At the end of the month, the wife and I will be traveling to see her brother and sister-in-law in New Hampshire. We’re driving and thought it a better idea to make it two legs rather than try to blast straight through for 14 hours. The midpoint of our trip will likely put us somewhere west of Syracuse (we’re taking 90 across NY), but we’re certainly not averse to pushing through to Syracuse or even beyond to find somewhere good to stop and play.
We’ll likely stay two nights, doing something interesting the day in between (August 30 if I can read a calendar correctly). Basically, we’re looking for something fun to do, and I hoped the Dope could help us out with that.
We’re both into history and science type stuff, and would probably prefer that over the more artsy ventures. She certainly wouldn’t mind something shopping-related, but I might have to “miss” those posts. Oh, and hiking/outdoors stuff is always good (especially with personal recommendations for picturesque/good photo-op walks), but we’ll probably do a good bit of that in NH as well. As it stands, we’re actually leaning toward at least half a day at the NY State Fair, but we could easily be persuaded to something else.
Really though, mo matter what the arena, if you’ve got suggestions of things you love in that area, let 'em rip!
Agree with Cliffy – when I was a grad student in the area, we used to go and hit several wineries in the area, get winery tours, do tastings, and ,maybe eat at the restaurant at one. You can get wines at some of the wineries that are very hard to get at area wine stores. So go see the Widmer winery, the Bully Hill Winery, and whoever else is currently giving tours.
You can go to Letchworth State Park and see the big gorge, go to Rochester and see the Falls of the Genessee (and the Rochester Museum and Science Center, the Margaret Woodbury Strong museum and the University Art Gallery, in addition to the George Eastman House and International Museum of Photography mentioned above. And Seneca Park Zoo), go to Manchester and see the Joseph Smith Farm, where Mormonism started, and if you’re there at the right time of year see the Hill Cumorah Pageant for free. Don’t miss the anti0Mormons handing out literature along the road.
Go to Seneca Falls, birthplace of feminism at the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention. Go to Binghamton and see Ross Park Zoo, the Roberson Museum, and have a Spiedie at one of the Barbecue Pits. Visit Ithaca and see Cornell University.
I’ll add to the chorus of folks recommending Watkins Glen. The gorge hike is a good couple of hours, depending on your speed and the shopping district is a nice place to wander.
Slightly further away from Syracuse (but still in the Fingerlakes) is the Curtiss Air Museum. Pretty neat as far as small-town museums go.
We also loved going to Skaneatles, NY at the top of Skaneatles Lake. Pretty town, crystal clear lake and tons of fun shops and restaurants.
Finally, don’t forget about the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The Hall will take you a few hours, but the rest of the town will consume the rest of your day. If you’re into opera, you can stay for a show at the Glimmerglass Opera House also in Cooperstown. And the Ommegang brewery is always a hit.
Unless you have kids, I’d recommend against this. As an adult, it’s fun for about 30 minutes. One minute more and you just want to start screaming at all the creepy 18th/19th century dolls and all the kids that are hogging the superhero wall.