Went there early on Saturday in Autumn and the place was pretty empty - plenty of parking and it…read morewas only us and another couple on the guided tour. So much history packed inside and the tour didn't bore me for a second in those 50 minutes. So far I've been to the citadel in Halifax, Quebec and now Kingston. Love all of them.

I go here every time I visit Kingston. Everything about this is awesome and recently the Tattoo was…read morea ton of fun watching different bands play different songs. Would recommend to anyone going to Kingston for the first time.

It's a beautiful city by Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River with many different attractions, the…read moremost amazing one being The Thousand Islands. It's nice to walk around the city and specially by the water and learn about the history behind this beautiful city and also enjoy the gorgeous view of the islands. Many historical places to visit.

My first time in Kingston, ON was many moons ago at a biomaterials conference held at Queen's…read moreUniversity. I remember thinking "what a charming little town." Since then I've been to Kingston several times, for various events, parties and weekend getaways for a change of scenery. One thing that struck me about Kingston is that it has an usually high number of Cambodian restaurants. I mean it's about a sixth of the size of Ottawa yet has 6 times the number of Cambodian restaurants! Walking around, I don't really see a huge Asian population, but somehow there are lots of Asian restaurants. In fact, there are a lot of restaurants in Kingston in general and many of them are quite good. It's really pretty by the waterfront, and the Public Market is really cool. I also like walking along Princess Street, as there are a lot of shops and restaurants along there. I have noticed on my most recent visit that there are a lot more panhandlers and street-involved people along Princess than in the past. I guess Kingston is becoming like the big cities in that regard. RMC (Royal Military College) is in Kingston, so there is a strong military community there. And Queen's University is also there, so it is a bit of a university town. There's also Fort Henry, originally constructed to protect the Royal Kingston Naval Dockyard, and is now a National Historic Site that is popular with tourists. It employs lots of students in the summer. In fact, all my friends who grew up in Kingston worked at "The Fort" at some point in their lives, lol. There's also the (in)famous Kingston Penitentiary, another National Historic Site, which was a maximum security prison, but closed in 2013. They now have tours of the former prison (I've never been though). I like visiting Kingston and I think it's a good location for a low-key weekend trip :)

I had read about the light on Tipperary Hill. I happened to be in neighborhood after leaving…read moreBurnett Park looking for great views of Syracuse I saw the sign welcoming folks to Tipperary Hill and decide to detour up hill before h3adung to Schiller Park. As described, I drove up a small hill past two green lights then came to this red light! Syracuse landmark found a recess coffee after I made right at light.

I've always been told of the legend of the traffic light with the green as the top light, and the…read morered as the bottom. Figuring me, a naive child, I thought it absolutely silly, ridiculous even! BUT, little did I know the true impact of the odd little traffic signal. Little did I know that not only did this traffic signal EXIST, but that I would be coming to visit it in my late 20's during a trip to Syracuse, after my cousin reminded me that it was even a thing when we were trying to figure out how to spend our time in town. The traffic light is in a neighborhood. It's said that the "Irish Youths" kept breaking the red 'British' light because it was above their Irish green. Yeah. That's definitely something an Irish person would do. (I'm Irish. I've seen worse. I've acted worse.) It's honestly such a testament to the pride and persistence of humanity. They tried to switch the lights back to the way they're supposed to be displayed (because of the colorblind) but the stoplight continued getting vandalized. This went on for three whole years. Amazing. There's a few irish pubs in the neighborhood, so once you drive through the intersection of this traffic light, be sure to stop somewhere for a pint of Guinness and toast to the Irish youths who made this a thing so we could write Yelp reviews for it a hundred years later.

I've always believed that there are many artists whether Actors, Artists,Singers, etc., that are…read morenever discovered but continue to do their work with great pride. And right here in Rochester are many. Graffiti and Murals have always been one of my favorite joys in photography. I've done 2 videos on Graffiti and Murals in the city. One was by Black artists in the city, the other was by Spanish artists. Rochester has many great "unknown" artists!

Rochester has a ton of cool wall art/graffiti/street art. The one I specifically saw was in the…read morealley way left of Roll'n'Yen Thai Rolled Ice Cream on South Avenue (no idea if this is part of the Wall Therapy project but it was great to look at and looked to be in this realm of art). I love cities that proudly display art with very powerful and bold statements. They are beautiful and fun to look at and make a destination a little more memorable. Graffiti can sometimes be seen as vandalism or a nuisance but it's hard to deny how wonderful it is when it is objectively obvious that the artist who created it has unique talent (vs. a random scribble on the wall that look like it took 2-seconds to do).

Basketball used to be a very slow spot where players would just hang on to the ball for really long…read moreperiods. Boring! And then, someone figured out how to speed it up and shot clocks are now part of football and baseball too! The 24-second shot clock was invented by Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone and general manager Leo Ferris in 1954. It is a way to increase scoring and reduce stalling tactics that were commonly used before its inception. It has been credited with increasing fan interest. There is a historical marker here. It reads, "This clock honors the rule that changed basketball and saved the National Basketball Association. The 24-second shot clock, which put an end to stalling tactics that were threatening the league, was used for the first time in an NBA scrimmage organized by Danny Biasone on August 10, 1954 at Blodgett Vocational High School in Syracuse. In the first season with the clock, league scoring would rise by 13.6 points per game." [Review 1537 of 2024 - 453 in New York - 22560 overall]

My best friend suggested that I drop by the toonie (twonie or twoonie?) monument while in…read moreCampbellford. I decided to make a stop before swinging by her mom's house for dinner. I frankly don't know what the proper spelling is of the term used to describe our $2 coin. I feel that toonie is more common because it's a simple letter change from loonie, our $1 coin. I can also see twonie and twoonie being acceptable, as they can represent the coin's bi-metallic look or its value, or both. I'll use toonie until I have another internal spelling battle. This monument is located in a small park, Old Mill Park, with the Trent River hugging it. It's a gorgeous setting. I parked by the Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce. Parking is free there. I then walked over to see the monument. While I was admiring the toonie monument, there was a performance happening at the bandstand further down. A woman was singing, "God is great. God is wonderful." I wasn't expecting a spiritual choir singing as I was admiring this attraction. It was different. This giant $2 coin was built in 2001. It's an exact replica of an adult polar bear in early summer on an ice floe, but larger. It was designed by Brent Townsend, who lived in Trent Hills. This monument is 27 feet high and 18 feet wide in diameter. It was constructed by local metalsmith, Steve Redden, with the oversight of the Royal Canadian Mint. The Mint declared Campbellford the home of the $2 coin in 1997. Cool! My friend's brother is a wealth of knowledge, which I appreciate. He shared that Townsend had a mental breakdown roughly a decade ago. He decided to erect a 5-metre cross on his lawn and hung a noose from the top. One word: Wow. I hope that he has sought help. I shared the God-is-good sing-along that I had experienced with my friend and her family. Her mom let me know that I had stumbled upon Gospel Fest that lasts two weekends in this town. I had caught the second weekend of it. I had a great time taking photos of the giant toonie monument and admiring its craftsmanship. I also got more bang for my buck (er, two bucks) by taking in Gospel Fest. Yay, me! (244)

As far as roadside attractions go, this one has everything you want. The statue has historical…read moresignificance, size appeal and great detail. Located in the middle of the beautiful Old Mill Park, the statue has certainly put Campbellford on the map.

It's Pittsford Village! While there is a lot of traffic during the daytime, it's still an…read moreincredibly pedestrian friendly place to visit. Parking is pretty easy to find, either on the street or in the two village lots or at Shoenplace.

Update: Bay Vista Taqueria is the food truck…read more Fun last Wednesday of the season 9/25 food truck rodeo Music was a little loud for my liking. They could've used a few less speakers to project the noise. Wide variety of food trucks-30-40. The service at the truck I chose was fairly priced and delicious If I remember the name, I will edit my review.

Sammies -n- Sweets food truck from Spencerport, NY is AMAZING! We enjoyed their fare at a local…read moreNativity Night in Caledonia. The service was prompt and piping hot on a very cold night. We had combo #3 which included a red osier beef sandwich, Mac salad, drink and dessert. The beef on weck was served perfectly roasted with juicy meat and a delicious roll. The carrot cake was rich with a creamy cream cheese frosting! I'll definitely be following them to see where they pop up next!