Buffalo: Day 1

Well, hello there! Sorry to have dropped off the face of the earth for a few days. I fully intended to let ya'll know where we were headed, but in the rush of a pre-vacation Friday afternoon, it slipped my mind. Who hasn't been there?

Patrick and I went to Buffalo. I'm a lifelong New York native who'd never (until Tuesday) been to Niagara Falls. We had to be out in Western NY for a family function anyway. The trip practically planned itself. Sunday afternoon, we drove up the shore of Lake Erie to Grand Island, marveling at some seriously beautiful old shoreside factory buildings along the way. It was rainy, rainy, rainy.

Monday morning, rain kept us in the tent until nearly nine, and I was starting to wonder if our vacations themselves are the cause of the rain. It finally subsided enough for us to eat, shower, and head off for a day in the big city.

We went to the zoo. Patrick loves zoos. He took nearly a hundred photos on my camera while we were there. This is one: rhino, peafowl, and ducks.

We did lots of walking. Lots and lots. We checked out the theatre district, and had lunch at City Grill. We toured the beautiful old house where TR was sworn in as President. We walked probably three miles up and around Elmwood St., hoping to find a classy-but-not-dressy place for dinner, and came up empty. Instead there were row after row of beautiful houses to marvel at, and lots of terrific signs to admire (see top photo). At the end of the afternoon, we cut our losses and headed back to camp for dinner.

And a little nature-gazing.

Dinner: Patrick's Ultimate Veggie Burgers. With sliced garden tomato.

Camp cooking is the best part of camping. Indeed.

Tomorrow: Day 2!