My mom, 3 of my girls and I are going away for the next several days. We're going to be staying in Kingston, Ontario for the first couple of days, while we check out the local sites and the 1000 Island cruise. After that we plan on crossing into the States. It looks like the closest city is Syracuse. Does anyone have any suggestions as to kid friendly things to do, good shopping, eating and lodging ideas?
Thanks!

By Sandysmom on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 02:58 pm:

No suggestions, but I hope you have a blast! And a safe trip home.

By Kate on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 03:05 pm:

Really? Buffalo or Rochester aren't closer than Syracuse?

By Kellyj on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 03:15 pm:

I grew up near Syracuse. Depending on when you go, the NYS fair may be in progress. There is the Burnett Park Zoo in Syracuse. There is also a nice children's museum in downtown. The Boxing Hall of Fame is nearby in Canastota (15-20 mins east). Carosel Mall is in Syracuse and has decent shopping and restaurants. There is also Onondaga Lake nearby. I'm not sure what kind of set-up they have. If you were willing to travel east about 40 mins...Sylvan Beach has a nice amusement area with a few simple rides, one mild roller coaster and carnival games. Harpoon Eddies is a very good restaurant at Sylvan Beach.
If you like BBQ...there is a place called the Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse that has excellent BBQ but it is always pretty busy. It is very crowded though and if your kids are really little may not be a good place to go because of long waits. I hope that helps. Here is a link to their website. http://www.syracuse.ny.us/

By Yjja123 on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 03:30 pm:

I grew up in Upstate NY, in between Ithaca & Syracuse. The Syracuse carasal mall is OK. The zoo is small but my kids enjoyed it. I prefer Ithaca over Syracuse. I think Ithica is cleaner and has more to do. I love going to the commons in Ithaca:
Downtown Ithaca Commons,The
The Commons
State St
Ithaca, NY 14850
Telephone: 607/277-8679
Email: ithaca@lightlink.com
Season: Call for information
One of the largest pedestrian malls in America. Historic downtown Ithaca is home to the award-winning “Commons,” a pedestrian marketplace with an international flair. One can browse among downtown’s many unique specialty shops featuring apparel, art, ATM locations, fine crafts, jewelry, children’s store, specialty pet boutique, books, music, sporting goods, and contemporary furnishings or enjoy a variety of foods at any number of different places to eat. There is more shopping and great ethnic food at Center Ithaca and DeWitt Mall, as well as adjacent to The Commons on Cayuga and Aurora Streets
A great website about Ithaca:
http://www.visitithaca.com/

By Marcia on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 08:28 pm:

Thanks for all of the info. I'm still doing searches of the area. The place we've booked in Ontario has great facilities, so we might just end up staying there.

Kate, Buffalo and Rochester would be closer if we were crossing at Niagara Falls, but we're crossing at Kingston. That's several hours east, on the St. Lawrence River.

By Jjb on Sunday, July 23, 2006 - 02:29 pm:

Until a few months ago I lived in Rochester. I agree that Ithaca is gorgeous. If you drive down there make sure you check out some of the state parks. There are many waterfalls which my kids LOVED. Here is the NY State parks website for that region-
http://www.nysparks.com/regions/finger_lakes.asp

We liked Buttermilk Falls, and Robert Treman the best. The Robert Treman park has a pool made out of real rocks and several easy short flat hikes along the creeks that are great for kids.

Enjoy Kingston- I used to go there as a kid and loved it.

By Marcia on Sunday, July 23, 2006 - 04:58 pm:

Well, our trip has been on hold until next week. My mom's 12 year old Bijon is not feeling well, and she doesn't feel comfortable leaving her with anyone when she's like this. At first they thought she had a stroke, but now it seems like it might be an ear infection. Hopefully she'll be better by then.
The kids were pretty bummed, but the forecast wasn't good for this week anyway. Hopefully next week it'll be sunny the whole time we're away.
Jen, thanks for the info.