Rochester/Buffalo, NY

Mark and I were off again, this time to Buffalo and Rochester, NY. Mark was giving a talk to the University of Buffalo, and we scheduled in a few extra days to visit our friends Mike and Allison. Mark worked with both Mike and Allison years ago, and I've had the pleasure of getting to know them as well. We started straight from the airport to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, the origin of buffalo wings, a favorite of mine. Here we are with our huge plates of wings! I wasn't brave enough to order the suicide wings, but did get the suicide sauce, tried it and lived to tell about it. Mark was brave enough to try the hot wings, and didn't think they were too hot. I'll have him eating fresh jalapenos before too much longer!

The next day we went to the Homearama, similar to the Street of Dreams that they have in Atlanta. It is a cul de sac of McMansions, decorated to the extreme, supposedly to give you ideas for your own homes. Lots of pretty things, but the one thing that got to me was this stenciled phrase in one of the largest homes....While I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment.... Who are they kidding??!! The whole idea of the show was for you to buy more things!

Conveniently placed in front of one of the homes was Ronald McDonald, and of course, we just couldn't resist... Mark ordered in lobsters from Bar Harbor, Maine for dinner that night. We did that last year and it was such a blast! Doesn't Dr. Mark look like such a happy camper, lobsters in hand?

Trying to figure out if we're eating boy lobsters or girl lobsters....can you tell they are all scientists??!

Allison has an entire collection of lobster themed tabletop items she brought out for the occasion. It is so festive! Here's some pretty fuschia blossoms from a plant on her deck...gorgeous! This colt was born just a day or two before we got there on a farm close to their house...we kept driving by to look at it, it was soooo cute!

The next day we had a leisurely lunch Aladdin's, a restaurant on the Erie Canal. We were able to eat on the porch, but I needed my sweater.

Here's a view of the Canal from the walkway outside the restaurant. Then we headed into the Finger Lakes region of NY to do some wine tasting. Such a scenic drive!Rooster Hill winery....I really liked their rooster statue! Enjoying the wine and scenery!
That evening we took Mark back to Buffalo to begin his two day visit with the med school. He actually bought a shirt and tie, although I wasn't quick enough to get his picture in it! I went back to Rochester with Allison and Mike, and the next day Allison and I had a fun day of shopping for countertops, tile, and other things for home decorating. The idea of building a house is getting more overwhelming everyday!

Allison brought me back to Buffalo in the evening, and the next day I was on my own...always dangerous! I decided to tour a Frank Lloyd Wright house, but the only one open for touring that day was a ways from the hotel, but no problem, they were happy to order up a limo for me. It ended up not being a cheap ride! (And that's all I'll have to say about that...)

This is Graycliffs, a house built as a lake home for the Darwin Martin family (unfortunately, I don't think we are related!). They also had a FLW home in the city of Buffalo. This house is still undergoing renovation. The exterior is completed, but the interior and landscaping is still being worked on, and I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside. Here's a view from the front, coming in on the drive...the house on the right is the guest house, the main house is in the shadows of the trees.

The left side of the main house A view of the water feature from the front door looking out onto the pond.

The downstairs is almost entirely glass, with windows and doors staggered along both sides.

The back of the house from the edge of the cliffs.

A view of Lake Erie from the back yard of the house.

And a picture of the stair tower that went from the top of the cliffs down to the beach. There were 87 stairs from the house to the beach below!
Mark and I met back up at the airport for the flight home. It was thankfully uneventful until we were told that we would be delayed because Air Force One was taking off from STL, and we had to wait until it was out of our airspace. We got bumped by the President throwing out the first pitch for the All Stars game. It was nice to finally get back home!