Thanksgiving travel is never fun, but always necessary if we want to spend the holiday with our extended family. My family makes a painful trek from the west coast to a small suburb in the Finger Lakes region of central/upstate New York for Thanksgiving; my 95-year old grandmother lives there, and it’s the only time of year we can count on everyone else in my family being at her house at the same time as us.  The Thanksgiving week travel day (and night) is absolutely worth it. Worth it for the obvious “gotta see Grandma” way, but also, for the incredible fall foliage near the end of its peak season in the Finger Lakes region of central and upstate NY.

Grandma’s street has a few gorgeous maple trees that glow orange every Thanksgiving week. Anyone in central and upstate New York during peak fall foliage season would be awed by the stunning leaf peeping in the Finger Lakes region. For those not confined to the vagaries of Thanksgiving week travel, there are some really great ways to see the fall foliage in the Finger Lakes. Just as long as you don’t forgo family time and the Thanksgiving feast to appreciate those red, orange, and yellow autumn leaves!

Balloons Over Letchworth offers hot air balloon tours of Letchworth State Park. The contrast of the region’s fall foliage against the waterfalls and gorges of this state park is astounding by air. Letchworth State Park is only 17 miles long bt has over 20 waterfalls. Its deep gorges have led it to be called the “Grand Canyon of the East; the balloons follow the Genesee River as it meanders through these gorges, which are up to 600 feet high.

Let’s Go Hike and Bike compiles over 60 hiking/biking trails in the Finger Lakes region. Fall is a gorgeous time to take in the views via hiking or biking; the air is crisp and cool, but not yet too cold too enjoy yourself. Spend some time looking at the website, as there are too many trails to reference here.  The collection of recommended trails include scenic paths along Finger Lakes National Forest, the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario. No need to bring your own bicycle; biking is a hugely popular activity for day trippers and residents. There are plenty of bike shops in the area that rent to visitors for the day.

Sam Patch and Mary Jemison Cruises are known for showing off the magnificent vistas of the Finger Lakes region. Sam Patch has a signature foliage canal experience; the boat travels through a 100-year old lock and passes slowly through a historic canal town. Mary Jemison Cruises has a historic (but up to par!) wooden ship, from which passengers can appreciate the Rochester skyline in autumn. Genesee Valley Park, the Frederick Douglass-Susan B Anthony Bridge, and the crossing point where Genesee River and the Erie Canal meet are seen.

In addition, there are culinary trails (Finger Lakes Cheese Trail, Canandaigua Wine Trail, etc) for leaf peepers who want to enhance their fall foliage trip to the Finger Lakes region with a little something extra. You know; food and wine. Sampling locally grown fruit and cheese, sipping wine, and gazing out at the bright gold, orange and fiery red leaves of the changing season? Sounds like a pretty great way to spend a long Thanksgiving weekend in the Finger Lakes.

Summer’s over, and in some parts of the world, the crisper feel of fall is already in the air. One aspect of living in the northeast that I really miss is watching the leaves change. I went to college near the Adirondacks, and fall foliage trips in upstate New York really were spectacular. While I haven’t been to Vermont in autumn, New York fall foliage never left me feeling like I was missing anything! Mid-September through late October are the peak fall foliage seasons in upstate New York, depending on the elevation.

Leaf peepers in upstate New York are somewhat akin to birders; they track peak fall foliage seasons and compare popular scenic routes for optimal views of the changing colors of the leaves. The Adirondacks region has 12 scenic byways that are ideal for fall foliage travel. Road trips along these upstate New York scenic byways can involve stops at B&Bs, fall festivals, and towns with adorable New England style antique shops and museums.

Scenic Byways in the Adirondacks:

Adirondack Trail
Black River Trail
Blue Ridge Road
Central Adirondack Trail
Dude ranch Trail
High Peaks Byway
Lakes to Locks Passage
Military Byway
Mohawk Towpath Byway
Olympic Byway
Roosevelt-Marcy Byway
Southern Adirondack Trail

There are several annual fall festivals that complement fall foliage tours in upstate New York. These serve as tourist attractions, as well as bringing locals out to enjoy the fun annual activities their region offers. These are some of the annual autumn festivals that happen during foliage season in the Adirondacks.

Adirondack Balloon Festival – In September (before peak fall foliage, but leaves are changing already in upstate NY) Queensbury’s hot air balloon enthusiasts let loose more than 90 balloons. Their vivid, bold colors look especially striking against the clear, bright blue sky of the season. The Adirondack Balloon Festival also involves live music, activities for kids, and fireworks.

Adirondack Harvest Festival – In October, the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake celebrates the season with cider pressing, wagon rides, pumpkin painting, music and more. The museum’s other programs and special events are interesting for history buffs as well.

Flaming Leaves Festival – Lake Placid is already a popular travel destination, and this fall attraction adds to its allure. The Flaming Leaves Festival in October offers live music, beer and bbq, family-friendly activities like crafts for children, and – especially nice during this peak fall foliage season – an elevator to the top of the 120-meter ski jump. Views of Lake Placid’s fall foliage from here should satisfy the pickiest leaf peeper.

Harvest Festival – Long Lake, New York holds this festival in October, on the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend. American crafts at their best are on display (and for sale!) here: locally made furniture, quilts, jewelry, soaps, syrup and other American craft items indicative of the northeast are here, along with cider, apples, and homemade pies. And, almost needless to say, pumpkins galore.

Whiteface Oktoberfest – Less upstate New York Americana, more Bavarian, but fun indeed. In October, Wilmington’s Bavarian and Alps Oktoberfest has plenty of food and beer, dancing and other lively festivities, and enough lederhosen to make a Belgian blush. A gondola ride up Little Whiteface Mountain allows for fall foliage fans to get in some leaf peeping along with all those sausages and beer.

Leaf peepers who want to experience more than just the changing colors of the leaves in upstate new York will have a great fall foliage tour on any of the Adirondack’s scenic byways, with detours to enjoy an October fall festival along the way. It’s a great way to celebrate the season.

As our two-month family road trip moved from Philadelphia to New York City, we shifted gears accordingly.

If Philadelphia shines its light on history, then New York shines its light on right now. Even though New York played its part in American Revolutionary history (hello, Capitol from 1785 to 1790, anyone?), walk into the NYC Visitor Info Center and browse its hundreds of brochures, and you will find exactly one mention of it: George Washington bade farewell to his troops here in 1783 at Fraunces Tavern. Yawn.

New York is too grand, too majestic to bother with what happened 250 years ago. It’s moving fast, baby, and we’re moving, too. We made a list of everything we wanted to see and do in NYC in one week, and set out a campaign to achieve it.

“This week we are go go go, do do do,” I told my kids. “You can rest when we get to New Hampshire.”

So from dawn ‘til dusk, for six days straight, we rocked The City. From Mary Poppins to Harry Potter and from the Bronx Zoo to the Bronx Bombers…

From the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier to the Central Park boathouse…

 From The World’s Largest Dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History to the world’s most dazzling sweets store, on the Upper East Side…

From Little Italy to Chinatown…

and on a subway-aided pilgrimage to my ancestral home – Brooklyn – we never stopped.

Until our children made us.

For once, my energy outlasted theirs. Their exhaustion was biblical, coming on the seventh day.

They went on strike. “We are NOT LEAVING THIS APARTMENT.” So we hunkered down and rested, knowing that the city marched on outside our window on West 44^th Street without us.

We each had different favorites in the city this week. I loved the peaceful walk down Riverside Park at dusk, a place I’d never gone in all the times I’ve been to New York.

Christopher’s favorite was the Intrepid, where our boys learned about Kamikaze pilots, nuclear submarines, and other light-hearted things.

Dylan’s Candy Store was the predictable hit for the boys, and the dancing splashing fountains in Battery Park were a welcome relief after the Ellis Island museum and an unusually rocky ferry on a warm summer day.

By the time they pooped out on our last day in New York City, we had a few things left on our list still undone: Walk along the High Line (free!); Kayak the Hudson (free!); take the ferry to and ride bikes on Governor’s Island (free!).

All will be saved for next time. Because while New York waits for no one, it always welcomes you back. It is like a party that’s still going after you’ve returned from a refreshing nap, a favorite movie you watch years later and find, to your great joy, not only does it hold up, it has gotten even better.­­­

FamilyGal Laura Diamond of Southern California is in the midst of a two-month adventure on the East Coast with her husband and two sons, ages 7 and 11. This is her fourth installment; she and her family have played at Six Flags Wild Animal Safari in New Jersey,  floated down the Delaware River and reveled in history in Philadelphia. Next up? R&R in New Hampshire.

At Manhattan’s epicenter, Times Square is a 24/7 celebration of sight and sound. Family time in Times Square, NYC, is a snap. Within a five-block radius, there are enough attractions, theaters, restaurants, and shops to easily fill a day of fun appropriate for all ages. My family of four, which includes my 10-year old son and 3-year old daughter, has visited repeatedly and we still haven’t seen everything!

Knowing that my kids’ energy levels are at their highest point in the morning, we start at an entertainment-focused museum, such as Madame Tussauds or Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Odditorium. Next month we’ll be heading to the Discovery Times Square Exposition, where Harry Potter:The Exhibition runs through September 5, 2011.

At Madame Tussauds wax museum, your tweens have the opportunity to be in a photo with the celeb likenesses of Miley Cyrus, Johnny Depp, and Robert Pattinson. The amazingly lifelike statues are posing in themed rooms on four floors. In the nightclub you’ll find the Twilight heartthrob, along with Britney Spears, Madonna, and (sigh) George Clooney. We hammed it up in the Oval Office, getting a photo of my son handing the “red phone” to President Obama for an important call. Here’s a tip: aim your camera directly into the eyes of the figures for the most realistic image.

There’s no shortage of restaurants in Times Square offering something-for-everyone menus, like Virgil’s Barbecue, Planet Hollywood, Ruby Tuesday’s, or Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company. I wanted to try a place unique to NYC, like Havana Central, but keeping my picky eaters in mind, opted for the Hard Rock Café for juicy burgers and a peek at some impressive rock memorabilia. We’ve also enjoyed the world’s largest Applebee’s!

In many stores within Times Square, the entertainment values are as important as the merchandise. Toys R’ Us features an indoor, 60-foot tall ferris wheel with cars themed for classic playthings, like Mr. Potato Head and Monopoly, as well as a 20-foot animatronic T-REX dinosaur and a life-sized Barbie dollhouse. It wasn’t easy drawing my son away from the LEGO section with a city skyline nearly reaching the ceiling.

Equally difficult was explaining to my daughter that we couldn’t linger in the Sanrio Luxe boutique, which carries an irresistible array of upscale Hello Kitty merchandise, from clothing and personal accessories to home décor. Boys will prefer checking out Midtown Comics, with two levels of floor-to-ceiling comic books and graphic novels. Here, my kids stretched their allowance far, with comic prices averaging $3.50. My son picked Sonic and Superman comics, while my daughter settled on Finding Nemo. Parental guidance is suggested at this store, since there are adult-rated books.

The new Times Square NYC Disney Store, the largest in the world outside of Orlando, contains two floors of merchandise mainly themed to movies and TV shows. Naturally, the interactive elements are there to entice your kids into spending your money, including a build-your-own car station called RideMakerz; a miniature, crawl-through Playhouse Disney; and a giant glimmering castle with two magic mirrors.

For an afternoon chocolate pick-me-up, just look up. You can’t miss the 215-foot Hershey’s Bar and other chocolate treats on the façade of the Hershey’s store. Inside, you can create a giant personalized Kiss, or take a photo holding the world’s largest Hershey’s Bar. The three-story M&M’s World across the street features the world’s largest M&M display, an expansive wall of 72 tube dispensers from which you can pour your own combination of colors.

Times Square casts a magical spell at night, when the blazing billboards encircle you in pulsating light. Take it all in while heading to a Broadway show. Popular family fare includes classics like the The Lion King at the Minskoff Theatre and Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam. The New Victory theater exclusively runs children’s programming, with upcoming shows like The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy and Peter and Wendy.

Don’t hesitate to take your children to Times Square during a New York City vacation. There’s plenty to do for kids of all ages.

Traci L. Suppa has a strange compulsion for roadside attractions. She drags her small-town family to see a quirky array of the world’s largest, longest, or tallest things, and blogs about it at Go BIG or Go Home. Follow her on Twitter at @GoBIG_GoHome.

Even though I’ve ferried across the New York Harbor a handful of times, I still get goose bumps every time. I’m sure it could never compare to how over 12 million immigrants felt as they looked upon the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island for the first time. Over 40 percent of America’s ancestors passed through the harbor between 1892 and 1924, did yours? We took a NYC family trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island recently, and I recommend it for anyone traveling to the New York area.

Getting to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Your adventure to these national treasures begins on a ferry. The ferries depart daily from Liberty State Park, N.J., or Battery Park, Manhattan. Ferries generally run every 30 -45 minutes starting at 9:30 a.m., with extended hours in the summer; for ticket times and prices check the official ticket outlet.

Once aboard a Statue Cruises multi-leveled ferry enjoy the views of the Manhattan skyline and the New York harbor. My family included the ferry ride in their “favorite things of the day” lists and enjoyed naming the famous skyscrapers. This is also a good time to grab a snack; food and beverages aren’t allowed in the museums or the monument. The ferries offer concession-style food services and restrooms.

After you dock check out information centers located at both islands, staffed by national park rangers, ready to answer your questions. Audio tours are available at both islands for an additional fee.

Ellis Island

The first stop of the day is Ellis Island, basking in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, where our countries immigrants first touched American soil. The buildings are enormous and regal and resemble a train station rising above the water. Once inside the main building, appropriately named the Great Hall, you’ll be transported back in time through pictures, interviews and artifacts. Our kids learned a lot listening to interviews of the immigrants’ experiences at Ellis Island. Before you leave stop by the gift shop for an array of souvenirs inspired by the immigrants’ homelands.

If you’re a genealogist at heart you will want to allot time for a stop at The American Family Immigration History Center. Staff is available to help you research your family’s trip through Ellis Island and you can take home a copy of the ships manifest with your family members name upon it. The center offers easy access to records of the 25 million immigrants who entered through the port of New York and Ellis Island from 1892-1924. .

The Statue of Liberty

For the grand finale or icing on the cake… board a ferry from Ellis Island to the Statue of Liberty. Walk right up to the statue to appreciate the size of the 22-story copper statue, sitting upon a pedestal, in a fort, dating back to the War of 1812. Great photo opportunities and interesting facts are all around the perimeter of the statue. No visit to Liberty Island is complete without a trip inside the statue. The museum inside the pedestal traces the history and symbolism of the Statue of Liberty through museum objects, photographs, prints and videos. The original torch from 1886 is also on display in the lobby. If you want get up close and personal through full scale replicas of her face and foot, so young kids can pick her nose or sit on her toe.

To the Top We Go!

Tickets must be reserved for a peek inside or a trip up the 354 steps and can be purchased with your ferry tickets. The crown tickets are an additional $3 and sell out months in advance. Crown visitors must be at least 48 inches tall. We hiked the 192 steps to the pedestal observation deck for views of the harbor and the Statue of Liberty looming overhead, another great photo opportunity.

Family Trip Advice: Travel Light

That’s right: Travel light. Water, food and large backpacks are not allowed into either museum or the statue. Airport- style security screenings are necessary and done before your board your first ferry and a second time if you enter the Statue of Liberty. Visitors with pedestal or crown reservations must complete their second security screening before 3:30 p.m.

A trip to Ellis and Liberty islands offers something for everyone, and getting there is as fun as learning about the great strides our ancestors took to make their way to the New World. I promise you’re not likely to hear “are we there yet” as you sail the New York Harbor for a fun, enlightening look at our nation’s beginning.

MidAtlanticGal Jodi Carcamo is a southern transplant currently residing in eastern Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids, cat and dog.  She’s called six states in the last 12 years home thanks to the United States Air Force.  She’s enjoys travel adventures along the east coast with her family and blogging about it along the way.

My family has a new favorite place. It’s called Lake Placid and it’s located in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. The friendly people, the wonderful meals, sports history (stay tuned for more on this subject) and beautiful nature made our visit so memorable we’re already talking about going back. Here’s some insight and tips for where to eat and sleep when you visit this darling village.

Where we ate: Our first night in town we ate at Great Adirondack’s Steak and Seafood located in the heart of the downtown village and was it delicious, specifically the Ahi Steak au Poivre! What makes this place extra special though is their homemade brew which is made right in the back and they even make their own root beer — something our children were extremely delighted to sample. We were thrilled when at the end of the meal our server presented us with a Lake Placid Olympic-themed pint glass. The glass is free with your first pint.

Chair 6 is best known for their homemade sweet potato pancakes but we stopped in for lunch. Everything was fresh and flavorful and is made from scratch on site, just the way we like it! If you like cute places, this is it. The restaurant was formerly a farmhouse. Yes, that’s an old chairlift my son is posing with found outside the restaurant.

Cellar Bistro & Grill is true to its name, it really is located in a cellar. This was another delicious lunch stop. This new restaurant is extremely affordable and the food was terrific here too. I highly recommend the Portabella Wrap and my son still asks if we can go back for the pizza. I wish we had more time there because I would have loved to stopped in for their Mardi Gras theme night.

The Caribbean Cowboy was the most unique stop of our restaurant parade. The atmosphere was lively, the drink menu was fun, but the food on the Jamaican and Southwest-inspired menu was out of this world, particularly my husband’s Jamaican Jerk chicken. We have never had anything like it. Spend an evening here, you won’t be sorry.

Hotel: Lake Placid has various lodging options including hotels, inns, campsites and cabins. We stayed in a suite at the Crowne Plaza Resort & Golf Club and would stay there again. To begin, I was completely taken by the views of Mirror Lake from our gorgeous suite in the Adirondack wing. It didn’t take long to realize how family-friendly this property is. In front of the hotel, adjacent to the a lounge patio, is a huge lawn where my kids kicked the soccer ball around and played hide and seek, and the indoor pool was a huge hit.

As for meals, we ate the breakfast buffet every morning which was a perfect way to kick off our day. One evening we took the free hotel shuttle to the resort’s lakeside Lake Placid Club Boat House restaurant. A divine bevy of seafood dishes grace the menu and they’re as good as they sound. We give huge kudos to the fantastic wait staff. No only was the food and service superb, but the scenery was spectacular. When we watched a swimmer cross the lake as the sun set, we knew we were somewhere very special.

Thank you to Whiteface Lake Placid and the other local businesses who assisted in hosting my family.

Buffalo, New York, is the closest city to one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United States, Niagara Falls. I’ve always felt sentimental toward Buffalo because it was my very last overnight as a flight attendant. I was almost seven months pregnant with my first son. A month after he was born I took an “early retirement” and left my beloved career for a new exciting life of motherhood and freelance writing. Ironically, I never did venture out of the downtown Buffalo hotel where the airline’s crews stayed. Normally the overnights were short and were just long enough to grab a bite to eat in the hotel restaurant and sleep. I was always disappointed I never had the opportunity to explore the area or see the Falls. That changed this summer.

My family recently visited the area and had a great time. While Niagara Falls was the highlight of our adventure, we also had the opportunity to see some Buffalo highlights since we stayed at the (really nice) Hampton Inn and Suites in downtown Buffalo and it was perfect for our family, especially because we stayed in an extremely spacious suite. The bathroom was bigger than some hotel rooms I’ve stayed in and the suite was complete with a kitchenette, breakfast table, Jacuzzi tub, and a (free) tasty hot breakfast, featuring eggs and hash browns though I opted for the Kashi cereal. The kids’ favorite feature was no doubt the heated indoor swimming pool. It was tough trying to get them out. My favorite detail though, besides the space, was the leather laptop pad for working in bed (that’s the writer in me!). And coffee drinkers, you will appreciate there is a Starbucks and SPOT coffee shop right across the street.

While we stayed downtown, we didn’t really explore that area much, but we see other parts of the city. My husband has ties to Buffalo. He went to school at University at Buffalo and hadn’t been back since. Therefore, we made it a point to see his old dorm and visit the two most popular Buffalo wings restaurants each night of our stay: Duff’s and Anchor Bar. I’d love to do a side by side taste test one day, but I truly enjoyed the wings at both places.

Our first morning in town we visited Niagara Falls then kicked off our afternoon at the Buffalo Museum of Science. The kids really enjoyed the new hands-on children’s area. My favorite were the display halls filled with native taxidermy. What is really impressive is that the museum boasts 700,000 specimens related to the Greater Niagara Region which tie into the area’s fascinating natural history. If you visit the Buffalo Museum of Science soon, you will have the opportunity to see the Robotic Dinosaurs exhibit. Each prehistoric animal comes to life and I could have been easily convinced the T-Rex was looking me right in the eye as he roared in my direction.

Next, we ventured to the Buffalo Zoo, an easy-to-navigate, quaint zoo with plenty of attractions for the kids such as a kiddy train and carousel (both cost an additional but minimal fee). We were lucky and visited on a beautiful day and many of the animals were out. One of the highlights was feeding nectar to the colorful lorikeets. Be careful though, those sneaky birds will snatch the cup right out of your hand as my little girl discovered. One of the features of this zoo that I really enjoyed was the color coded signs that coordinated the animals with a particular geographical region: Blue – The Americas, Green – Australia/Asia and Orange – Africa. Family favorite: watching the two elephants nuzzle (see photo).

Our stay in Buffalo was short but we had a grand time seeing the area on such a gorgeous day. Thank you to the Buffalo-Niagara CVB for hosting some of the above activities during our stay.