Monday March 31st Drive Back to Oneonta

I left Lockport around 8:40 or so and headed east.  I made a few early detours just for the heck of it.  Albion, Holley and Brockport, in Brockport I found the former Christian Center building....it seems to be unoccupied.

On Main Street I noticed this neat restored ghost sign:

.......and picked up a snack at a great Arby's.  The Arby's in Brockport is like a blast from the past (1950s) and I took several pictures.

From there I headed to Rochester and drove the "can of worms" successfully and located THE LIBERTY DINER.  I tried to reach Terry A. by phone, without any luck, so I found her house but she was not at home.  I returned to the diner, hoping to find her there, but she wasn't.  (when I go home, I found a message from her saying she was at the diner, waiting for me).  I suspect that I was there too early for her.

I continued on my way towards Oneonta, stopping to  take a few pictures of a museum and one room schoolhouse in Pompey Center.  I have driven by the museum several times, but I don't think I ever noticed the schoolhouse before.

Sunday March 30th in Lockport

Woke up to several inches of snow, had to shovel and clean my car off before Peg and I left for church.  Craig gave a GREAT sermon and a guest speaker spoke about her organization that helps get Jews to Israel.

Peggy and I had lunch at the Hong Kong Buffet with her fiancee David.  It was very good.  David commented that I ate too much and then he said my Pacifica is ugly!!!  rofl      Both Peggy and I rested during the remainder of the afternoon.

We invited Betty over for supper.  We had pork cassoulet, winter squash, tossed salad and bruschetta.  Betty offered to take Peg and I out for desert, but it was almost time for the new
season of CALL  THE MIDWIFE to start on PBS, so I declined.

 I don't think I took ANY pictures today!!!!!

Saturday March 29th in Lockport

This morning Peggy and I headed out  to do some errands.  The main purpose was to go to Lowes and get a few items for my apartment.  We accomplished this and also stopped at theNew Niagara Produce....it is just fantastic!  We also stopped at an interesting shop that sells vinegars and oils and then we went to GROVERS BAR AND GRILL for lunch.  This restaurant was featured on DINERS, DRIVE-INS and DIVES!

The CHEESEBURGER SOUP was absolutely delicious!!!!!

We worked on the apartment a bit that afternoon.

We went to Mike and Janies for supper  they had  Pizza from Pizza Oven (or is it Pizza Kitchen)
Peg took a salad and I took a gallon of cider and desert.  Dave joined us.  I took a picture of Dave and Peggy together.     I gave the boys small
Christmas gifts.

Mike told us about the book he plans to write: MURDERS IN LOCKPORT.  He brought out his research notebook and we discussed several murders.

Friday March 28th in Lockport

During the day, while Peg was at work, I cleaned and unpacked and organized a lot of stuff in my new apartment.  Finally completed one bedroom and the closet in there.  It is ready to move a bed into!  Peg arrived home around 2:45,and by that time I was totally wiped out, but she and I worked together for close to an hour.  Then we took a break.

We picked Peggy's friend Bev up and took her out for her 60th birthday.  We went to the COUNTRY COTTAGE in North Tonawanda. I had the fish fry, and it was very good.

After supper, we went to a talent show at Peggy's church.  It was very good, but Peggy and I were pretty worn out and did not stay for the full show.  We did enjoy their great refreshments, though, before we left.

DRIVE ACROSS THE STATE ADVENTURE March 27, 2014

After a long winter of hibernating in West Laurens, I headed to Niagara County for the first time this year, to spend some time with my sister and to do some work on the apartment I plan to move into soon.

I left around nine a.m.  My first stop was to get gas in Bridgewater, and then I headed west on Route 20.   I stopped briefly at the Pine Woods rest area, since there is a cache hidden there  that I have not found yet.  I opened the car door and got a blast of cold wind and decided NOT to look for it today.  I had another geocache in Morrisville programmed in but I may have programmed it in wrong, since following the coords did NOT bring me to the Morrisville campus.

 I continued on a bit, and then headed north to go to Peterboro.  Once there, I stopped at a bakery that I have passed many times.  I purchased two donuts, and then headed to the library, where they allowed me to hook up to their wifi with a guest pass.  I didn't really need to do anything online, but I wanted to see if I could do it!  I was successful.  There is a geocache hidden outside the library, but it looked like I would have to dig apart an old hill of snow, so I skipped it.  My donuts (one peanut, one plain were calling my name, and I thought they would go great with some milk, so I stopped at a convenience store just before I got onto the thruway and bought a half gallon of milk.

I stayed on the thruway until Exit 48A and then got off.  When I got to Chestnut Ridge Road in Niagara County, I took some time to look for a geocache in an old forlorn cemetery known as GILBERT CEMETERY.  I was successful.

I arrived at 17 about 3:45 and took all my stuff in.  I was able to connect to a network........it kinds of likes like I am connected to my own router, all the way across the state..........is this possible?

For supper Peg and I  met up with our cousin (on my mothers side) Becky at the CUP AND SAUCER.  The C and S is owned and operated by our my cousin Vicky, daughter of my Uncle Norman (Dad's brother).    I took this picture of Uncle Norman with his great grandson Blake (Vicky's grandson).  Blake was helping out at the Cup and Saucer tonight.

Maple Weekend in the Catskills and Geocaching March 22, 2014

Leslie and I met up at her house this morning for some geocaching.  The first one we headed to was RVMAGNUM's 100th find Tribute Cache.  We had tried to find this one before, last fall, without any success and thought we would give it a second try.  We searched every possible spot on both sides of the road, but still no luck.  After that, we headed towards Franklin where we went to the Ouleout Valley Cemetery and found a geocache hidden by meandmykid.  

Then we continued on 357 until we got to the North Franklin Maple Syrup Company which was having an open house as part of MAPLE WEEKEND IN THE CATSKILLS.  .  

We met the owner and his partner and they showed us the REVERSE OSMOSIS Machine!  They were sponsoring their pancake breakfast at the Ouleout Creek Golf Club just down the road.  Since it was noon, we stopped and had that for lunch: pancakes, sausage, bacon, fried potatoes and scrambled eggs.........orange juice and hot chocolate all for $7.00.  

Then it was back to geocaching.........we found a few more cemetery caches before heading back to Oneonta.  I think my favorite cemetery today was the Houghtaling Hollow Cemetery 

Once back in Oneonta we went to the Huntington Library to look for LOCKED OUT WITHOUT A KEY.  Leslie had a pretty good handle on where this one was, and she was correct.  We called it a day after the library cache, which was our fifth.  It was early so I decided to go over to BJ's and activate my free 60 day membership.  I also went to Aldi's and Daddy Al's and Rite-Aid. 

Legislative Day 2014

Started the day out with the Ramada's continental breakfast which was very good!   Then Peggy and I headed to the Capital.

We arrived and checked in and found a table.  I met a man who knows Pastor Yarborough!  He was with a few others from his church or organization (something Patriot Ministries).  The morning speakers were great!  I took a break and took some position papers to my Senators office.

Peg and I were happy to find a CAPITAL Q SMOKEHOUSE in the food court, so we had lunch there.

It was good, but kind of small (thats only a slider) so we bought a couple of desert items at a bakery in the food court.  

We left at 2:15 p.m. when the group broke up so  that participants could try to speak with their reprsentatives, but since Peggy and I had already done that, we left and headed for Oneonta.  It was a nonstop trip since Peggy was driving back to Lockport today.  

The DAY BEFORE Legislative Day ADVENTURE!

I got up early and packed sandwiches for us to take with us and Peggy and I left my house a few minutes before ten a.m. and headed towards Albany.  Near Duanesburg, we looked for a few geocaches, but did not have any luck.  Two of them were beneath hard piles of snow and the third (hidden on an old train car at Canal Street Station) was elusive!  We had better luck in Rotterdam, finding three out of three!  One of them is hidden behind this old schoolhouse.

Early afternoon found us at TRADER JOE'S where we took our time and enjoyed a few samples.
I bought several items and Peggy bought a few. Here is my cart including the insulated bag I purchased.

 After that we headed to the RAMADA to check into our room for the night.  I napped while Peg used the treadmill in the work out room.

For supper we headed to a popular BBQ place named CAPITAL Q but when we found out that they didn't have a dining area, only a row of seats in a window, doing mostly take out, we decided to go elsewhere.

We ended up at CAPITAL BUFFET for a chinese buffet that was really good..........they even had what I referred to as "mongolion bbq".  A stop at DOLLAR TREE completed our nights activities and then we headed back to the Ramada.  I had my laptop with me, so I was able to go online and log the geocaches we found.

Lunch with Connie

This morning I started potato soup in the crockpot.....when I realized that it would most likely be ready to eat by lunch time, I called Connie and invited her to lunch.  When she said yes, I decided to make a cherry cobbler for desert using these two products.

 We had a nice time together.  She showed me some strengthening exercises that she does.

Cobleskill with Judy

I met up with Judy at her house and we drove to Cobleskill for lunch.  She chose RED APPLE BUFFET, which is really a Chinese buffet.  We both enjoyed the meal and we both ate too much.
We checked out a second hand store we noticed the last time we went to Cobleskill, but it was closed today.

Delaware County Geocaching Adventure

I met up with Leslie and Oneonta and we headed out to Delaware County for some geocaching.
Because we failed to communicate well and set up a plan, we each had different geocache info. than the other.  Since I was driving, and Leslie had a route planned out, we followed her route, which took us first to Bloomville and then to Bovina.   The first two we found were just outside of Bloomville on McArthur Hill Road.   Both were pretty easy, except the second one required traipsing through snow and in some parts it was rather deep!  But it was worth it since it was in a very old cemetery!  

After Bloomville, we headed towards Bovina, and the first one we found there was just outside of a transfer station.  Then we found a few more before going to the Village of Bovina Center.  We had lunch at Russell's Store........which is about as genuine "old time" store as they get.

 We both had BLT's and I purchased a few scones to take home.

Then it was back to geocaching.  We found three more before heading back towards Oneonta.

We noticed that TABLE on TEN in Bloomville was open for business today, so I hope I can go there for lunch someday soon.

Mt Fuji ADVENTURE

I had lunch at Mt. Fuji a few weeks ago and loved it, but Connie did not like it and was clear that she does not wish to return.  I kept asking people to accompany and everyone said no, until today.  Linda said she LOVES Japanese food and agreed to go.

We met up at noon at Mt. Fuji and decided to order off of the HIBACHI menu, where they prepare your food in front of you.  It seems to be a bit higher priced than the regular lunch menu, but its worth it.  First they served us onion soup and a small salad.  Both were very good.  Then a chef came out and cooked the food right in front of us, not in a real hibachi, but on a large flat surface.  We got fried rice, grilled vegetables and I ordered steak (which was done to perfection, medium well at my request) and Linda had shrimp.   HIBACHI IS BETTER!!!!!!!    Everything is so fresh...........the fried rice was outstanding, the grilled vegetables were great and my steak was delicious!  Linda said her shrimp was really good.

In additon, there was some free entertainment.  The chef offered to toss pieces of brocolli into our mouths!  Linda and I declined, but four woman sitting nearby agreed to try, and he was successfull on most of his throws!

It was a great meal!  After lunch, Linda and I went over to SUCO and walked around the indoor track. She walked a mile and I walked a bit more.  Then we went to the Dave Kiehm gallery exhibit.  I thoroughly enjoyed my second visit, and Linda enjoyed it also.  

Altamont ADVENTURE

I read about the HOME FRONT CAFE in Altamont in Big Chuck's book UPSTATE NEW YORK in 100 WORDS or LESS and knew I had to go to it!

Betty and I met up in Oneonta and headed out Route 88 to Altamont and arrived right at lunch time!  INDEED, this is a very neat place.  WW2 and other military stuff all around, and also lots of items from the 40's and 50's, many of which look familiar!    We enjoyed our lunch.

After lunch we crossed the street to the ALTAMONT FREE LIBRARY which is in the old train depot.

The building has been very well preserved.  Inside we noticed a gingerbread depot designed after the depot.  We drove down Main Street just to see the huge old houses which are very well maintained.  We did a lot of oohing and ahhing, but I could not stop to take pictures due to cars behind me.  

We headed out towards Duanesburg and stopped for desert at the CHUCKWAGON DINER on Route 20.  We each ordered a desert and we shared:   coconut cream pie and pecan pie.......both were very good.

We didn't take 88 all the way back to Oneonta, we took Route 7 for a while before getting on 88.