Metro North Continues "This Gift" to Riders Through End of 2021

Metro North is continuing to give a gift to all of its riders through the end of 2021. Ah, so thoughtful and you didn't even know that they were going to get you something.

"The gift" as it is, is off-peak fare pricing for all trains, all days, all times, now through the end of the year. So, here is the question for you now, what are you going to do in New York City to take advantage of the off-peak pricing. A reminder that you will need to wear a mask while riding the train or any version of public transportation.

Because we love a 'good deal' just as much as the next person, we have a few suggestions of things that are happening, between now and New Years Eve, in New York City that you can possibly take the train to.

Santa Con. The big parade of Santas, which essentially is a large bar crawl. You haven't lived until you find yourself accidently in the middle of a few hundred people dressed up as Santa Claus.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and the ice rink. The ice rink is open and the tree has been cut. The tree will be loaded into position on November 14, and then the scaffolding, and the decorating will take place, then the anticipation up until the lighting of the tree on December 1.
The Christmas Market at Grand Central Station. There are stalls filled with great artisanal gifts.
The Christmas Market at Bryant Park, also known as the Holiday Shops. They open every day at 11 am, and the Bryant Park ice skating rink is also open for the season.
Macy's Thanksgiving or Christmas parade, it returns this year.
New Years Eve in Times Square.

Here are just a few things you can do in New York City from now to the end of the year.

Exposed! Secret Apartment Inside Radio City Music Hall

Let's take a look inside the hidden apartment

Gallery Credit: Karolyi

Did You Know This?? 13 Upstate Food Favorites You Can't Buy Outside of New York State

Upstate New York is the home to many fantastic food favorites. Mention sponge candy to somebody 100 miles outside Buffalo and you are probably going to get a blank stare. Mention a Michigan hot dog to anybody not from around Plattsburgh. Same stare. So here is a list of 13 regional food icons that you cannot buy outside of the empire State.

I will add this asterisk. You certainly can buy some of these items online, like the Saratoga Peppermint Pigs. Perhaps the Stix and Sauce item is known by another name somewhere in the country. Salt potatoes may have gravitated elsewhere but if so nobody knows where they started. And Grandma Brown's Baked Beans (God rest her soul). Well, you can buy that sweet lady's baked beans on eBay (check out that expiration date; she hasn't manufactured them since the pandemic). But for the most part you would have to walk into a store or restaurant in Upstate New York to enjoy these "regional" fan favorite foods.

Gallery Credit: Chuck D'Imperio

20 Worst Places to Live in New York State

A list highlights the worst places a New York resident can call home. A number of places in the Hudson Valley made the list, including one that was ranked the worst place to live.

The Most Head-Scratching List Of Upstate New York Trivia You Have Ever Read!

Wait....is that Mr. Ed in the photo above? What on earth could that talking horse have to do with Upstate New York?

OK...trivia time! Where is the geographic center of New York State? Where are all the lollipop, corn dog, and cotton candy sticks made? Where is the oldest (and shortest) covered bridge in the U.S.? Where is the most visited celebrity grave of all located? Is there really such a thing as a two-story brick outhouse, and if so where the heck is it?

Well, if you answered "Upstate New York" to all of these you are right. And you will definitely enjoy this delicious list of trivia about our region!

Everybody loves a good story, or some head-scratching trivia facts. This list pulls the curtain back on nearly 40 amazing pieces of Upstate New York history you probably didn't know about. Are they earth-shaking? No. Are they interesting? Definitely!

Whatever happened to "that kid" in the Willie Wonka movie? Where was the first grand slam home run in organized baseball hit? Where is the oldest mini-golf in America located? Tell us the story of Binghamton's Kentucky Derby winner! Tell us the story about TV's "Mr. Ed" and his connection to Upstate New York! How could the oldest continuously operating Boy Scout troop be in a tiny Upstate New York village? And what was that controversy over famous singer Kate's Smith's Lake Placid, NY grave all about?

The answer to all of these questions and many more lie in Upstate New York.

Enjoy!

Gallery Credit: Chuck D'Imperio