We continued our drive upstate towards Canada and stopped for dinner in Buffalo, NY. Where else to eat in Buffalo than The Anchor Bar, the birthplace of Buffalo Wings? We had our fill of wings and then continued on our way.
Next stop, Canada!!
~ Mr. Bear
We spent the day in Rochester and visited the Strong National Museum of Play. This museum was so much fun! It includes a butterfly conservatory, a carousel, a toy hall of fame, a dollhouse museum, a super hero academy, a storybook adventure land, an electronics and games historical collection, and even a replica of every child’s favorite play place, Sesame Street! We had fun playing our way through all the exhibits and before we knew it, we had spent all day there!
Now that we worked up an appetite playing all day, it’s time to find some food!
New York is home to some of the best apples in the United States and we thought we should sample some first hand. We headed out to Green Brothers Apple Hills Orchard to pick some for ourselves. You should never pick fruit when you are hungry, so we picked up some hot fresh apple cider donuts at the Apple Cafe.
We picked six pounds of apples, mostly the type called Courtland, but there were all different kinds of apples at the orchard. we couldn’t believe how loaded the trees were with fruit! As we were leaving, we had to make sure we stopped to feed and pet the animals. The donkey startled us with a rude outburst when he thought we were keeping food from him. So of course we apologized and shared some treats with him and his friends.
Time for pie! 🙂
~ Mr. Bear
We spent a lovely day at Watkins Glen State Park. This park features a hiking trail that climbs up through a gorge and passes over and under waterfalls. There were several sections of the trail that branched off to several waterfalls and bridges. It had been a bit rainy before, but the sun came out in time for our nature walk and made for a beautiful trip.
The photos describe this place better than I can… it is simply magical!
~ Mr. Bear
We had a great time in NYC, but it is time to head upstate and see what else New York has to offer!
We passed through several small old New York towns including Binghamton, an area that saw some horrible flooding the week before our visit. We also stopped for visits in Whitney Point, Johnson City and Windsor a few of the nearby towns. Apparently this is a popular area for bears to settle down and we stopped at one diner that was very popular with my northern relatives. 🙂
The best thing about Upstate New York is the people… they were so warm even in the cooler weather. The countryside was so nice to travel through and we saw the leaves just starting to change colors getting ready for the Autumn ahead.
~ Mr. Bear
There is literally food on every corner in this city! Some of the greatest eats can be found at street carts. We tried to sample a different type of street food each day…
Pretzel Cart
Halal Guys
Halal Guys plate - Lamb, Chicken, Rice, lettuce, pita and more!
Bagel Shop
Lombardi's Pizza - First Pizzaria
Some of the best parts of New York are like their own little cities within the city… Chinatown and Little Italy are great places to find delicious traditional international food. We found a great Chinese restaurant that made bamboo-steamed pork dumplings…
We walked around Chinatown and checked out all the interesting fruit stands and different roasting meats in the windows until we had worked up an appetite for sweets. Luckily, Little Italy was right around the corner and we would find a variety of Cannolis and Italian pastries!
mint & chocolate cannoli
Another great place to find classic New York food is Coney Island, home of the original Coney dog! The boardwalk was fairly empty now that the Summer crowds have gone, but that just meant more Coney Island for us… I was the only bear on the Boardwalk! 🙂
You never know what you’ll find down on the Boardwalk!
~ Mr. Bear
One of the most iconic sites in New York City is the American Museum of Natural History. This musuem contains some really fun exhibits. First, we went into the newest wing of the museum, the Rose Center for Earth and Space. This area had a lot of really interesting things on display, including a real meteorite! We also got to go into the planetarium and see a show about how stars are created and destroyed, and where they come from.
Next we continued on to some of the most famous exhibits in the museum – the dinosaurs! There were a lot of fossils on display, with big scary Tyrannosaurus Rex, and prehistoric birds and turtles. There was even a prehistoric bear, but he looked really ferocious and probably wouldn’t enjoy travelling as much as I do. Later on we found a friendly bear… He was a Teddy Bear named after President Teddy Roosevelt… We searched on Ellis Island, but my ancestor was actually here the whole time.
After looking at the dinosaurs we went on to see the exhibits of current animals and humans from all over the world.
We made our way out of the museum just as it was closing, but we still hadn’t even seen everything. There was just so much! I guess I’ll just have to come back some day.
When we left the museum it was getting a little late, and we were tired, but we thought we’d take a nice walk through Central Park, which was right across the street. It’s a huge nature conservatory with lots of local wildlife. People from all over New York City come here just to stroll, take pictures, do yoga classes, or play sports like baseball. We even saw a group of people all around a tree taking pictures of a falcon that had landed. He almost looked like he was posing for the pictures. Then we also almost got lost in one of the wilder parts of the park, called the Ramble.
After all that walking, the sun was starting to set and we were tired, so we decided to head back and see if we could find something to eat.
~Mr. Bear
The fabulous Radio City Music Hall… where better to see an evening show? We just happened to hear that a Cirque du Soleil was playing in New York and we were able to get tickets last minute, so exciting! The show was called “Zarkana,” and it had more of a classic circus feel during the acts but an overlying dark theme, similar to Phantom of the Opera. The show was very good, and though we didn’t see any Rockettes, Radio City delivered!
~Mr. Bear
We went back up Fifth Avenue to where we had seen the New York Public Library before, but this time we went when it was open. This is a beautiful old building with a lot of history, but it’s also famous for more recent events. Several movies have used the library in some scenes, including “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” and “Ghostbusters.”
The architecture inside the building is beautiful – there are paintings on the ceilings and walls all over. One of my favorite rooms was the large, beautiful reading room on the top floor, where visitors could take their books to the tables to read or study. But we had to be very quiet!
While we were there we realized I had a distant relative in town. Winnie the Pooh was down in the Children’s Library section of the building. This was the original stuffed bear owned by Christopher Robin, which inspired the stories written by A.A. Milne. Along with Pooh was his friends Kanga, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore.
After visiting with Pooh for a while and doing some reading, we headed back out of the library. On the way out we stopped to take a picture with the famous twin lion statues which guard the front door to the library. They’ve been given various nicknames over the years, but people call them “Patience” and “Fortitude” now.
~ Mr. Bear
The Brooklyn Bridge is a suspension bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn over the East River. Cars pass on a lower level of the bridge while people walk and bicycles ride along the top level. It is a nice place for a relaxing evening walk.
One fascinating thing we found was that the bridge is covered in locks representing those who crossed before. On every hook or wire stretch of the bridge, you can find padlocks carved and painted with special message dedications. We saw dozens of locks in memory of lost relatives, in remembrance of special occasions or milestones, and especially those professing the deep feelings of lovers. There is such a personal touch to this massive bridge from all those that visit it.
We took a nice leisurely stroll across the bridge and reached the end just as the sun set for the day. The bridge is so interestingly detailed that the walk across goes by before you know it and you just can’t help staring up at all the intricate details of this old bridge.
The perfect end to a beautiful day. Maybe next time I visit I will bring my own little lock to leave behind so everyone that crosses will know this bear was there. 🙂
~ Mr. Bear
Stormie
The Travels of Mr. Bear 