Buffalo

This past weekend, I took Friday off and Jackie and I headed to Buffalo, NY to visit a friend who is completing her medical residency out there. After dropping Ellie off at the boarder (always difficult for us), we started the roughly 7 and 1/2 hour trek across I-80/90 and Ohio and Pennsylvania to Western New York. The drive out was somewhat marred by the intense amount of rain we had to drive through, making us worried about our evening plans to see a Buffalo Bison game (the local Triple A baseball team). Once we got to Buffalo, the rain had stopped, so we were hopeful.

After some down time after our arrival, we headed out with our friend and impromptu tour guide (the friend, Angela, is the perfect person to have to take you around a City you don't know) and went to the Anchor Bar, the place where the famous Buffalo Chicken Wing started (I can now say that I have ate buffalo wings where they were "created" and fettucine alfredo where it was created - pretty cool). So after enjoying some pizza and wings (and the wings were simply awesome) we headed out to the ballpark hoping to catch the game (or at least I was hoping). The start of the game was delayed when we got there, so we walked around the stadium and eventually went to the gift shop so I could purchase a baseball with the Bison logo on it (I sort of have a thing for collecting minor league baseballs, particularly for ones where I have been to their park/stadium). Unfortunately, while I successfully added to my collection of minor league baseballs and saw another stadium, it had rained too much during the day to get the field in suitable playing conditions, and the game was called. It was a fireworks night, so the team had their off field entertainment do some bits for awhile until it got dark and fireworks were set off for those that stuck around. It was a bit disappointing, but I love seeing ballparks, just enjoy being in them, regardless if a game is being played or not; and it was some good time to chat and catch up with our friend.

It was a long and good day Friday; Saturday, however, will remain one of the better days I can ever remember. In the morning we headed to Canada to see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. I believe I have seen the Falls before, but just kind of a passing through sort of way, I think; in any event, can't really remember so if I have, it was a while ago. I love watching water, and the Falls are very impressive. And I may in the minority, but I love big tourists sites like that; I love watching and observing all the different types of people it attracts...the communal/universal aspect of the joy and wonder is appealing.

Anyway, after the Falls we drove a bit north to a small town called Niagara on the Lake. It took us awhile to find the place (the joys of navigating), but it is a very cute town with lots of eclectic little shops and interesting cafes. We sat down outside (just gorgeous weather on Saturday) at a small restaurant, enjoyed some good food, and planned the rest of the day. As we left the town, we decided to stop at a couple of the wineries we noticed on our way up (there were a lot - never knew the Niagara areas was such a wine area). We stopped at two wineries, the first was Inniskillen. We wanted to try some Ice Wine there, but that particularly tasting was packed, so we did some normal wine tasting (a first for Jackie). Jackie found a nice Riesling wine she liked, while I tried a Pinot Noir Rose wine that was delicious. We left with a bottle of each.

Further down the road we found another winery, called the Ice House. This place was less busy (although it got busier after we got there). The place specialized in ice wine, and we tried not only one sample of the ice wine, but a ice wine slushy. I wish I could do it justice as to how good it was...you obviously would have to like a sweeter wine (which I do), but both were fabulous. They must have saw us coming because they had a special of buy the special wine of the day, and you got another year of that wine for free. So obviously we took advantage of that and departed, heading back to the States with 4 bottles of wine. Both wineries were a ton of fun, we each learned a little bit about our wine, and we obviously fell in love with the Ice Wine. We've already committed that we will have to go back just to get some more.

We had decided earlier that we were going to be "fancy" that night and would eat at Brasa: Brazilian Steakhouse in Niagara and then go to the casino. The link explains much about the dining experience at Brasa; it is truly unique and the food (and wine) was delicious (menu). In particular, the grilled pineapple glazed with brown sugar was out of this world...literally melting right on your tongue. After enjoying excellent food and drink, we headed down to the Falls one last time to seem them lit up at night (truly spectacular) and then headed to the casino for awhile. I don't gamble, but it's always nice to walk around and again observe all the types of people it brings together. Jackie and Angela had a lot fun.

Eventually, we couldn't pack anything more into Saturday and we headed back to our friend's place, exhausted from a great day and knowing that we had to get up and start the drive back home (and reassure Ellie that we do indeed, always come back for her). It was a short, quick trip, but one we both enjoyed thoroughly, and as we dream this week of taking a longer vacation there (a week maybe), we realize how much fun and how relaxing it truly was, and how big of an impression our short time there made.

A. Great. Trip.