Home Is Where The Heart Is

Our time in Oneonta drew to a close the same way it started, cold and grey. While we were packing up the trailer on Saturday, April 11 it was snowing ever so slightly. I really enjoyed our time in central NY but the fact is, the weather was terrible. When it was time to leave I was ready for the tropical like atmosphere of beautiful…Buffalo NY!

The original plan was to utilize the help of Chrysa’s parents to pack up and clean on Saturday and then leave on Sunday. Well, we ended up finishing everything so early that we hit the road on Saturday at about 3PM. It’s a good thing too. Chrysa’s mom had to work on Sunday.

We drugged the cat, waited a while, and then hit the dusty trail. We were off to spend some time at my Mothers’ house. We were looking forward seeing friends, eating familiar foods, and getting some good runs in.

The drive from Oneonta to Buffalo is not difficult. It’s pretty much a straight shot. Chrysa and I chatted on the CB’s all the way from Oneonta to Syracuse, and then it happened, THE SUN CAME OUT! It was like a bright wall of light that hit us full force. It was mesmerizing. After donning my sunglasses I got on the radio and said “see, I told you people come to western New York for the weather.”

We arrived at my mom’s house a little later than expected. The only thing we really had the energy for was doing a minor unload and watch some TV to decompress. We cracked open one of mom’s bottles of wine and ordered a pizza. We got the pie from a place I used to order from when I was growing up. The homecoming had begun.

The Buffalo Marathon is looming upon us and Chrysa and I needed to run. Especially after being cooped up in the cars. We also didn’t want to waste the Miami like weather that Buffalo is famous for. With all that in mind, we ended up doing a 7 mile run on the Ellicott Creek Bike Path on Sunday. It was glorious! We stepped right out the front door and ran to the path which connects, very conveniently, to my neighborhood. The path took us to the University of Buffalo where we turned around.

Chrysa and I had not run on a greenway system since we lived in Indiana. It was really nice to be on a path protected from cars. It’s weird, the things you miss. I never thought of it as a big deal, but having easy access to trails and greenspace, is very important to us.

After we got back to the house we set about washing the cars. Chrysa pointed out that we would be moving to a new town soon. We certainly didn’t want to have the grossest cars on the block. As usual, she was right. An entire winters worth of salt and crud was washed off our cars that afternoon. They looked like new when we were done. We could now drive through the Great Plains in style.

That Sunday we also met our friends KImi and Margaux out for wings and beer. We hit up the Duff’s in Orchard Park. The wings were great and the company was even better. We had such a nice time we even extended the evening by watching the season premiere of Game of Thrones at Margaux’s house.

We decided to keep things a little lighter on Monday. We did a shorter run in the morning and then decided we needed some provisions for the upcoming week. Now, native Western New Yorkers love their grocery stores. We like them BIG, with a huge selection of both standard fare, and boutique items. There was only one place we could go stock up for our week in WNY…Wegmans!

True to form the store is gigantic. Chrysa and I have lived all over the place and I challenge you to find a better grocery store than Wegmans. It had everything we needed in one place. We really got our exercise going up and down each aisle. We didn’t buy a lot. We were only in town for a week and we didn’t want to throw a bunch of stuff away so it was mostly window shopping. We did get what we needed including a nice spread for dinner that night.

After shopping we got to meet up with Dan for lunch in North Tonawanda. We wanted to go to a place that was right on the canal so we could sit outside and enjoy the famously warm Buffalo weather, but the place was under renovations. We settled on a cool deli right in downtown NT. Lunch with Dan was great. Our sandwiches hit the spot and the company couldn’t have better. Earlier in the day Chrysa and I had been invited to Karaoke on that upcoming Saturday. The topic came up while we were eating lunch so we passed the invite onto Dan, of course.

The upcoming marathon is an all-consuming specter in my life. I knew that I had to get my 18 mile run in this week if I was going to stay on my training schedule. As we all now know the weather is always nice in Western New York. All I really had to do was pick from any of the perfect days to get the run in. I chose Tuesday.

I looped my old neighborhood to add some miles onto the run and then connected to the greenway. I was pretty well prepared for this run. My training has largely stayed on schedule and I had plenty of food and water with me. The miles ticked away pretty easily. Normally I gut out a run and don’t take any walk or stretch breaks. This run was about getting in the miles so I made sure to take it a little easy on myself. I stretched and snacked a couple times and even took a moment for a couple selfies.

I did keep track of my pace and it ended up being a little more aggressive than I expected. At the end of 18 miles my legs were done. I had enough energy to scarf down some food, stretch, and shower. I recovered better that I could have hoped for. I even had enough energy, and leg strength, to take Chrysa on a tour of my alma mater.

I couldn’t believe how much Buff State has changed. I felt like a foreigner being there. I was especially taken aback by the changes to the student union. The ratty green chairs that I used to hang out in have been replaced by fresh and modern furniture. There is a new food court, and the bookstore is a whole new wing. At first I was aghast at the changes, however, I have had some time to think out it. The changes are all good. The students deserve a positive environment to learn in. I will wear my new Buff State Alumni t-shirt with pride.

Wednesday was Chrysa’s turn to do her long run. While she was out enjoying herself I took some time to plan our route to South Dakota. Chrysa got back to the house in a jubilant mood. She was able to put in some serious mileage. After she showered she said she had enough energy to see some of the sights.

When we visit WNY we usually stick to the suburbs. Chrysa had not really seen the city so this was her big chance. We drove downtown and I took her right to Niagara Square. Buffalo has some amazing architecture and some really beautiful buildings. We went picture happy and then took a stroll to Canal Side. Buffalo is reinventing its water front and they are doing a remarkable job. While downtown seeing the sights you can get a good dose of history and check out the naval park. It really was a nice way to pass the time.

Our friend Jay recommended checking out The Hamburg Brewing Company while we were in town. We didn’t have anything else on our plate for the day so we took the drive out to Hamburg. We were not disappointed. The main building sits on beautiful piece of land that reminded me of a golf course. The building itself is marvelous. It’s designed to be cabinesque with lots of wood and big fireplaces. The beer was delicious. Thanks for the great recommendation Jay.

Chrysa and I often use running as a way to explore an area. With that in mind we set out Thursday to explore Delaware Park and Forest Lawn cemetery.

Delaware Park is the main park for the City of Buffalo. There are sports fields, running tracks, water features and sweeping lawns. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and is a jewel of the city. From the park we ran into Forest Lawn Cemetery. I’m not really a cemetery guy (I find them depressing) but Chrysa thinks they are pretty. The cemetery does have a lot of history to it. President Millard Fillmore is buried there after all. Even I have to admit that Forest Lawn is nice.

A man cannot survive on physical fitness alone. Sometimes a guy has to eat hot dogs. It is traditional to meet Uncle Mark for slimers. This trip was no exception. We took a road trip to Louie’s and met Mark there. It was great to catch up with my uncle. We spend the better part of an hour trading stories and eating dogs. Afterwords we checked out the new paint job on his mustang. (yes…those are Lambo doors…Mark is the coolest)

WNY is the land of the Friday fish fry. My parents would always meet their couple friends for dinner on Friday. Chrysa and I were proud to carry on the tradition since we were in town. A new twist on the tradition is having Margaux join us as well. It was fantastic how Jim and Helen and Tom and Lynne welcomed us into the group. They really seemed to like our stories from the road.

After some hill repeats and a quick park workout on Saturday we met Sue and Nicole and Dan out for Karaoke. Now, I am a big fan of Karaoke, but I don’t get to do it as often as I used to. I think people could tell. My version of Tik Tok by Ke$ha was not exactly on point. Oh well, at least my Copacabana still rocks. I think Dan stole the show with his Backstreet Boys number (complete with choreographed dance routine). As you can tell, none of my friends embarrass very easily.

It was really great to see Sue and Nicole again. I was good friends with them in high school but only ran into them occasionally afterward. We had a great time, and I was really glad I could introduce them to Dan.

The rest of our Buffalo layover was mostly wind down. We packed the trailer and the rest of our goods on Sunday. We also picked up a new tarp and Chrysa did an amazing job tying our stuff down. We left on Monday morning for our 3 day road trip to Rapid City, SD. It was hard to leave Buffalo. No matter where we live, WNY will always be my home, and parting is always sweet sorrow.

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