Interview by Emily Hessney Lynch.

Published June 13, 2019.

Where are you originally from? How did you end up in the Greater Rochester area at this time in your life?

I’m from Franklinville, New York, in the Southern Tier. I went to RIT for biomedical photographic communications, but once I met my now-husband, I transferred to Roberts Wesleyan and got a teaching degree. I felt that was what I wanted to do in my heart. We ended up staying in the area because my sister was local and we wanted to be near family; my husband also had a co-op in Rochester.

What is your favorite part of living in Rochester?

Right now, it’s all the playgrounds and fun things to do with kids! We have so many unique little kid-friendly businesses; I think that would be hard to find elsewhere.

What's the most unique or interesting event you've attended in Rochester?

ImagineRIT is one we attend for nostalgic reasons, since it’s where we met. Roc Holiday Village was great this past year, and I’m excited to see what they do with it this year.

What are some of your favorite local organizations to support?

I’m a photographer, and I do these “585” sessions where you get 5 shots for $85, and I donate 10% of the profits to libraries or parks in the area. Wild Wings in Mendon Ponds is really fun. You can walk through and visit the birds for free, or make a donation.

If you had $100 and a day to spend in Rochester, what would you do with the money/time?

We’d do a family day in the South Wedge. I’d buy something cute and Rochester-y at Little Button, then grab coffee at Coffee Connection. Afterwards, we’d get lunch at Harry G’s—they have games little kids can play while you’re there! We’d close out the day by bowling and grabbing drinks at Radio Social.

What are some of your favorite kid-friendly places in the city? 

• Casey Park - Located in Ontario, it has a free beach with paddleboats, lifeguards on duty at certain hours, and the kids can play in the water. There’s a splash pad, too!
• The fish hatchery in Powder Mill Park - It’s both calming and entertaining. They have a great sledding hill in the park, too.
• Jack’s Place - This is a dinosaur-themed playground near Rothfuss Park in Penfield off Nine Mile Road. It’s really unique.
• North Bee - They have an amazing sensory room for kids where they can learn about bees, honey, and wax and touch everything.
• Toy Library at the Lincoln Branch - You can stay and play or drop in to borrow new toys. We definitely love to stay and play.
• Lamberton Conservatory - So affordable and a great year round go-to on a dreary day.
• Lilac Adventure Zone -  A really awesome natural playground at Highland Park. One of our favorites!
• Ellwanger and Barry Park- A fun community-run park with a large backyard feel and a sandbox! There's also a free music sing along group that meets at this park for kids 0-4!
• Genesee Valley Park Playground- I somehow missed this one and discovered it only recently through a fellow instagram user participating in the #rochesternyplaygroundchallenge. It's a really great park with a mommy and me swing, padded play surface and many unique play structures.
• Cobbs Hill Park Playground- I'm really excited to frequent this one more often when the kids are older. It's a parkour playground complete with an obstacle course map!
• MLK Park- There is a unique little playground hidden within the city that is another fun one for older kids. Its very industrial and even has a "sprinkler" to play in!
• Monroe Branch Library- When it's not playground weather, libraries are usually our go-to. The Monroe Branch Library is great! The children's section is very large and secluded so you don't have to stress about disturbing the peace.
• The Central Library- They have some really fun and unique children's programs. We recently had a blast there participating in glo-ga (yoga with glow sticks!)
• Harry G's and Swillburger - These are our go-to restaurants in the city for family outings when we aren't feeling up to entertaining the kiddos while waiting for our food. With the arcade at Swillburger and the board games at Harry G's, they do that job for us! Plus they both have great gluten free options.

What is your personal coping mechanism for cold/gray weather? 

The libraries and rec centers have been our saving grace. We went to all 32 libraries over the winter, and it gave us a sense of purpose. We also visit the rec centers—Perinton’s aquatic center made us feel like we were at a resort!

What is your favorite Rochester memory? 

My first date with my husband. We had dinner at the Old Toad, then drove around and wound up going for a walk at Genesee Valley Park. Afterwards, we got ice cream in Henrietta. I probably remember that so fondly because he recreated that date when he proposed!

What makes Rochester unique? 

Ever since we started exploring playgrounds and libraries, it brought down all the walls. I don’t look at the address when I look up a business, I just plug it into my GPS and drive. We’re one large community here, and everything is only 20 minutes apart. There are circles of connections, and you see all this community amongst Monroe County as a whole. It’s big enough that there’s always something to do, but small enough that it’s easy to get to things.

What do you think could be improved? 

I would like to see more parks in the city. The new Lilac Adventure Zone at Highland Park draws a large, diverse crowd, and we need more of that! Many playgrounds in the city need updating. There should also be more wheelchair accessible playgrounds. There just needs to be more stuff for kids in the city in general. Jack’s Place is always so crowded, so we need more playgrounds like that within city limits!

If Rochester was a food, what would it be?

It's like a Boston creme donut when you thought you were handed a frosted donut. It's good, but you don't know how good it is until you bite in, and once you discover the hidden goodness you can't wait to go back for more.

What inspired you to start Rochacha Mama?

We visited Jack’s Place, which was five minutes from our house, and I’d had no idea that it existed. My sister was pregnant, and I didn’t want to see her miss out. I made a spreadsheet of all the playgrounds in Rochester for her, and then a friend from RIT sent me a discount code for building a Weebly website. So I built Rochacha Mama! We cover playgrounds, libraries, and “fun under five,” which is businesses that you can go to for less than $5 with kids.

Last summer exploring all those playgrounds with my son was the best summer of my life! He still remembers it even though he was only three years old.

What advice would you give to parents in Rochester who want to explore the city with their kids?

Get on Instagram and find some Rochester parents and groups. Don’t be afraid of drives, either. Get an audiobook for the kids and go, even if it’s 20 or 30 minutes away. It’s always worth it. Also, check out Rochacha Mama, because I’m always adding new things!