Niagara Falls New York Adventure with Carol

Today is Carol's birthday.  When we lived close to each other, we often celebrated our June birthdays together by going out to lunch.  We did not do that last year and I think we missed the year before because I was busy packing and moving in June, BUT THIS YEAR we did it up big!!!!

We planned for her to come to Lockport for a visit in June so we could celebrate our birthdays together....it just happened to work out that that her trip to Lockport took place on her birthday.....June 29th.    She had not seen Niagara Falls in many years, so we planned a trip for today........and it helped that the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

We headed out early this morning for Niagara Falls, New York.  My TomTom did not seem to be cooperating so we headed out on 31 heading west until we saw signs for the falls and we followed the signs, which took us to Parking Lot 1, where we parked.

We decided to take the trolley around since it only cost $3.00.

Our first stop was at the lookout for the
Horseshoe Falls.  We spent quite a bit of time  there,  Carol was oohing and ahhing much of the time.

She had not been to the falls in a very long time

A group of twenty somethings were posing for and taking pictures like this one:

but then the NYS Police showed up 

Probably ruined their day.  

Then the trolley took us to the entrance to THREE SISTERS ISLAND.  

This is a very beautiful area, the islands are connected by pedestrian bridges.  

and the scenery is lovely!

Then we took the shuttle to a new attraction that just opened.  An old elevator that goes down to the gorge has been renovated and is now in use.  And after that we went to the casino for a buffet lunch!  My complete set of pictures can be seen here  https://www.flickr.com/photos/juneny/albums/72157669820358901

Amherst and Williamsville Adventure..Geocaching, hiking and more: June 28, 2016

Carol and I headed out this morning and located Beahr Swamp which I think is north of Williamsville.  ....I noticed one of those BEE boxes and found a "bee" geocache and we walked the boardwalk to the end and back.

Then we headed  towards Williamsville, found several geocaches, including one
at very small library, we had lunch at park where a geocache hidden....no luck

While looking for the entrance to ISLAND PARK, we saw this school

I thought it might be a museum so we parked and started to walk behind it and then I realized that it was probably a private residence, so we got out of there fast.

In downtown Williamsville we went to this antique place,

At Island Park, Carol found the geocache while I re-parked the car. and then we went to Glen Park.

we saw this "cairn" on the north side of the road: 

right in the middle of the creek!

Once back in Lockport we stopped at Johnsons Sports store, had ice cream

I prepared ham loaf and mac and cheese for supper and then we went to the library for adult coloring, which Carol seemed to really enjoy.

Akron Adventure: June 23, 2016

While we were on our two day roadtrip, Mary Ann suggested that she and I might go to Akron Falls Park soon.  I suggested today when I saw that the weather was supposed to be very nice.  We met up at her house around 9:00 a.m. and headed towards Akron. 

We found the park itself easily, but there were not any good signs to the falls or the trail to the falls.  We asked a woman who was walking along one of the roads and she steered us in the right direction.  We parked and crossed the bridge and walked the trail.  I would guess  that it is about a quarter of a mile to the falls (or maybe less).  The trail is easy and well maintained,

mostly flat except near the end.  We made our way to the look out area for the falls.

Unfortunately, we are in the middle of a drought and the amount of water going over the falls is minimal................almost just a trickle.

 On the way back down from the trail we started to talk with another hiker and he revealed that he is a geocacher.   His nickname is capt9 and he is from Batavia.  We chatted for a while before moving on. 

We went back to my car and had cold drinks.  We met this man

He was with a younger woman (maybe his daughter) and two little boys.  We had a nice long visit with him.  He served in the military for over 40 years, starting at age 17 when he went to Vietnam. He has a lot of interesting stories and he touched on a few of them. 

We decided to walk to the lower falls.  We found it easily

Beyond the lower falls there is another section of the park.  On the way back to the car, I decided to hide a geocache. 

Then we headed into the village of Akron, stopping at a small park to find a geocache. 

Mary Ann had my GPS and she walked right to it and found it right away.

We headed to Main Street and looked for a place for lunch.  We settled on

It is more than a bakery.  They offer soups and sandwiches and more, including frozen custard three days a week. 

Mary Ann and I each had a grilled chicken sandwich.  Mine was BBQ and I chose pasta fagoile for my side

We were happy with our meals.  We also went to a couple of other stores.  One was a really neat "market" and this has mainly collectibles. 

I found a small PYREX casserole dish for $2.50

On the way back to Lockport, we stopped at a barn sale and when we got back to Lockport we stopped at Johnsons for an ice cream cone.  It was a GREAT day!

BASIC KNOT TYING at the Library: June 21, 2015

Our library has a summer reading program for adults.  I love the Lockport Library and I love to try new things, so I invited Pam and Elaine to accompany me to BASIC KNOT TYING and they agreed.

It was a small group of about ten led by Jim Gates.  He showed us how to make a keychain.

I did not find this easy, in fact, I just could not do it, no matter how many times I was shown how!!  In the end, Jim finished mine for me.

Jim is a geocacher (knotman58) and I also met another geocacher (treegal).   I will be watching for their hides in the future.

TWO DAY ROADTRIP: June 16-17. 2016

My friend, Mary Ann, and I decided to take what I call an "extended road trip" to the Lake Chautauqua area.  We left early Thursday morning and I followed Mary Ann to Hamburg where she was going to leave her car because she had a meeting to go to on Friday evening.  Then we headed  west on 20.  Our plans were to continue for a while on 20, but somehow we ended up on 5 and in Dunkirk.  We saw signs for the Dunkirk Light House

so decided to stop and check it out.  We decided NOT to take an inside tour of the lighthouse, but we explored the grounds and I took pictures:

We had a picnic lunch there, which I had packed at home.  And then we continued on our way.  The first thing we did was find an Amish area east of the lake.  We went into a private home which advertised quilts.  The shop was closed, but a teenage Amish fellow let us in to check out what they offered.  I purchased a couple of key chains and a jar of jam.

  We continued down that road and stopped at RABER'S, which sells boots and shoes.  When I asked the young girl about jams and jellies she took me to the house.  I talked with two Amish women who were caring for their young children on the porch.  It turned out that they did not have any jams to sell.  We drove around a bit and then got on the route going south on the east side of the lake.  We found two geocaches before we got to Bemus Point.  Bemus Point looks like an interesting spot.  I drove down to see the vintage amusement park and stopped to take a picture of an interesting hotel.

I would like to return to Bemus Point at some time in the future. 

Then we crossed the lake and started looking for our lodging.  Unfortunately, we turned south instead of north when we got to the road we wanted and wasted about 40 minutes looking for our lodging.  We eventually found it and got ourselves checked in and we were VERY happy with our room, which had a deck facing the lake!    We settled in a bit and then headed to the other Amish area which is on the west side of the lake.  We stopped at a bulk food store

and saw this school and

then we had supper at this place:   The Dutch Village Restaurant in Clymer, NY.

I had the cabbage roll with mashed potatoes and it was very good.  After supper, we headed back to our motel.  We snacked on caramels and potato chips from the  bulk food store.  At one point, Mary Ann commented "we know how to snack in style".

The next morning, I heard Mary Ann eating potato chips around seven a.m. !!!!!    we had breakfast in our room, out of my cooler (yogurt and fruit, etc). we drove south and then west to go to PANAMA ROCKS.

  Before arriving there, we found three more geocaches!!!   Whew!!! This was an experience.  The oblong trail was not well marked and at one point, I thought we were off the trail and suggested to Mary Ann that we might need to use her cell phone to call the office. However, a minute or two later, we saw the buildings near the office. We complained a bit to the owner and he told us a few stories about other hikers.  Then we bought some postcards and then we had a picnic lunch before heading back to Route ___.  We stopped at a couple of gift shops.  One was particularly interesting.

Driving north, we saw Portage Pie in Westfield.

 They did not have a rhubarb pie, so I did not make any purchases.  Then we happened to see the Barcelona Lighthouse,

so we stopped and went into the Visitors Center.   After checking out Barcelona Harbor, we continued to drive east.  We stopped to check out a state park and then hit the road towards our final destination.  We stopped at UNCLE JOE'S DINER for supper...we both had the Taco Salad. 

 My album of pictures can be seen here:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/juneny/albums/72157669593173242

FOOD TRUCK RODEO and SALT and LIGHT FESTIVAL (June 11, 2016)

I missed the Salt and Light Festival last year so I really wanted to go this year.  Betty and I set it up to first go to the FOOD TRUCK RODEO at Olcott Beach and then go to the festival.

We spent some extra time at Olcott Beach, meandering around and playing Skee Ball.  One of these lanes is original to Olcott Beach.  The others came from other defunct amusement parks. You can see Betty on the left hand side.

 I got the high score of the day so far with 310 and my name was put up on the blackboard!!! 

There were several food trucks, this is one of them:

When we arrived at the Salt and Light Festival, we went directly to the tent that was selling  Chiavetta's Chicken Dinners.

  It was very good. 

Then we went over to the tent where they were calling out the winners to the huge basket auction.  We met up with  Peggy and Becky.  Becky won this, which made her very happy.

Just before the concert, I purchased a strawberry sundae, which was delicious.  The
Elvis Wade concert started at six p.m.

I didn't think it was as good as the one I went to with Becky last year at the Lockport Car Cruise.  I took several pictures and videos.  We stayed until about 7:30, just after Sandy Posey started her performance. 

SANBORN FARM MUSEUM and more on June 8th, 2016

Elaine and I decided a few days ago to go to the Sanborn Farm Museum today.  This morning was very chilly and windy, but we decided to continue with our plans since the museum consists of several buildings and we would be inside most of the time.  We agreed to go out to lunch first.  Our first thought was to go to HOOVER'S DAIRY RESTAURANT, but we decided to go to WAGNERS FARM MARKET on Lockport Road first to see what produce was available.  We each purchased some items and then decided to have lunch in the small diner run by Wagner's.  Elaine had the special which was some sort of macaroni and cheese with chicken in it and I had the beef on weck and a piece of blueberry pie.  We were both happy with our lunch, and also were pleased with the low prices. 

Then we headed back towards Sanborn and the museum BUT as we were driving north on Ward Road, we noticed that the antiques and collectible store where the general store used to be was open, so we stopped so we could check it out.

Actually, the one story attached building on the left was a hardware store and the larger two story building was a general/grocery store.  The two stores are really one now, you enter through the old hardware store and there is an opening to go to the other store.  Many vendors have spots here, with a HUGE variety of items. Elaine found a few items and I did, also. 

Harold was running the shop today, he is very friendly.

When we got to the SANBORN FARM MUSEUM, we were given a private tour by Paul.

there is a stuffed TWO HEADED CALF!!

but that is the only oddity.....the rest of the museum features antiques that represent farming and home living. 

the barn is chock full of old farming equipment and items. 

All in all it was a great afternoon.  Elaine is a lot of fun to be with!