Sandra Scott Travels

On August 13, Long Branch Park will be the site of the 75th Central New York Scottish Games and Celtic Festival – 75th – that’s impressive. You don’t have to have a drop of Scottish or Celtic blood to enjoy the day. On August 13 at Long Branch Park everyone is part of the Celtic family. Bring the family – there is something for everyone. I had a great time last year and this year’s promises to be just as great. There is music, great food, games, animals and more.

It’s summer. It’s hot. Test your thrill factor. Get the adrenaline pumping and let the fun begin! Take a child or a grandchild or release the child within and head to one of New York States’ many amusement parks for thrills, chills and spills. Seabreeze Amusement Park in Rochester, which opened in 1879, is the fourth oldest amusement park in the country.

The 10th Mountain Division & Fort Drum Museum is well-worth visiting. To get into Fort Drum people need to have a Department of Defense ID or fill out a request form and submit it to a sponsor a couple days before the planned visit. If you do not have a sponsor – we did not – interested people may contact the curator at the museum for permission to send it to him.
It was like a college campus or a gated community; which, I guess it is. Above the entry arch to the museum are the words “Climb to Glory.” Seems appropriate for a mountain division.

Have you ever considered a vacation rental property? It makes a perfect option when friends and relatives assemble for a wedding or some other event and when traveling with a group. Recently, several members of my family visited from the West Coast to attend a family wedding. Our house could not sleep everyone comfortably and hotel rooms to accommodate everyone would have been expensive. So, we rented a three-bedroom place on the shore of Lake Ontario.

Children are often taken to beaches and amusement parks but there are many other places where young and old can have fun and learn at the same time. Many destinations touted as places to take the children are just as much fun for adults. Traveling with children allows adults to see the world through fresh, young eyes. Visiting Old McDonald’s Farm in Sackets Harbor is great fun for young and old.

On a recent shopping trip I was surprised to see designs that reminded me of the 1960s: bold, bright circles and flowers. Some clothing styles are back in style: strapless prom dresses and low-slung pants – once called hip huggers. The senate sit-in brought to mind what a turbulent time it was during the ’60s and ’70s. What was old is new again – or so it seems. Woodstock was a gathering of young people who wanted to escape to a peaceful place and listen to music.

Watertown may not seem like a typical tourist destination. But, there are interesting places to visit. Recently, John and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Watertown had time to visit some of the local attractions. Obviously there is shopping – a lot of it, but there is shopping everywhere. Instead of shopping, we visited the historic Paddock Mansion built between 1876 and 1878 by Edwin L. Paddock, a successful local banker.

John and I have been to Nicaragua several times since our first visit in the ’90s. At that time the country was trying to recover from the devastation caused by the conflicts between the socialistic Sandinista junta and the opposition, the U.S.-backed contras. It wasn’t the first involvement by a group from the United States. Every school child in Central America learns about William Walker, an American who invaded Nicaragua with his private army.

Celebrate Independence Day by visiting one of these Revolutionary War sites to learn how the colonist fought to gain our independence. In Texas, NY, there is a sign pointing to Spy Island. Many people wonder what it is all about, but few bother to stop to learn about the spy. Spy Island is just one small part of New York’s Revolutionary past but it played a part in defeating the British army.