RETURN TO TO THE ROAD TRIP IDEAS MAIN MENU

Sesame Street

You're riding along in the family van with three-year-old Jaime, five-year-old Julie, and Joshua, your second grader, singing, "Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?".

If you're midway along New York State's Seaway Trail Scenic Byway, you're just a short way from America's first-ever 3-D replica of the famous television neighborhood at the Strong Museum in Rochester.

Super Grover's flying over the famous brownstone facade at 123 Sesame Street. We'll sit in the bus shelter to see the inaugural 1969 episode. Can we visit the Fix-It Shop, Mr. Hooper's Store, Sesame Mucho "Rainbow" Bodega, and Oscar's Newsstand? You bet, come on. Let's try the Hands-on Minds-on Playground, too. One, two, three, four-how much more can you count with the Count? Number in Spanish with Rosita. You and Elmo sing the alphabet while you see yourself on a television monitor. Dozens of interactive units explore letters, words, numbers, and our human diversity. Can you spell your name on the giant alphabet xylophone?

Oh, look, let's climb the Central Park activity bridge and slip down Slimey's Slide. Need a rest now? Snug into a full-sized Big Bird's nest. You enter Strong Museum at One Manhattan Square through a new four-story glass atrium with an historic street scene including the Skyliner Diner. Take a whirl on the Elaine Wilson Carousel, built in 1918 by Scottish immigrant Allan Herschell. Rescued from a southern Alabama backyard, the 20 hand-carved wooden standing and three stationary steeds have been beautifully restored. Built in the sturdy country fair style for traveling from fair to fair, state to state, this carousel awaits riders in the airy atrium.

Strong Museum is open daily Monday-Thursday & Saturdays, 10 am-5 pm; Fridays, 10-8; Sundays 12 noon-5 pm. Sesame Street remains on view at least through 1999. See www.strongmuseum.org for details on Kid to Kid, the Super Kids Market and One History Place.

If your kids like rides, they'll go up & down and around on the hand-carved "revolving work of art" Seabreeze Carousel on a 1918 platform, and four roller coasters at Seabreeze Park & Raging Rivers at 4600 Culver Road, Rochester. More than 75 attractions include amusement and thrill rides, waterslides, games and refreshments. Those less daring will enjoy the merry-go-round and train ride. The park is open weekends May to mid-June, daily mid-June to Labor Day from noon to 10 pm. Bring grandma and grandpa on Mondays when seniors receive free admission.

Lions and tigers and bears and kangaroos and giraffes, oh, my! You'll see a variety of animals being created by master carvers at Herschell Carousel Factory Museum, 180 Thompson Street, North Tonawanda. Scottish immigrant Allan Herschell built his first belt-driven riding gallery here in 1883. By 1894, his works were so popular the factory was producing 300 carousels a year. Museum visitors less than 48" tall may ride the 20 aluminum horses and two chariots of a 1948 children's carousel. There is also a 1916 country-fair style merry-go-round to ride and kiddie cars, boats and models. The museum is open April-December, Wednesday-Sunday 1-5 pm in spring & fall; daily in summer 11 am - 5 pm, and is family priced at $3 for adults, $1.50 for children with first ride included.

Mom, what did you play with when you were little? Kewpie dolls, puppets, G.I. Joe, Ken and Barbie are found among a wonderland fashioned by Linda Greenfield's years of collecting. Show your kids the toys of your childhood at the Victorian Doll Museum, 4332 Buffalo Road, North Chili, 20 minutes west of Rochester. Walk back in history with labels telling time period and country of origin for more than 3,000 dolls, circa 1911 Schoenhut Circus animals/toys, trains, action heroes and windup toys dating back to the 1860s and forward into the future via Star Trek.

They are made of china, bisque, wood, wax, metal, ivory, paper and papier mache. There are Shirley Temples and Frozen Charlottes. The electrically-operated puppet show from England is sure to be a hit. You'll see "patients" from around the world awaiting repairs at the adjacent Chili Doll Hospital. The museum is open February-November Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am - 4:30 pm, December Sundays only 1-4 pm, closed holidays & January, admission is $2 adults, $1 ages 3-12. Forsake circus lions for friendly farm animals-take the family agri-touring along the Seaway Trail. Can I ride the pony? Tommy wants to pet the pig and the bunny and the llama. Old McDonald's Children's Village in Sackets Harbor has 100+ animals including a pony for riding. Be sure to take the 1/2 hour musical Wizard of Oz thru the Forest hayride and visit Flying Reindeer Ranch at Old McDonald's. There are berries to pick and ice cream in homemade waffle cones to enjoy at Brown's Berry Patch in Waterport. As you ride aboard the only mule-drawn packet boat tour of the original working Erie Canal, watch for the muleskinners' skit on shore. The Miss Apple Grove Boat Tour is found in Medina.

Call 1-800-Seaway-T to order an Agri-Sampler brochure to find corn and straw mazes, trail rides, apple picking, pumpkin painting, hayrides, and county fairs...plus all-natural syrups, apple cider, 30+ flavors of fudge, fresh milk and muffins, "River Rat" cheese, ice cream and herbal vinegars.

After you've been down on the farm, visit the Trail's three historic zoos. Bring your scouts to see a Lowland forest gorilla troop and an Asian elephant who paints at the Buffalo Zoo. Otters splash about in the Genesee River exhibit at Rochester's Seneca Park Zoo. Black bears, elk, wolves and snowy owls are among native northern New York species seen at Thompson Park Zoo, Watertown. Call ahead to the Institute for Environmental Learning in Lyndonville (716-765-2084) for a program on socialized wolves and non-releasable birds of prey. Underwater life is seen at the Aquarium of Niagara, Niagara Falls, and the new Aqua Zoo in Alexandria Bay. Birds are a specialty at Jamestown's Audubon Nature Center.

Ever ride your bicycle indoors? The New York Power Authority Visitor Center sites at Lewiston and Massena and the Energy Center east of Oswego invite you to generate some fun by riding a bicycle generator. Other hair-raising exhibits show how electricity is made from water and fission.

Are Mom and Dad ready to catch some sun? Pitch the tent or park the RV at any of 38 NYS Parks and several Private Campgrounds along the Trail. Swim, walk the beach, build a sand castle, hike nature trails; some areas have boat launches or fishing piers; others offer entertaining and educational activities. One of my favorite things as a child was the annual summer camping trip with my village's summer recreation program. My dad would load the bus with tents and tots and away we'd go to a state park along Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River. We'd visit the Eisenhower Locks in Massena to watch the giant oceangoing vessels rise and fall in the man-made, 110' deep "bathtub" of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The Locks Visitor Center is open daily May-September. Call 315-769-2422 for a schedule of ships and expected locking times.

While Mom shops, Dad and the kids can rent skates at the St. Lawrence Centre Mall's new Ice Arena in Massena. Call 315-764-0684 for daily public skating hours on the NHL-size rink, including a Friday Night Rock 'n Skate with your favorite music.

Do your children like history? The past comes alive, often with costumed soldiers, fur traders and frontier families, at Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown; Oswego's Fort Ontario; and the Sackets Harbor Battlefield. Kevin Cottrell of Motherland Connextions, Niagara Falls, often reenacts a slave following the Underground Railroad to freedom in the Niagara area of the Trail. Costumed villagers weave, quilt, spin, farm, and make pottery in a log cabin, Victorian Villa, 1800s heirloom gardens, and 50+ buildings at Genesee Country Village on Flint Hill Road in Mumford. Or, the whole family can rent costumes and walk among the Queen's court, peasants, jousting, old-time crafts, and outdoor theatre at the 35-acre Sterling Renaissance Festival on a summer weekend. Is that William Shakespeare over there?

Aspiring young actors may want to paint their faces with theatrical makeup in one of Artpark's are spaces. This unique outdoor venue in Lewiston is dedicated to the arts and offers special programming from early July to mid-August Tuesday-Friday 10-4 and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 11-5. There are three theatre performances and three workshops each day with storytellers and artists working in felt, paper, clay, metal, and other media. A new wildlife habitat was introduced in 1997 where you can take a hike, enjoy a picnic or both!

Traveling with children is about destinations that delight and enlighten. The fine attractions listed here are just a sampling of the fun to be found along NYS' Seaway Trail. But traveling with children is also about the journey of parent & child, grandparent & youth, family & friends. Ask your kids where they would like to go, what would they like to do. And don't forget to throw in a game of car license bingo or a song or two. Try "It's a lovely day in the neighborhood..." on your way back to Strong Museum October 18, 1999 through January 9, 2000 to see the traveling exhibit of Mister Rogers' TV house and the Neighborhood of Make Believe on NYS' Seaway Trail!

Information and telephone numbers for sites listed here may be found in this JOURNEY's Directory section or call 1-800-SEAWAY-T for assistance.