Halloween Adventure

Leslie and I met up at my house this morning to go do some geocaching. It was my first "adventure" with my new car. First we went to the hamlet of Schuyler Lake so I could do some maintenance on a geocache I hid at the cemetery. Leslie had not found this one, so after she found it, I replaced the old damaged cache with a brand new one.

Then we headed towards Hartwick to look for some of Irish Tala's geocaches. The first one we found was CROAKER CABIN, which involved trekking in the woods through some very wet spots. But, we were successful. Then we went right across the road so that Leslie could find my geocache HARTWICK FOREST TREASURE. I also found the "other" geocache I originally placed, but someone moved to across the trail. Now there is only one geocache there. Then we found CONTRARY MARY, another of IrishTala's hides. This is actually the only one that I found today, Leslie found the other four. This empty school sits just down the street from that cache site.


Then we headed into Hartwick to get a bite to eat at the convenience store. We each had a slice of pizza, which we ate in my car and then we headed out to find some caches hidden by Irish Tala right in the Village of Hartwick. We found one at the cemetery and one at the Cooperstown Bat Company.
Then we walked down the street to see if the Historical Society was open. It was and we went in and looked around.
It is right behind (and attached to) the small public library.
There we met Orrin Higgins who told us about the South Hartwick schoolhouse. Also, I signed up to be notified if the Historical Society does another "trolley tour".

Then we headed out of Hartwick to find a couple of more geocaches. We did not find the first one CRUSOE'S RITE OF PASSAGE. We did find the next one SOUTH HARTWICK GOT SCROOGE. Then we went to look for the South Hartwick Schoolhouse which Orrin Higgins told us about. We were successful in finding it. Here are some pictures.
And here is a picture of my new (used) Chrysler Pacifica near the old schoolhouse.
You can see Leslie's red hat!

After that we decided to head home. We took some backroads that Leslie mapped out, they took us right through Gilbert Lake State Park. Altogether, I found five geocaches and Leslie found seven. It was a great way to spend Halloween day!!

Bufffalo Central Terminal ADVENTURE (10/24/2011)

Peggy mentioned to me that the Buffalo Central Terminal (a huge old abandoned train station) was going to be open to the public today, at no charge, and I jumped at the idea of going to see it.

I spent the morning with my Dad at the nursing home and then we headed out when she was done with church, stopping at a Quizno's on the Transit for a quick lunch. We stopped at Salvator's Italian Gardens for a couple of minutes, so I could take some pictures since it was too dark for that a few nights ago when we went to the CareNet Banquet.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE CENTRAL TERMINAL. It is in the process of being restored, but it looks like it will take YEARS to complete it. Here are a few pictures.






After that we decided to look for a couple of geocaches. The first is hidden near this museum (IRON ISLAND MUSEUM)
which has been featured on one of the ghost hunting programs on television. We did not have any luck. The second is hidden around the railroad area, but we could not figure out how to get to the right spot.....we kept being blocked by dead ends and railroad cars. So we gave up and headed back to Lockport. We had one stop along the way NIAGARA COUNTY PRODUCE,
where I purchased a couple of items for supper.

Geocaching and a lot more ADVENTURE! 10/23/2011

My sister and I took a few hours to go geocaching this afternoon. Our first stop
was at the site of an old ROLLER MILL in Newfane.
There is a cache hidden nearby, but we didn't look for it, we were more interested in checking out the remains of the mill, which were fantastic. Then we found an easy geocache at Gordy Harpers.

Then it was on to Olcott Beach where we found a geocache hidden under a bench. Then Peggy pointed out an old hotel that she was in several years ago. Originally, this small hotel was known as THE COMMODORE.
We noticed tha the front door was open and Peggy hollered "hello", and the owner invited us in. She showed us around and told us about the place, but she did not want me to take any pictures.

Then we found a geocache in an old cemetery near a place called TINYTOWN. TINYTOWN is part of a Christian conference center. It is a tiny village, complete with small buildings to represent businesses, etc. I bet the children who attend the camp with their parents really enjoy playing in TINYTOWN.

We went into a few shops at Olcott Beach, but I did not buy anything.
On the way back to Lockport, we stopped at REID'S and I had a frozen custard.

And then we headed back to Lockport so we could spend time with our Dad.

SALVATORE'S ADVENTURE Thursday 10/20/2011

For the very first time, I was in Lockport for the Care Net banquet. My sister is very involved in the Care Net Center (a pro-life center). She invited my brother, his girlfriend
and me to join her at the table she hosted. It was held at a VERY fancy restaurant on the Transit, SALVATORE'S ITALIAN GARDENS in Depew. New York. Here are some pictures.
Outside the restaurant, under glass, there are several vintage automobiles on display:

LIGHTHOUSE ADVENTURE: October 17, 2011

When we were teens, camping out with my family at GOLDEN HILLS STATE PARK, my friend Barb and I explored an empty lighthouse. It was right on the grounds of the campground and the door was not secured. We had a great time going up the winding staircase and looking around. I guess this was my very first URBAN EXPLORATION experience, even though most likely that term had not been coined yet.

Today was a fairly nice (but windy) day and I called Barb and asked her if she wanted to go to REID'S for lunch. She did, so I picked her up and we went to Reids and then we headed out to Golden Beach State Park. We located it and saw the lighthouse. There is a museum in the building now, and I think maybe it is also a B and B. Here are some pictures;


Then we headed back to Lockport. We made one stop at the HEARTLAND QUILT SHOP.

GEOCACHE #400 and Clarence Center Adventure

Peg called me this morning and told me about a new geocache hidden at Cold Springs Cemetery. After I put supper in the crockpot (little before noon) I went and found it. I had a couple of free hours so I decided to drive to Clarence Center to see an old store (ESHELMAN'S) and to find a geocache that would bring my number of finds to 400.

The store is great! It is a gift shop now, but still has many of the original cupboards, drawers and counters. I took a few pictures. Then I headed to Clarence Hollow to see the site of an old mill. Now it is a fancy hotel or bed and breakfast.
I saw several picture worthy buildings and places, but only made one more pic. stop, here:

After that I found #400 in a gazebo kind of between Clarence Center and Clarence Hollow. I stopped to take a picture of a farmstand the other side of Clarence Center
and then headed to Lockport. I stopped for a frozen custard at Anderson's
and then returned to Briody's to spend some time with Dad.

Lunch out with girls from the LSHS Class of l967

Since the 2007 class reunion, several of the "girls" have been meeting once a week for lunch at various restaurants in Lockport. Barb suggested I join them, so I did that today. We went to a new Greek restaurant named CALAMATA's. There were Barb and I, Bonnie Thomas, Mary Ann Sheriff, Marie Johns, Lynette Eaton and Liz Tenbrook.

Lynette brought along her 9 month old grandson, Tyler. The food was great and we had a great time. Next Wednesday they will get together at THE FIELDSTONE, and I will try to be there for that. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me.

Downtown Adventure

I had a couple of free hours today, so I called Barb and picked her up. I offered some ideas to her of where we might go, and she chose to stay in Lockport and to revisit some of our "old haunts". We headed to Main Street, found a parking spot and went down to the are of the locks along the canal.

We tried to find the area where we walked across a narrow cement walkway when we were kids, but it appears that it has been removed. Then we went back up to Main Street and walked around a bit, pointing out the changes and the places that we were familiar with that still exist. We spent a few minutes in Grimble's, a hardware store that has retained its original "look".
We stopped in SWEET SIXTEEN to have a "cake pop". We both chose red velvet. Then we took a drive down to Glenwood Cemetery and then drove through Outwater Park. The cemetery has expanded, and the park has deteriorated a bit.

Vidler's Adventure: October 10, 2011

Peggy mentioned a store in East Aurora that she took some senior citizens to once. I decided to take advantage of this beautiful fall day to check it out. I called my friend, Barbara, and she was free and I picked her up, and using a mapquest that Peggy made for me, we set out. Unfortunately, at some point after turning onto 400 off of the Transit, we made a wrong turn and ended up in Buffalo, and it was not really a good neighborhood. Unfortunately, I didn't have my navigator with me, but we were able to find our way back to 400 and from there we followed the signs to East Aurora.

VIDLER'S was everything Peggy said it would be and more.
Its a true old fashioned five and dime. Barb and I saw items that we had not seen or thought of in years.
I only purchased a postcard, a nail file and two tiny pumpkins. We walked up Main Street a bit before heading back to Lockport. East Aurora has a theatre that reminds me of THE PALACE THEATRE in Lockport:
I hope to return to East Aurora someday and explore it more.

Lyndonville Adventure

It was a gorgeous fall day (some would call it INDIAN SUMMER) and after spending the morning with my Dad at Briody's, I decided to do a bit of exploring in Western New York, since thats where I will be for most of October. I called my friend from my high school years (Barbara) but she was busy so I decided to go solo.

I headed to Lyndonville to go to YODERS COUNTRY CUPBOARD. My GPS took me there without any problems. I purchased some items and asked if I could get a sandwich made at their deli. I was told "yes" and I chose the items for my sandwich. I also purchased some snack items for the trip to PENNYLVANIA DUTCH COUNTRY that I will be leaving for tomorrow morning. As I was leaving the store, Mr. Yoder (I assume that was him) suggested that I eat my lunch on their large swing or anyplace in the yard that I liked. I chose the swing and ate my sandwich and iced tea. A teenage Amish girl (I assume Mr. Yoder's daughter) came over and we chatted for a couple of minutes about the stray cat they adopted after someone abandoned the pregnant mama cat. I took a few pictures.

Then I set off to find store I saw advertised in the Union Sun and Journal (J.C. Miller Co. General Store). I found it and was delighted to see that it is run by an Amish family. It is advertised as being unique and I was happy to find some items that I have been unable to find other places.

I asked the Amish girl who waited on me if Lyndonville has a Main Street and she headed me in the right direction. I found Lyndonville and stopped to take several pictures. I was able to purchase an ORLEANS COUNTY map at the village or town offices. Lyndonville has an old fashioned grocery store and a couple of abandoned storefronts, as well as a hotel, a sub shop, a park and a couple of fishing areas along the creek.

Driving out of Lyndonville, I spotted this ghost sign (I think in a hamlet called Ridgeville). Then I stopped in the tiny hamlet of , where I saw this old mill building which has been transformed into an antique shop.

Closeby, I saw this ghost sign:

I headed back to Lockport making one stop at a farm market where I purchased a gallon of cider, some candy, some plums and some tomato jam.


After that, I headed back to Lockport. I stopped at Dad's place to put the cider in the frig, and then I headed to Briody's to spend some time with Dad.