Checking In

*waves from East Hartford*

Things are going OK, I think they dig my style just like I'm beginning to dig their style. Very loose, yet responsible; corporate, but only in how they file and keep records not in how they interact with people. Oh yeah, and there's beer and wine in the fridge. :-) Friday's they always have a little get together in the conference room.

I Haz a happy, it's small and still is afraid to come out of it's shell, but it does take a peek every now and then.

Road Trip: Part 3 - Wine Country

On the way back from Buffalo, we headed to one of the wine trails in the Finger Lakes region, the Cayuga Lake Trail. Since we'd be driving by this way anyway, we both figured "what the hey."

So first off we started at the Montezuma Winery right at the top of Cayuga Lake. A very cute little nook of a place with very sweet wines and big tasting pours. They also had a cute gift shop and had a great staff that even gave us a big wine case so that we could safely store the wine we bought, plus some. They also had this nice honey derived vodka that was surprisingly smooth enough to even drink on the rocks. When those new paychecks start to come in, it's on like Donkey Kong.

Next, following a lovely scenic drive by the side of the Cayuga, was the Cobblestone Farm Winery. This place had a huge chunk of big sky above it and looked like a dream. They featured some great wines plus a bunch of jellies, jams and spice foods to enjoy and buy for presents. However, we were about a day too late for their annual cherry picking, but we were still able to frolic amongst the cherry trees and nibble on what we found.

Knapp Winery was next which was another vision set against the scenery of the lake. A very inviting place with a very large selection of wines, plus their own grappa, which was as deadly as was expected. A nice shot of lovely lighter fluid never hurt nobody. ;-)

Finally, we ended the wine trail with the Sheldrake Point Vineyard. It was getting near closing and we weren't the only ones capitalizing on that fact, so there was a bit of a tasting rush. One of the drier wines of the trip, so it was a nice change in flavors. Will have to go back and spend more time there and also check out their Simply Red Bistro. Since this was closed, we asked one of the workers where they would normally go to eat and they directed us to this hole in the wall place down the road called Mulligan's.

It was interesting, very down-home filled with regulars and soft country music. The food was a little over priced for what it was, but it was nice to support a local place. Plus they had a great view of the lake that hypnotized you as you ate. It whispered to you, "hey, you should get a boat and come and play with me! Or at least rent a home for the summer and enjoy me all to yourself!"

After this, it was back to our last hotel which was the Extended Stay of Syracuse. Clive started to catch a second wind by this time so it was off to absorb some local color and head to a dive bar, of course. So on Google Maps we found a great little hole in the wall called Gilligan's Pub. At first, it was a little frosty, but once we got in a couple games of pool with the locals and had some nice stiff drinks, all was well and we started really getting along with everyone. Clive even took over the jukebox, just like old times and a good night was had. Thanks so much Gilligan's Pub, you guys have a great place down there.

For all the lovely photos, take a venture over to my Flickr photoset for the whole trip and feel free to poke around my other sets as well. ;-)

Road Trip: Part 2 - Buffalo and Niagara Falls

Once arrived and better half in tow, we were off to our friend's place right near the Buffalo Airport for a mini meetup of our own and to get our bearings of the city. There were presents and offerings and all types of goodies to share, including some local pizza and wings. Apparently there is a whole subculture to Buffalo in the pizza department: not as thick as Chicago, not as thin as NY and it's referred to in sheet sizes. Oooo eeee ooooo...where am I? But despite this initial weirdness, the pizza was awesome! And it was from a Mom & Pop place, there will be no orders placed for any chain pizza places under my watch. I consider those pizza abortions and an insult to real pizza.

After this mini meet, we were off to our first hotel of the night, Adam's Mark of Buffalo. This appears to be a midwest chain, so I wasn't familiar with it at all, but it was a beautiful hotel with free wifi and a cute gift shop where I bought up a bunch of cute Buffalo themed items for the family. We also splurged on a nice pastry breakfast for two and had so much left over that we were able to wrap most of it up and keep it for munchies along the way.

Then it was off to the Niagara Falls, but first we wanted to make a day out of it and decided to go out early and check out the rest of Niagara Falls, NY. We found this great park in the middle of the city just before The Falls called Hyde Park where we had a little picnic and enjoyed the view. It was such a cute and quaint park and even featured a rose garden that seemed like a relic from the 50's with it's mod type architecture. After our time in the park, it was off to The Falls.

Dotted along the way were these cute highway signs with a little graphic of a water fall, just in case you forgot where to go. Once we approached, the whole scenery changed: Niagara Falls, NY is a lovely suburban town with nice houses and nice lawns, but then all of sudden it becomes a tourist spot and it happens quite suddenly. Not in a bad way, don't get me wrong, but it's just something you need to witness, it's kind of cool actually.

So once we get there, we head up to the Observatory which had it's own uniqueness, to say the least. Up at the top, we catch some glimpses of The Falls as well as Canada and Rainbow Bridge which would take you up to Canada. Then once we got our bearings, it was time for a nice walk around The Falls and Goat Island.

The first things you see as you approach are the massive runoffs from The Falls. The sound of the water and the speed at which the water travels as it runs by is amazing. Then once you reach the actual Niagara Falls, you are treated with more sights and more sounds. It's incredible. After we got our fill, it was time to meander back and as we did we found some holes in the nearby tree line that allowed you to dip your feet in the waters that would lead to the Falls. Now, yes this was very illegal, but we had found a great area that was fine up until around 5' off of the shore to stand in, so there was no way we were going to get rushed away. But still, don't do what we did (even though it was pretty awesome).

Finally, we made our way back, checked into our second hotel, the Buffalo Marriott, rested a bit and then it was off to the official meet up back at our friend's place near the airport.

Cayuga Wine Trail and more to follow...

Road Trip: Part 1 - The Rainy Drive Up

I set out early on Friday since I know I like to break up the length of my road trips with some stop overs at Service Areas and such, it's nice to take a break from driving every few hours and stretch your legs, use a nice bathroom and maybe grab a cute stuffed animal from the gift shop or a nice cup of coffee. So since Google told me it would be about 7 hours of a drive, I figure if I'm aiming to arrive at the BUF airport at 5PM leaving at 8 or 9AM should give me plenty of time.

So, I pack up, get the car gassed up and me properly caffeinated and get the hell outta dodge. Traffic was the least of my problems, however the weather up 91 and consequently the Mass Pike was atrocious. It was raining buckets so it made watching the roads and navigating a bit difficult. However, despite this, I was still able to take a few calls from Clive checking up on me and letting me know when he was boarding his plane and taking off, so that was nice.

One question though, why do the Mass Pike signs all feature a little pilgrim's hat? It's adorable and normally I don't scoff at anything cute, but really...a pilgrim's hat? You're a massive highway system and it's represented by a cute little pilgrim's hat? *sigh*New England, c'mon...

Another great thing was that once you got on the I-90 you got a nice seat to the beauty of New York state. It was so awesome to see all these vast farms and tractors, all in New York. It felt like I had been transplanted to Iowa or something, I didn't expect New York State to be so rural. But despite this ruralness, there were a bunch of great Service Areas along the way. All featuring great bathrooms and restaurants and each having a slightly unique spin of their own. Some featured history lessons in the form of big signs, some even had little separate houses where you could get a bunch of maps and learn a little about where you were.

By this time the sun had finally burned through the clouds and I could really set about enjoying the ride and try to keep the butterflies in my stomach at bay as I pick up Clive from the airport. All those same emotions coming up again: will we get along OK, will those sparks still be there, how will this month of living together really work out, will the cops get called...things like that. Hehehehe...