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Restaurants

������ý is a foodie town, for sure. While Restaurant Week is one of my favorite semesterly traditions, my friends and I love to enjoy the year-round. My personal favorites are for a garbage plate, the food of my hometown; for the best spinach and artichoke dip, and for an exciting ambience and where I’ll be having my graduation dinner!

Animal Adventure Park

If you’re looking to feed giraffes or see an actual real bearcat, is the place to be. Over 300 animals live here, representing over 100 species. You can also drive through a 3-mile path through 100 acres of land and have animals come right up to your window! Check out their animal encounters with sloths and capybara or their throughout the season.

Parks

I love being outdoors surrounded by beautiful scenery. Nothing is better than a good walk, picnic, cross-country skiing with a buddy. If I’m pressed for time, I can take a stroll in the Nature Preserve right on campus and see turtles, beavers and deer. , , and are the places I frequent the most. Nathaniel Cole even has kayak rentals and swimming.

Kopernik Observatory

This place was my go-to spot during the pandemic and is still the place to go to escape and have an amazing view. A little less than a 20-minute drive from campus, the has the best view of the stars you can get. There’s also a neat playground that we as college students still totally use while we’re up there at night.

Sports

I would not consider myself a sports fan, but I sure am a ������ý sports fan. Going to and games are some of my favorite memories at ������ý. Mirabito Stadium, where the Rumble Ponies play, always has the best sunsets and often puts on firework shows after games. Black Bears games have packed houses filled with excitement and tons of opportunities to make a jumbotron appearance.

Weather

Some may not believe me when I say this, but the weather is one of the best things about ������ý, and, yes, snow is included in that statement. We have all four seasons in ������ý. Summers are green, warm and gorgeous. Fall brings beautiful colors throughout the hills, apple picking and corn mazes. Winter coats the area with snow, making skiers like myself happy. Spring blooms with pink and white flowers and sunshine that brings everyone out on the quad.

Music and Performing Arts Scene

�����Բ��󲹳��ٴDz�’s hosts Broadway shows and operas. The Anderson Center on campus shows ballets, Irish dancing troupes and orchestras. For a more intimate setting, you can see performances at the . Being a performing arts kid growing up, having tons of opportunities to see and support the arts is perfect. My favorite show was watching my friends sing with one of the Univesity’s very own a capella groups, , at the Firehouse stage.

Sunsets and Rivers

Some of the greatest sunsets I’ve seen have been here in ������ý, either on campus, the back roads of Vestal, the streets of downtown or at a Rumble Ponies game. We are blessed with oranges, yellows, pinks and purples in our skies. Our rivers, the Chenango and the Susquehanna, are an integral landmark in the community. I even have a tattoo in the shape of these rivers because I love ������ý so much (just don’t tell my mom!) And if you can catch a sunset on the river, you’re golden.
Of course, while there are only eight listed here, there are an infinite amount of things I could add to this list. I could write a dissertation on why I love ������ý so much, but I thought I’d save you all some time. For even more about the place I’ve called home for the best four years of my life check out .

Chloe Van Caeseele is an intern for the Office of Media and Public Relations, and a senior majoring in anthropology with a minor in linguistics. She is also a campus tour guide and a resident assistant in Hinman College. In her free time, she loves to ski, take spin classes and watch (too much) reality TV. After graduation she will be working as a Hotdogger driving the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.