Day 9 in Lockport

Days 2-8 have gone by so fast and have included doctors appointments, working on address changes, unpacking and sorting, hanging pictures, etc., shopping and going out to eat as often as possible!   I have also done some cooking!

Wendy, Carrie and I did some shopping and then drove out to Amherst on the Transit to have lunch at FIVE GUYS.  They have the BEST burgers and fries....but a bit on the expensive side.  We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch.

After a nap, I suggested to Wendy that we drive out to Lake Ontario.  She agreed and we drove out 78 North to Olcott Beach, where we went into some small shops and had ice cream, and I took a few pictures.

The small lighthouse is now a visitors center offering maps and brochures of area attractions.  

We know we want to go again, but next time we will leave earlier in the day.

Day One in Lockport ADVENTURE

I spent about an hour organizing the kitchen and then put a turkey breast and potatoes into the crockpot and then Wendy, Carrie and I headed to Niagara Falls.

We located parking ($20.00 a car) in front of a huge building that looked like a huge souvenir store.  We headed out on foot towards the falls.   We had done a LOT of walking and were not even sure we were headed in the right direction when we decided to take a trolley ride.  It took us to the Horseshoe Falls.

Before walking down to the falls, we decided to have lunch at TOP OF THE FALLS.

 We took an outside table, with a view of the falls.  Lunch was pretty good but not outstanding.
After lunch, we walked down to the Horseshoe Falls.

 It IS handicapped accessible, but it was kind of hard pushing the wheelchair back uphill.  We got back on  the trolley and took it back to the Visitors Center.  We had seen these people on the way into the park and they were still there when we left.

One more stop: at the HARD ROCK CAFE where Wendy purchased a glass (for her collection) and a t-shirt.

Moving Day Adventure! (Saturday June 20th, 2014)

The day before (Friday) was so hectic......getting the truck, loading it up, the closing, and cleaning for the new owners!  I also met Connie for supper at Gersters for the Friday night buffet which was VERY good!   I was exhausted and slept pretty good, getting up at five a.m. to be ready for
my moving crews arrival.

Pete, Melessia, Josh and Vera arrived promptly at six a.m. and put some extra items into the truck.  We headed out.  We stopped at the McDonalds in Richfield Springs and we all had breakfast before continuing north to get on the thruway.  Vera rode with me.  Pete and Josh had the truck, and Melessia drove their car.

We stopped several times on the thruway mostly to use restrooms, but occasionally picking up some snacks. We got off at the Depew exit and drove down "the transit" into Lockport.  I think it was 12:30  when we arrived at my new place.  I stepped up onto the porch and started crying and said "I am home".  (to my friend Wendy who had arrived a day early with my daughter, Carrie).Vera had made me a welcome "hanging" which she put next to my front door.  Peggy had already put the signs up on the door.

We unloaded and moved the cable box from the upstairs apartment down to mine (and it works).  I took this picture of the four of them with the U-Haul truck.
Got the furniture I brought into place.  I then told Melessia and Pete that I would like to take them out to lunch after dropping the truck off.  We found the closest drop off spot (on Lincoln Avenue) and headed out.  Unfortunately, they drove too fast and Vera and I got separated from them.  I stopped at a dollar store and went in and asked for directions and it turned out we were about 1/4 mile away.  While I was in the store, Peggy called and I asked her to join us for lunch.  She suggested THE VILLAGE EATERY.  We met her there and had a great lunch!  Josh tried the Crystal Beach loganberry drink and liked it.

Then it was time for goodbyes, a bit tearful.....especially for Vera!

Peggy brought over a pizza and salad for our supper that night.  Wendy and I did a lot of unpacking and organizing.

After supper, I suggested to Wendy that we go to LAKE EFFECT ICE CREAM and we agreed.  Both of us had large sundaes, which were really TOO large!  Then we walked down to the big bridge and located David and Peggy's lock and I showed Wendy around Lockport a bit.

When I finally went to bed around ten p.m. I was exhausted and had a hard time getting to sleep!
Sometimes you REALLY can go home!

East Guilford Cemetery and More

I wanted to see Terry's gravestone before moving, so I picked Betty up (she and Terry were best friends for many years) and we headed out to East Guilford.  As we approached the road to turn on, Betty said her mouth was dry so we stopped at the large convenience store on the corner of 7 and  8 and both of us purchased cold drinks.  We had a bit of difficulty finding the cemetery but finally we found it.

Here is Terry and Claude's gravestone:

Betty cleaned it up and we pulled some weeds.  Then we explored part of the cemetery.  I particularly liked this gravestone: 

It is made out 

of an old mill stone!  I noticed this church so stopped to take a picture: 

It is the 

East Guilford United Presbyterian Church.  

It was getting to be lunch time so we headed towards Bainbridge.  We stopped at THE OLD RED BARN and had lunch in their cafe.  We both had the chicken salad with craisins and walnuts and it was very good.  Betty took most of hers home (she snuck some cupcakes at the convenience store).  During lunch, I suggested to Betty that she might be able to take a bus to Lockport in the fall and visit me for a few days.  This idea made her VERY happy!

Betty was feeling very good today and would have liked to go to some antique shops, but I had a long list of things to accomplish, so we headed back to Oneonta.

What I accomplished today:

dropped of clothing to the Salvation Army box at MOSA, also dropped off bags of papers to be recycled, returned books to the library, dropped of books at FoxCare for them to resell, stopped at Gary's to confirm the truck rental for this coming Friday, vacuumed the car out, dropped off my key to the shelter office to my former supervisor Kim.  Also, I ran into Barb Field at the library and we visited for a few minutes and I told her about my move.  

Lunch with Linda and Penny

Linda,her Aunt Penny and I got together for one last time before my move.  The plans were to go to a book shop Penny likes in Otego and then out for lunch.  Penny called the book shop this morning and found out that they are not open on Tuesdays.  So, we changed the time to meet up til a little later and decided to just go out to lunch.

I thought they might like to do something after lunch so I called EDWARD's ANTIQUES and COLLECTIBLES (I have noticed this place on 205 between Laurens and Mt Vision several times and was able to obtain a phone number a while back) and made an appointment to be there at two p.m.  When I picked Linda and Penny up (at Penny's house in Laurens), I  asked them if they wanted to go with me to EDWARD'S.  Penny said she needed to be home to meet up with her gardener at 1:30 and Linda said she had stuff she had to do.

We decided to eat at Christophers.  I had not been there in years, so I had forgotten about the rustic atmosphere.  I had the "express lunch"which was pasta, shrimp and vegetables in a light alfredo sauce and Penny and Linda ordered a half of a hot pastrami sandwich with the salad bar.

We were all happy with our lunches.  The "three bean salad" on the salad bar was delicious!  I could not finish my pasta.  Penny told us stories of her father, how he ran away from home at 13 and made his own way in the world, how he prospected for gold,  and did not return home until after his father had died.  She told about his grandparents coming over from Lithuana, both dying before their son was a year old. At age eight her grandfather was sent out on his own with a peddlars pack to make his own living.

Penny said that she would like to go to the new SCHOLET'S FURNITURE, which had taken over the old Drogen's spot down the road.  She is looking for some new living room furniture.  We enjoyed checking out the living room stuff and Penny found a set she really likes, and is going to think about purchasing it.

I dropped some clothing off at the drop off spot at the tiny church in West Oneonta and then dropped Linda and Penny off at Penny's house.  I arrived at EDWARD'S fifteen minutes early but Joe and Lucie were there.  Lucie took me into the front building and I looked around, and picked out two small pieces of colored glass: one cobalt blue and one cranberry glass.  Then Joe opened u the second barn which he referred to as "the warehouse"....since it is not really organized like a shop.  I looked around but did not find anything that interested me.

When I went back into the first shop to pay for my  glass, I looked around a bit more and found a l950 First Edition Betty Crocker Picture CookBook  and Lucie only wanted $3.00 for it!  I happily purchased it.    I have wanted one of these for a LONG time......its the exact same cookbook my mother used when I was growing up.  I had a l970 version that fell apart a long time ago (I used it a lot) and recently I found a newer version with a reproduced cover similar to the l950 one (in a binder) but what I REALLY wanted was the l950 version, and now I have it.  I looked online to see what these are going for and the prices range from $20 to $60.00 !!!  I really got a good deal!

It is in almost perfect condition, too!  

Here are some pictures I  took at EDWARD'S ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES:

Joe has some military memorabilia which he showed me.  They explained that they used to have MUCH more, but they have sold most of it over the years.  

I wish I had visited EDWARD'S before this.  Lucie and Joe are so friendly!  

FINAL Cooperstown Adventure

I have to admit, I lived in this area for several years before I realized what a gem we have in the village of Cooperstown.  I automatically associated it with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which I had already been to once and that did not excite me.......   However, eventually I discovered what a great village it is, and I have enjoyed visiting it over the years.  I even worked there for several years (out of the Otsego County Department of Social Services).

I wanted to spend some time in Cooperstown ONE more time before moving and I wanted to spend a quality day with my friend Vera, so today I combined the two.  I picked her up at 9:30 and we headed to Cooperstown.  Our first stop was at THE GENERAL STORE that used to be Newberry's where Vera bought some craft supplies.

Then we went to BROOKWOOD GARDENS.  Not many flowers are in bloom just yet, but it is such a lovely place. I think Vera liked the birdhouse best.

Then we decided to go to the FENIMORE ART MUSEUM.

 I would not have thought that this would be of a lot of interest to Vera, but she surprised me!  She really enjoyed it!

We looked at the various exhibits on the lower level and the first floor and I was getting hungry and tired so I suggested we go out for lunch and return.  We went to the Otesaga for their lunch buffet.  It was tremendous!

 The price has gone up: it is now $18.00, but since that includes drinks and desert, I suppose it is not too bad.  The hot entrees were pork and gravy and chicken with rice and a delicious sauce.   The asparagus was particularly tasty, and their shrimp salad was as good as it always is!   The desert table was superb today, better than it has been at some other times.  I tried several!

After lunch, we walked around the inside of the hotel for a few minutes, and also sat out on the porch facing the lake for a minute or two.  Then we headed back to the FENIMORE ART MUSEUM where we toured the third floor, which had a HOMER WINSLOW exhibit, which was very good.   We went back down to the lower level to see the Adirondack paintings by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tate for the second time.

When we walked down to the bark house, but we could not go inside.  When done with that walk, we headed back towards Oneonta where I dropped Vera off.  It was a great day, Vera and I had a lot of fun.

ARBURETUM and CANAL STREET STATION Adventure!!!!

Leslie and I met up in Oneonta to spend a day "out" to celebrate our June birthdays.  Knowing this might be our last get together before my move, I was hoping for a special day!

Leslie drove and we went to Esperance to go to the LANDIS ARBORETUM.  We hiked some trails and found two geocaches.  Here are a couple of pictures.

It is so beautiful here!  I would have liked more but we had set a time to meet up with Joseph Merli at CANAL STREET STATION in Duanesburg.  He runs a woodworking business and has been setting up an old time village on his property for many years.  

Joe gave us a personal tour and let us into the old time hardware/general store,

the 1940's diner and the locomotive.  He showed us a couple of VERY old Oldsmobiles that he has restored.  He and 2 others drove one of them across the USA several years ago.

He showed us an item he is working on in his shop.  It is a gift from him to a celebrity that he is friends with.  Leslie and I are sworn to secrecy regarding the item and who it is for.  

THREE DNF Adventure

I had tentative plans to meet up with my friend Yvette today for lunch in Oneonta.  However, I couldn't get hold of her by phone so I made other plans with Wendy, since it was my birthday!

We started the day out with geocaching/  Unfortunately, we did not find any of the three we looked for.  It was a gorgeous day, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed walking the trails at the Kurt Meyer Park. I took this picture of the creek or river that runs through the park (from the foot bridge).   That was the first one we looked for (A WALK IN THE PARK 2), and then we looked for a nano in an old cemetery.

in an old cemetery, without success and then a final roadside cache that should have been easy, but wasn't.  

Wendy wanted to show me a particular dollar store in Norwich, so that was our next stop.  I purchased a few items before we went for lunch. Chinese Buffet!!!!!  It was pretty good, although not as good as I expected it to be.  

Lunch Out With Connie (Monday, June 2, 2014)

I called Connie and suggested that she and I meet up for lunch.  We finally decided to go to Humphrey's Gourmet Restaurant and pick up food and take it to Wilber Park.  We both had chicken salad and an item with spinach inside a pastry crust.  I also had macaroni and cheese.
Connie was not at all happy with the chicken, but I thought it was fine.  The other items were great.

Then we took a walk in the park.  On the way back to our cars, I spotted this bird.