Out and About…Here and There

so i had to go home again (where i grew up) to take care of Mom. She still needs help with Laundry and grocery shopping, still cant drive yet, or bend. even though im not all that far away, its amazing how 1 night away can  gum up the works. Of course sleeping on a sofa doesnt help. but..i do what a can.so my reward was meeting my Brother in Law  to shoot for a little bit. We met up on the west side of Buffalo, in a neighborhood called Elmwood Village.  and of course had to go to a unique coffee house called SPoT. we walked and walked, and then i headed for my Home, to care for my own family, the felines were angry. what else is new?!!and later in the week , after i caught up on my sleep ,in the comfort of my own bed  captured a few subjects:) so here we go……….

the street corner box

lol, this guy saw the 2 of us with our big cameras, and he started yelling to me, take my picture, i want to be in Gusto. (a local Mag. )

all the vagrants Knew who my Brother in Law was, they immediately came up to Him and asked for money, he knew all of them by their first name

it was an awesome day ..Hit 80 degrees by the time i made it back to my house

take time to smell the flowers…. and in November, thats something:)

sweet

and… does anyone remember their grandparents calling the dresser “the Bureau…pronounced BURAU.. an upscale clothing store on the strip

i thought this was the koolest bike rack ever

this guy just goes from coffee place to coffee place, when hes up to it

another light box..all dressed up

on His way to the Hospital to visit, Children Hospital is just down the block

the architecture in this part f town is so unique. I’m glad they are restoring alot of these places

well this was in front of a hair salon

thats Mom, shes got the walker and i had the cart… shed point id grab… and in between take photos ..what else:)

so im back home, enjoying the remainder of good weather , at the big farmers market down town, and ohh these smelled so good i caved in and had one..Dukes Doughnuts. and got the story of whos who… they do an awesome business …ps.. this is not Duke:)

i enjoyed my cuppa so much with my Brother in Law, that i asked my Hubby to take me to ours ,downtown, use to be the old Chrysler Building…. well any way. the coffee was not nearly as good:( and neither was the scene…so off we went

some of the local talent here in Rochester NY this is Matthew Corey and Hosea. they are really popular Here, so i sat and chatted with them awhile, since the weather changed.. normal temps for Nov. 50ish

and we went out for breakfast, something we haven’t done in forever… mostly because my breakfast tastes better

i hope you enjoyed the little tour, have a wonderful rest of the week end, and a super week

Daytrippin’ at Sonnenberg Mansion

It’s funny how you take things in your own Backyard for granted….. I’ve never once thought about visiting this place, but the thought of moving to another state has really made me look around.And this past Saturday we took a ride.. just down the road from us, really..30 min. away. to..Sonnenberg Mansion and Gardens. it sits high on a hill overlooking one of out finger lakes.

there was a craft show going on , with food and music, so i thought i could get my Hubby to go.ill going to start with the out side of the mansion.

here’s the story of some might rich folks

the green house

this is what we saw as we entered the some 200 acre estate

stone and gardens at every turn

you just knew there had to be an Italian rose garden

setting up for a wedding reception

well, He doesn’t like to be on my photos but he was always in my way…

still being restored, so it was locked up

we circled around a few times, with our even knowing it, there was so many paths to take

the Carriage House,i tried so hard to get his image in the puddles

I gave up counting how many fountains there were

somewhere in their own forest?

ill leave with this one, inside the mansion, you can see from one of the upstairs verandas,that blue against the sky..is the lake. must have been something to see back then, because it was a sight to look at while i was there. thanks for stopping by. ill be back with the inside of the mansion a bit later. as soon as I figure out why I’m having so much trouble getting on here …all of a sudden:(

the Dog Days of Summer……..Whaaaat?:(

I’m not sure where the summer went this year, but here it is the middle of August, and schools are opening already.its true I’m retired, but i still go by the school calendar, and i still get up at the crackA$$ of dawn., so while a take a break from my vacation to Florida, i went to spend the week-end with my good pal and her Hubby in Buffalo ,NY.. They always try to show me a good time and this past week-end was no different.

I’m always amazed at the construction going on in my Home Town, Lord knows Buffalonians have waited a long to see prosperity, and its finally happening. their down town has been revitalized into a destination place that is beyond any ones wildest dreams.

it was an amazing day, the clouds were perfect the water was calm

!st stop baby Shower, this was an interesting game..
a person had to guess what chocolate bar was smooched into the diaper, I didn’t want to gross anyone out, so you’ll have to use your imagination!!!:) but let me tell you, it looked as real as real can be..with out the odor

My friends’ Husband took us to a tiki Bar, ..which in all honesty is something very rare in Buffalo. we had a great time, ,live music, some bar food I was set:)!!

these guys played some awesome blues, and they were pretty old, they played from 6pm (must be when happy hour starts) and they ended at 9pm.

some interesting characters around this place. i only had my Iphone with me,

Next nite… RiverWorks, in DownTown Buffalo, sitting right on the river, now here is a bit of history for you, this use to be a grain silo. and when i was growing up… the water was so polluted , well lets just say you didn’t do much by this body of water.

what it all looked like once upon a time…

this particular restaurant, is 3 floors, with outside balconies, as we sat out there with our cocktails , waiting for a table, i caught some of the sunset. to the far right you can see there are still some working mills in the area. , and they still get Hugh cargo ships coming in. i hope to catch one b4 summers end

and then it was time to say good nite …
im so proud to say my home town is Buffalo ,NY. and I go home every chance I get!!! if you’re stopping by, i hope this gives you food for thought and if you’re traveling around WNY, you make it a point to stop for a meal, or a day, . and thanks for stopping by . have an awesome rest of the week

In My Little Town

sitting on the dock of the canal, just watching the world go by, a perfect summers day, me with my cuppa, and My Hubby with His Ice Cream. Boaters love to talk about their Journey and their vessel. We also have a few boats for sight-seeing. and that will be on another day. for now just more waking around and sitting my the 2 villages near me.

In My Little Town

Colonial Belle, our largest touring vessel. it will take you on a memorable on the Erie canal, and through a lock

the long boats are the renters on the canal… expensive summer vacation. they come from the east, usually

waiting patiently to board the boat, for the dinner cruise

I love to watch Fathers taking their sons fishing. this little guy was making some memorable faces. He never caught anything while we were there

we went inside the “Coal Tower Restaurant” for a bite to eat. yep, this once was a real building that housed coal, it was coveted many many years ago. we stop in every once in a while.

finally… the vessel is loaded and they are heading Down Town for festivities. they will have to go through a lock, and on the Genesee River to reach their destination. it will take 2 to 3 hours. time will pass quickly.. food and drink:) are part of the package deal. Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your Day.

the Erie Canal at my back door..Part1

just a little History, before I begin my photo journey .  although I am use to living just steps away from a great lake, I cant complain at all , having the canal so close, its wonderful, we meet so many people in the summer months, who love to talk about their travels along the canal, where they been with the  with the boats (of all sizes). We live just minuets  from 2 towns on the Canal, we spend a great deal of  time between the 2.

The Erie Canal is a canal in New York that originally ran about 363 miles (584 km) from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie. Built to create a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, the canal helped New York eclipse Philadelphia as the largest city and port^[1][2] on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The canal is now part of the New York State Canal System.

First proposed in 1807, its construction began in 1817. The canal contains 36 locks and a total elevation differential of about 565 feet (172 m). It opened on October 26, 1825.^[2]

on the Erie Canal, in Fairport,New York, on a friday Nite

a summer time vacation

family activities

well thats about it for now, next time we”ll take a walk to see what the canal was used for back in the day, and what they have changed into for modern times. thanks for stopping by. have a pleasant week

the land time forgot

MY Husband will go Photoging with me as long as He has something to do, (so my Friend Chris blogged about this camp last year.) and I knew I’d get Him to go.. so off we went. took us a while to find it. I cant wait to go back, and we did find some other activity going on there. a few hikers, a few campers.. and a few fishermen:)…..HISTORY AT BOTTOM

have to use the rest room… well this is it…… and its pretty much at the edge of a cliff

of course its been years since these camps were used, but we found them under all the brush

this is what was right behind the restrooms

wondering what building that is….. the bathrooms, shower stall and toilets, and old sinks. better stay on the path… all kinds of poison weeds. and a…snakes too.. yep i saw a few

ready to go Camping………

Olympic size pool

a lean-to

 

Relatively unknown, Beechwood State Park is easily one of the most unique park experiences New York has to offer. A former Girl Scouts of America summer camp, the property has been left as it was abandoned in 1996. After 15 years the buildings are in a state of decay, with many overgrown by weeds. The Olympic-size pool is almost completely destroyed, and the large wooden dock on the lake has been demolished into piled up scrap along the shore. Campgrounds vary from fallen shelters covered in vines, to intact and clean lean-tos, almost ready for use. Throughout this designated nature park, the old campground’s lodges and miscellaneous structures are there to be discovered by the casual hiker. At least for now. Whether or not the state will demolish them in the future is unknown.

well thanks for stopping by, i hope you enjoyed your visit… ill be back with more  from this place. we had a great time investigating 🙂

Finally…the lilacs are here…Part 2