of the sandals I was wearing.

We also enjoyed the Lamberton Conservatory. It was broken up into sections with plants from different regions represented. We saw all kinds of cool flowers and vines that I had not seen before. A man working in the center gave my son food to feed to the very large Japanese fish swimming in a pond in the center of the conservatory. There was no admission fee though some house plants were available for purchase, and there was a donation box.

I really enjoyed the time I spent with my family in this park. My son liked it because there were so many good climbing trees. If you visit Rochester, I would say be sure to visit Highland Botanical Park as well as some of the other parks available to the public. They are well suited to the needs of a family, and a game of tag among the lilacs is both memorable and free.

I try to go running whenever I visit a new place, and there was a paved running path right by the Marriot Airport Hotel. The lady at the front desk of my hotel told me the path continued for ten miles to the beach. This was not true unless the path broke up at one end and then reconnected at a point I did not find. The path was, however, pleasantly shaded with a good surface for running. It was located within a quarter of a mile of the Marriot, so I was able to get off busy roads quickly. There is a short section that feels a little isolated because the bushes and trees have grown tall around the path even though you can hear cars whizzing by on the main road not too far away. There were other runners using the trail, however, and I did not feel especially unsafe. (If you don't like to be isolated at all when you run in a new place, however, you might want to make your partner run with you.) The trees eventually opened up to reveal a high school football team at practice in an open field. There was a track at the high school, too, if you like to run on one of those. The path ended on a sidewalk after the high school. Of course, it might have picked up at another point again, but I did not look.

The run on this path was easy but nice. If I had had time, I would have liked to have run through the University of Rochester's campus and through Highland Park, too.

If you are in Rochester for a visit, you are only 90 miles from Niagara Falls. A day trip to see this natural wonder is a must. We piled into one car with the friends we were visiting and made our way through some beautiful countryside, past many farms, up to Niagara Falls. Our friends were from Rochester and insisted that the Canadian side was the best from which to see the falls so we crossed over the bridge into Canada. Americans can pass over the border with just a driver's license and little hassle, but people from other nationalities need to have their passports ready. Also, if not American and entering the U.S., a customs fee of $30 is assessed.

There were many things that you could do while at the falls. You could buy a ticket to ride in a boat right up to the falls. If you do this, know that you will get soaked despite the rain coat you will be given. There is the Skylon Tower from which you can view the falls from an observation deck or through the windows of the revolving dining room as you get a bite to eat. There is a casino for adult entertainment.

To be honest, I really am glad we had a chance to see this truly breath-taking spectacle of Mother Nature's, but there were a LOT of other people visiting Niagara Falls the day we were there, too. I am not as good in crowds as some people, and everything had a very touristy feel to me. However, it was interesting to see my son's reactions to the Falls (he was quite impressed) and to see the great collection of people from various parts of the world enjoying their vacations. When I finally jostled my way up to a space at the fence, I couldn't help but be awed by the immensity of the falls - I couldn't help but spend a moment in reflection - even though I knew some kid was waiting behind me ready to pounce on my spot as soon as I moved a muscle!.

As our time was limited, too, we were unable to fully enjoy the Niagara Falls experience, so I do think that affected our trip some-what. For instance, we did not travel to the Niagara Town on the Lake which is supposed to be very quaint and wonderful.

Bottom Line For Me: Niagara Falls is a beautiful natural wonder worth going to see, but you're not going to be alone, and your kid will want to buy a chintzy snow globe from one of the many souvenir shops along the way. If you are as close as Rochester, however, you should make the effort. It is beautiful.

George Eastman was the founder of the Eastman Kodack Company, and his 35,000 Square Foot Mansion now houses one of the most extensive museums on photography in the country. One can't help but be impressed by the 50 room home with its beautiful gardens. One can't help but be fascinated by the story of an American entrepeneur. There are guided tours available and admission for adults is $6.50/each. Kids from 5-12 get in for $2.50, and younger children are free. The house and history are worth the two hours one can devote to this landmark. For more information check out the website at www.eastman.org or call 716-271-3361.