A Nice Place to Visit

"I looooove Buffalo!" a colleague exclaimed when I told her we would be shuffling off to here soon after school ended.

I nodded. I knew she had family in Western New York. "Are you close to your cousins?" I asked.

She nodded vigorously. "My cousins are my heart," she said, but then she smiled mischievously. "I know it's shallow," she confided, "but I also like Buffalo because everyone there is so fat! Whenever I go to a party or something they're always like Who's that hottie?" she laughed.

I laughed, too, and shook my head. She's a little nuts, and she had been drinking, but I kind of knew what she meant. In the last fifteen years, I've come to know Buffalo as a town where people work hard and play hard and reward themselves for both with some of the best comfort food I've ever eaten-- fish fry on Friday, wings before dinner, Ted's hot dogs for a mid-afternoon snack, beef on weck for lunch, and Tim Horton's donuts for breakfast, and Anderson's frozen custard for dessert.

As outstanding and delicious as they are, 'healthy' is not an adjective that fits even a single one of them. It's not surprising that so many people in these parts are pretty well padded.

So, whenever we visit Heidi's folks, moderation is a must, and there's always a big bottle of Tums on the bedside table.

Kind of a Drag

"Can I see your dress or your shirt or whatever you're wearing to the party?" Annabelle asked me this morning.

"Sure," I said and produced the beaded dress I bought.

"Whoa!" Her eyes widened a bit. "Sparkly!" Then she cocked her head. "I've never seen you in a dress before."

"Well you will tonight," I told her. "You will tonight."

Portraits

We recently got a new camera for our trip to Alaska, and after the shock of the initial investment, it was kind of hard to stop. There were at least 2 lenses that I thought we should have as well. "Money pit!" Heidi sighed when I ran the new purchases by her. "Maybe you can put them on your birthday list."

This week in Buffalo, though, we will have the occasion to take several photos of people in Heidi's family. When her mom asked specifically that we bring the camera along, one of those lenses became a little more must-have, and so I ordered it to be delivered today.

When it arrived late this afternoon, I went out to the backyard and took lots of test shots of one of my favorite subjects, our dog Isabel. They didn't turn out half-bad, and when I showed my handiwork to Heidi, miraculously she thought the new lens was a fabulous purchase!

Note to self...

Sea Dog

I was talking to Heidi's brother about our upcoming cruise in Alaska. "Of course they have all sorts of shore excursions in every port, " I told him, "but to be honest I haven't had a chance to take a close look at what is offered yet. I plan to spend some time with that when I get home."

Then I shrugged. " I'm quite certain they'll have several sled dog programs, and you can imagine we'll probably attend one of those." I paused, and he shook his head, smiling.

"Or more? Knowing your sister? She'll have a sled dog in every port!"

Solstice

Nothing like spending time in the north at this time of year to take advantage of those loooooong days. Sunset tonight? 8:57 PM. Dinner's over, dishes are done, and here we are on the patio basking in that still golden light. Fade to violet, cue the fireflies and...

Summer!

Fishing

Heidi's dad and I made small talk last night as I helped him carry a few things in from the yard where he had been working. We had covered the road conditions on our drive, the weather at home, and my mother's well-being and everything was neatly stowed in the garage. As we headed in to wash up for dinner, he turned to me. "So how's the marriage!?"

I laughed heartily in surprise. "Great!" I answered when I could.

"Everything working out so far?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah!" I told him. "Heidi's a great catch!"

Keystone State

I was wondering what time we might arrive in Buffalo today when I punched the address into my phone. To my surprise, the map app offered a completely different route than our usual, with a thirty minute shorter driving time. My eyes popped a little as I curiously scanned through the many many steps. Directions such as turn left on Main Street, go .4 miles and turn left on Frontage Rd made me pause only briefly until I turned the phone over to my trusty navigator, Heidi, and headed north. What a trip it was! Two lane roads much of the way, a national forest, three mountain summits, several cool little towns, and the highest point on I-80 east of the Mississippi. We had our sun roof open and windows rolled down for the last half and only closed them up when the whine of the rumble strips on the thruway was just a little too high-pitched. With three stops to stretch, pee, walk the dog, and fill the tank, we made it up here in 7 hours and 10 minutes-- a classic summer road trip!