Reminiscent Road Trip – Sylvan Beach[PHOTOS]

When I was kid my parents would take us on road trips all the time. It was cool because you'd be out for a day and have a blast, then back home and in your own bed that night. One of the best ones that I can remember was our trips to Sylvan Beach on Oneida Lake. You could... back then probably take your kid to this beach midway and have fun for the day for fifty dollars. Now, the prices still aren't too bad. You can probably do the same day trip my parents and I did for about $100.00 including gas.

I can remember that we'd get there about lunch time and we would always stop at
Harpoon Eddie's for food. My grandmother lived with us and it was one of her favorite places to eat. I, however, would never order anything off the menu except the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which I had a huge problem with because they made it with grape jelly and I was used to it from home with strawberry jelly and they always seemed to skimp on the peanut butter. This info coming from the fat kid on the beach, of course.

Then we'd walk into the midway. I was always interested in the spook coaster. It looked fun and scary at the same time. After a few trips there, I decided I was just going to do it. I got in the coaster car and the attendant pushed the lever. It was intense as the coaster car pushed the two wooden doors open to envelope me in the darkness of the spook house. Inside were voodoo dolls, hanging skeletons, the whole front of a car that looked as if it were heading right for you! The headlights turned on and the horn sounded the minute you got close. It looked like the front of an early '80's Mustang Coupe. I may be wrong, I was around 8 years old. Next you'd see a projection of an office building and... BOO! A monsters face popped out of no where... It was fun!

Then the Skee-ball. Need I say more? Any of us who are Sylvan Beach bums knows that the Skee-Ball was the place to be at. Bumper cars right after. Then the Himalaya and the Tilt-A-Whirl. I can remember my father paying the Tilt-A-Whirl attendant to "put in high gear", Which I found out yesterday was a sham. It has always had one speed. Dad got rooked out of 5 bucks. This particular time my mother was the chosen one to ride with me on the Tilt-A-Whirl. I can remember the attendant say, "When it spins, lean into the spin, and it will go really fast!" so I did. Continuously. That was the longest 3 minute ride of my mothers life, as when the spinning finally stopped she hopped out of the seat and went directly to the ladies room to vomit. Sorry Mom.

The best part of this trip is that its a historic site. It hasn't changed much at all in all those years. It still look exactly how I remember it, which is not a bad thing. It's a perfect thing actually. The swimming was off limits to the public due to the blue algae but the beach was a nice walk at sunset. If you're looking for a great place to go for a day... This is it!