LONG, LONG, LONG Saturday in Buffalo and Amherst

Marlene and I decided to go on an OPEN AIR BUS TOUR today of PICTURESQUE BUFFALO, but a few minutes before she left her house to drive to Lockport to pick me up she received a phone call from the bus company saying that the tour was cancelled due to lack of interest.   Sooooooooooo, she called me and we decided to make another plan for the day.  Marlene found a walking tour of the Elmwood and Delaware area and printed it out.

When we arrived in the area where the walking tour starts we were surprised to see how terribly crowded the area was.  Parking was at a premium.  We saw a lot with some spots and a fellow gave us permission to park there for free.  We did not understand why, so we talked with him.  I think he was hired to make sure that patrons of the festival did NOT park in this lot.  Anyways, we parked here and returned a few hours later and Marlene's car was not towed away.

We started following the walking tour and it took us through several blocks of the festival.

 There were a LOT of interesting things to see but Marlene and I were on a mission so we didn't spend much time checking festival things out.

The walk was interesting and it was over three miles long.  One of the first things we saw was this building on Cleveland Street.

Chemical No. 5 Firehouse was originally built to house horse drawn fire equipment and is now a private residence.  

Much of the walking tour was down streets of absolutely beautiful homes with great landscaping.  This statue that we saw was not on the tour,  the name of it is BIRDS EXCITED INTO FLIGHT.

Marlene was able to point out a few things, places she has been during her job as school bus driver, such as Larkin Field.  

At Canisius High School there is this plaque which speaks for itself.

There are a couple of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings along the walking tour, but we were unable to identify them, all the large trees contributed .

This private home and garden on West Delevan was highlighted: 

I love this statue of Abraham Lincoln.

Marlene   suggested walking around Hoyt Lake 

but I was starting to fade a bit, so I suggested we do it another time.  

One of the highlights of our walk was walking by the Old Psych Center.  There is an interpretive walk on the grounds, with signs, but that too, will have to wait until another day.

We continued on, following the directions, and ended up back in the area where we started.  We stopped in TALKING LEAVES BOOK STORE

where I found a Christmas gift for Tyler!!!!

Before  going to the car I stopped to take a picture of this great mural

Then we headed back to Lockport and met up with Peg and David at their new house.  We all went to the AMHERST BUFFET for Peg's birthday dinner, meeting up with Pam and Amber.  It was a great day.