Go Syracuse! (and no, I am not talking about the football team - I could care less about them)

As you all know, I have lived in Syracuse my entire life (with the exception of the 3 months that I lived in Utah back in the fall of 1998). I spent all of my teenage years scheming up ways to get myself out of this place. My three best friends and I constantly complained about how much we HATED Syracuse, how crappy it was here, and how much better ANYWHERE else was. Well, we all left for different parts of the country for college (Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelpha and Provo), and I find it ever so humorous how ALL of us have eventually ended up back here, in Syracuse, the place in which we vowed never again to live.


But the truth is, I whined about a LOT of things when I was a teenager, and really, Syracuse isn't half-bad as far as places to live go. It took me going and living somewhere else to learn that. Now, mind you, I am not completely blind to the flaws of this place, but EVERY place has it's quirks and downsides - the south has crappy supermarkets, unbearable heat in the summer, and hmmmm - hurricanes, anyone? The southwest has that same heat problem (from what I've heard from those who live there, you basically spend the entire summer inside to avoid the heat), and I've heard enough stories about the oversized insects and nasty scorpions to make me NEVER want to live there, and the threat of earthquakes isn't so cool either. The midwest is known for it's tornadoes, and the list goes on and on. Syracuse is no exception to this rule. We have an average of 65 days of FULL sun per year ( a pretty pitiful amount), and spend the rest of the time with partly sunny or overcast skies. We are home to the second most polluted lake in the WORLD (ewwww), and the geography of the city is kind of strange, with patches of nice neighborhoods sprinkled all over the city, never too far away from the not-so-nice neighborhoods. But all of these places described - the south, the west, etc., have their many good points, too, and again, Syracuse is no exception.


I have heard a LOT of complaining over the years from people who have moved here about how AWFUL it is here, how they can't wait to get out, how there is NOTHING good here at all, and I have decided that it is time for a rebuttal. Now, these complaints have come from friends of mine, and I mean them no ill will, but this IS my hometown, and I feel that I need to defend it at times and point out all of the wonderful things that central New York has to offer that you can't find almost anywhere else.


Hence my list of "Why Central New York is Great". I am going to list 25 things that are great (not to mention unique) to this area. They are in no particular order (and are not limited to the city of Syracuse), just a list that Lou and I came up with (and it didn't take us long, either!) I know that for those of you who have lived here, this list will bring back lots of fond memories...


1) Gannon's Isle - GREAT homemade ice cream, and although they are not open year-round (wink, wink, Christina), their ice cream is fabulous, and nothing spells refreshment in the heat of the summer like their lemon-lime sherbert twist - mmmmm....

2) Dinosaur BBQ - Great food, funky atmosphere. All those who have been to this biker joint know what I'm talkin' about.

3) Hinerwadels Salt Potatoes - a central New York original. They started here, and you can only buy them here, and they are a summer stable - soooooo good.

4) Hoffmans Hot Dogs - the best hot dogs EVER!! I don't eat hot dogs, but I love Hoffmans, and you can only get them in central New York.

5) Pick-your-own berry patches - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, etc. Tons of kid-friendly pick-your-own patches that are a fraction of the supermarket price and taste WAY better. One of the highlights of the summer for our family.

6) Apple picking in the fall - an annual tradition for most people in the area. It's a fun family activity, and once you've had apples right off the tree, the ones in the grocery store just don't cut it anymore. The fresh ones are crisp, crunchy, juicy, and there are tons of kinds to choose from all Autumn long.

7) Farmer's market - yes, there are farmers' markets elsewhere in the country, but they are not exactly everywhere you go, so I think that it's neat that we have one right here in Syracuse, and it's a pretty good size, too, with a good variety of fresh, locally-grown produce, flowers, baked goods, hand-made crafts and soaps, etc.

8) Wegmans - ahhhh, wonderful Wegmans, recently named THE best supermarket in the country by a nationwide survey. Not that I'm surprised. It has competitive pricing and is cleaner, bigger, offers better customer service and more selection (not to mention better quality produce) than any other grocery store out there. And can you say "Bulk foods department"? Plus, they have VIP parking spaces for expectant mothers - now that's my kind of grocery store. They have branched out to PA and VA in recent years, but started out right here in central New York.


9) The New York State Fair - whether you like State Fairs or not, this one is the second largest in the nation, and attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year from all over the country. What's not to love about a place where you can see (among a thousand other things) a butter sculpture and eat maple cotton candy and pizze frittes?

10) Enchanted Forest - an ENORMOUS water theme park that is absolutely packed with fun things to do, including a dry-rides section and the Story-book forest, which portrays the Mother-Goose nursery rhymes in larger than life figures and scenes.

11) Great Children's Museums - there is a good one in Syracuse called The MOST Children's Museum, and an even MORE impressive one in Rochester, called the STRONG Children's Museum. Most who have been there say it is one of the best children's museum they have ever seen.

12) Festivals - nothing to do here? Yeah RIGHT! There are festivals almost every weekend for 6 months out of the year (and even some during the winter), including, but not limited to the Cherry Festival, Strawberry Festival, Tomato Festival, Apple Festival, Italian Festival, Latino Festival, Oktoberfest, Scottish Games, Middle-Eastern Festival, Greek Festival, BalloonFest, HarborFest, WinterFest, Taste of Syracuse, and on and on and on.

13) Salmon Fishing - Okay, maybe not many of you out there are afficionados of this sport, but it is something to which central NY can claim bragging rights. This area, is, as far as I know, the only one on the east coast where you can take advantage of the salmon run every fall. People come here from Canada and all over the east coast to try to catch one of these huge fish.


14) Beautiful beaches - For an area that is not coastal, we don't do too badly when it comes to beach options. There are some spots close to Syracuse that are just beaches on lakes (not awesome, but they still get the job done!!), but if you want the faux ocean experience, you only have to go about 40 minutes or so to get it! NY is home to one of the largest of the great lakes - Lake Ontario, and because this lake is so big and SO deep, it makes waves just the ocean does (just on a smaller scale). Go to Sylvan Beach, Selkirk Shores, Southwick Beach or Fair Haven, and you will have your beautiful day at the beach - in the MIDDLE of New York!

15) The Adirondacks - One of the famous mountain ranges of the country - hundreds of places for camping (anywhere from completely roughing it to staying in nice cabins), or if that is not your thing, you can stay up at Old Forge (a cute little town up in the mountains) and visit all the shops. The Adirondacks is especially breathtaking during the fall, with all of the color changes.

16) Howes Caverns - there are a few of these around the country, and central New York is home to one of them. 156 feet below the Earth's surface you get to explore a prehistoric underground cavern that is six million years old. Ancient limestone formations, stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone are a few of the amazing things that you will get to check out in these caverns.

17) Skaneateles - home to Skaneateles lake, this is a charming little town with cute bed & breakfasts, tons of local shops and restaurants, and a number of festival during the year.

18) Ithaca - tons of stuff to do here - museums, galleries, small-town shops, festivals, not to mention the beautiful waterfalls, hiking trails, biking trails and famous ice-age gorges.

19) State parks - central NY is LOADED with these - all the hiking trails, biking trails, waterfalls, beaches, and beautiful scenery you could ask for.


20) Proximity to city/country - It really cracks me up when people complain that Syracuse doesn't have more to offer (bigger libraries, more shopping, etc.). Did they think they were moving to New York City? Syracuse has a population of about 147,000, while New York City is around 8.3 million. This is, by no means, a big city (so don't expect it to have big city amenities!), but we are close to one, if that's what you're looking for. This is one of the things I LOVE about NY - you are close to good local shopping (Carousel Mall is the second largest in the country and there are cute small shops in other areas of the city), but only about 20 minutes from the country, so you can get away from the city anytime you want. Also, we are close to New York City, so if you want some serious city action, you are no more than a car-drive away.

21) 4 seasons - I know this is not an attraction for everyone, but I happen to love the change in seasons, and in central New York, the nice thing is that the weather is not too severe during any of them. Our summers are not brutally hot (like they are in the south), and our winters, although they are cold and a bit snowy, are NOTHING compared other places like Maine, Illinois, North Dakota, etc. And anyone who has experienced fall here knows that it is extremely beautiful.

22) Vast amounts of greenery - I love all the green!! The grass, the bushes, the trees, the beautiful rolling hills, etc. Every spring we see a rebirth of everything green and get to enjoy it all summer long.

23) Fall - again, those of you who have lived here know that this is no joke - absolutely beautiful. Cool, crisp air that smells soooo good, apple picking, pumpkin patches, bright, vivid color changes everywhere you look - oh, how I love it...

24) Affordable housing - okay, may not sound exciting, but when you are house-hunting it is!! This is one of the few areas of the country that was not siezed up in the mortgage crisis, and that is because our homes are actually reasonably priced!! This means that the not-so-rich like my family could actually fathom buying a house, which is wonderful. My brother-in-law is looking for a house right now, and told me that our teeny little house would sell for at LEAST $250,000 in Chicago, where he is looking. Do you know how much house you could buy here for $250,000?!!

25) Site of the restoration - last but not least, no other area of the country can claim this. The gospel was restored here and the gold plates are here, and if nothing else, that makes this place pretty dang special. :)


So there's my list - feel free to add your own favorites!! :)