Article about indoor waterparks in today's Buffalo News travel section

Here is a link to my article about indoor waterparks in today's Buffalo News travel section:
http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/one-tank-trips/indoor-waterparks-are-the-perfect-way-to-warm-up-on-a-cold-winter-day-20141221

Article about Lewiston in today's Buffalo News travel section

Here is a link to my article about Lewiston in today's Buffalo News travel section
http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/one-tank-trips/lewiston-the-perfect-daytrip-destination-even-if-youre-15-minutes-away-20141207

Even though I was in Lewiston yesterday (see Dec. 6 blog post) I actually wrote it and submitted it a few weeks ago. I can write fast, but not that fast!

Lewiston Tour of Homes

My daughter and I went to the Lewiston Tour of Homes today. The homes were beautifully decorated and we got a few decorating ideas that we might try. We also did some shopping in the stores along Center Street and even bought some chowder  that was for sale at the fire hall. We had lunch at our favorite restaurant, the Brickyard. The Tour of Homes and Christmas Walk also takes place tomorrow. See www.lewistonhometour.com for more info.

St. Greg's Craft Show and lunch at Wok and Roll

The only place I go shopping on "Black Friday" is the craft show at St. Gregory the Great church in Williamsville (next to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital). It's been a yearly tradition with my daughter and me to go to the craft show so that she could pick out Christmas gifts for her brothers, her father, and me.

Afterward we went to lunch at Wok and Roll which is located in the Williamsville Place Plaza, 5467 Sheridan Drive. We had never been there before and I was expecting it to be the usual Chinese take-out type place that just has a few tables stuck in as an afterthought. I was wrong! It has a really cute, nicely decorated dining room. The food was good, the service fast, and the prices reasonable. I had the sesame chicken lunch, while my daughter had the general tso's chicken lunch. www.thewokandroll.com

Author event next Saturday Nov. 29

Join me and over 70 other local authors at the Buffalo History Museum next Saturday November 29th. Books make a great holiday present!

Travel article about Grove City, PA in today's Buffalo News

My article about shopping in Grove City, PA is in today's Buffalo News travel section. I will include the link in a future blog post once the Buffalo News posts the article online.

Greek food for dinner

My daughter and I have been wanting to try dining at Zoe, a Greek restaurant on Transit Road in East Amherst that we drive past often. We figured the food must be good since it always seems to be busy. Since hubby and youngest son were camping with the Scouts, we thought it was a good opportunity to enjoy a girls night out.

Our first clue that the portions would be enormous was when everyone leaving the restaurant was carrying a take-out box.  I literally mean EVERYONE! The service was quick and when our waitress brought our food, chicken souvlaki dinners,  all we could say was "Wow!" My daughter commented, "I don't know where to begin, there's so much food." We could have easily ordered one and split it, heck, we could have ordered one dinner and feed our family of six!

The food was very good and we had a lot left over. We will definitely have to go again.

Zoe Restaurant, 5711 Transit Road, East Amherst 639-4550, www.thezoerestaurant.com

mini golf, donuts, and pumpkins

Today my husband and I, along with our two youngest kids did several fun activities. I had won a certificate for mini golf at Adventure Landing on Sheridan Drive (www.adventurelanding.com) at a fundraiser I attended a couple months ago. They are actually open year-round for mini-golf (provided the course isn't covered with snow). We decided since it was fairly nice today (a bit cold, but not too bad) that we would use it before the snow flies! We had fun, although as usual, I came in last place.

While we were there my husband noticed that Paula's Donuts (www.paulasdonuts.com ) was just down the street, so naturally we had to go to get some coffee and hot chocolate to warm up after playing mini golf. Of course, we had to get some donuts with our beverages.

Our last stop was to get our Halloween pumpkins at Niagara County Produce (www.niagaraproduce.com) on Transit Road at Millersport Hwy. They had quite a few pumpkins left, although they were either huge or tiny.

Article about LeRoy barn quilts

My article about the barn quilts of Leroy, NY is in the travel section of today's Buffalo News;

http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/one-tank-trips/quilts-commemorate-200-years-for-leroy-20141023

Lunch at the library

My daughter's morning class wasn't meeting today and we needed to go to the downtown library to get some books she needed for a research paper. We finished our book gathering and research about noon, so we decided to have lunch at Fables Café, which is located in the library. I had a roast beef sandwich (not a beef on weck, but still good) which came with a salad. My daughter had their soup duet special, two bowls of soup, she chose buffalo chicken wing soups and Italian wedding, which also came with a salad. Yummy!

Day trip to Batavia

My daughter had a day off from school today, so we decided to take a little day trip to Batavia. Our main destination was Roxy's Music store (www.roxys.com ) 228 West Main Street). I have inherited a couple of accordions and I wanted someone to look at them to see if they were in good condition, since my daughter and youngest son want to learn to play them. Roxy's is a very nice music store specializing in accordions, as well as drums, guitars, pianos and more. They also seemed to have a large selection of sheet music.

 

We had lunch at Alex's Place, which is known for their ribs. The ribs were very good and served with extra BBQ sauce and a side of coleslaw and fries. The other items on the menu looked good too. (Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, www.alexsribs.com )

Of course no trip to Batavia would be complete without a stop at Oliver's Candies. I got some items for Sweetest Day for my family (It's this coming Saturday). They also had a large selection of candies for Halloween, as well as sponge candy, boxed chocolates, gift baskets and more. They even have an ice cream parlor. (Oliver's Candies, 211 West Main, Batavia, www.oliverscandies.com )

Article about Ridgeway Ontario in today's Buffalo News travel section

Here is a link to my article about Ridgeway Ontario in today's Buffalo News travel section.

http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/one-tank-trips/ridgeway-is-a-smaller-less-crowded-version-of-niagara-on-the-lake-20141012

Article about Ellicottville and Olean in October WNY Family Magazine

Here's a link to my article in the October issue of Western New York Family Magazine about Olean and Ellicottville, great places to take a fall day trip to.

http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=226725&p=22&utm_source=Digital+Edition+-+October+2014&utm_campaign=Digital+Edition+-+10%2F14&utm_medium=email 

Barn Quilts of LeRoy tour today

 

Today my daughter and I took a trip to Leroy in Genesee County to see the barn quilts for an article I am putting together for the Buffalo News travel section. There are almost 100 barn quilts (made out of wood) displayed in and around LeRoy. We saw quite a few, but weren't able to get to them all. My article will probably be published sometime in October.

Coincidentally, there was an article by another writer in today's Democrat & Chronicle (Rochester) about the quilt trail, so there were a number of other people also driving around looking at the quilts. Here is a link to that article:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/lifestyle/2014/09/07/barn-quilts-celebrate-leroys-community-pride/15233003/

To find out more about the barn quilts see www.leroybarnquilt.org

Fun at the chicken wing festival

We had a fun time today eating wings and watching the national chicken wing eating competition at the National Buffalo Wing Festival.

Read about the Salt Sanctuary and Maple Weekend in current issue of Longweekends Magazine

Check out my latest articles in the Fall/Winter issue of Longweekends Magazine

The Salt Sanctuary in Binghamton, NY the perfect spot for a girl's getaway:
http://www.long-weekends.com/Main/Articles/Salt_of_the_Earth_2027.aspx

Maple Weekend, which takes place in March:
http://www.long-weekends.com/Main/Articles/The_Sweet_Life_2007.aspx

Day trip to Olean and Ellicottville

 

We decided to take an end of summer day trip and to do some research for an upcoming article. We headed down to Rock City Park in Olean, which was a lot of fun. We had lunch at Sprague's Maple Farm in Portville, stopped by the Cutco Visitor's Center, then headed to Ellicottville to Holiday Valley to go on the Mountain Coaster. Dinner was at the Ellicottville Brewing Company. A fun but tiring day!

Anniversary getaway trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake

 

 

My husband and I celebrated our anniversary this past weekend by taking a trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake Ontario. We crossed over the Peace Bridge, then took a side trip to the small town of Ridgeway (part of Fort Erie) which has quite a few shops and restaurants. We then visited a few wineries. We stayed at the Prince of Wales hotel (a very nice property) and enjoyed dinner in their dining room. The next day we browsed the shops, enjoyed the annual peach festival, and saw a play at the Shaw Festival. We had dinner in Niagara Falls on the way home.

Fun day at the Erie County Fair

 

My husband, youngest son, daughter, and I spent the afternoon and evening at the Erie County Fair. It was a bit cool today, but that's ok, better than too hot. The kids enjoyed going on rides, we had a blooming onion, walked around and saw a lot of exhibits, watched the pig races, saw the tiger show, and enjoyed Chiavetta's chicken for dinner. The fair runs until Sunday. www.ecfair.org

Girls Getaway to Pennsylvania

Although this blog focuses mainly on western New York I'd like to tell you about a fun trip my daughter and I took last week when my husband and youngest son were at scout camp. We took a drive down to the outlet mall in Grove City, Pennsylvania, about a three hour trip from Buffalo. There are a lot of nice shops in this mall and there's no sales tax on shoes and clothing in Pennsylvania!

We also made a side trip to Sharon, Pennsylvania to Reyers, the world's largest shoe store. I found the perfect shoes and purse to wear to a wedding I went to this past weekend. We also stopped at Millcreeek Mall in Erie, which also has some nice shops that we don't have in Buffalo, including Charming Charlie's, which has jewelry and accessories.

We also enjoyed some restaurants not found in Buffalo, including Chick fil A, Kings, and Eat 'n Park.

Preview night at Cabela's

 

My husband and I had gotten an invitation through the Boy Scouts to go to preview night at Cabela's this evening, a new hunting, fishing camping store that is opening in Cheektowaga on Walden Avenue across from the Galleria Mall. What a huge store! If you hunt, fish, or go camping you have to check it out. I don't do any of the above, my idea of roughing it is staying at the Best Western, however, my husband and youngest son do camp with the Boy Scouts, so I can appreciate the number of items available and the prices seemed reasonable. I never saw so many fishing poles in one place in my life!

The store opens to the public this Thursday August 7th. Rumor has it that it will be a mob scene!

Article about Pittsford and Fairport

Here is the link to my article about Fairport and Pittsford in the Buffalo News travel section today.

http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/one-tank-trips/to-truly-enjoy-a-trip-to-the-rochester-area-it-takes-two-villages-20140727

Tried a different Thai restaurant today

My daughter and I decided to try a different Thai restaurant tonight using a coupon from the Entertainment book. We went to the Thai House Depew. We were worried at first as it didn't look like much from the outside, but once we got inside it was nicely decorated and the food was very good. I had my usual Pad Thai, Jennifer tried the sesame chicken. Of course we had the Thai iced tea, our favorite. We even have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Thai House Depew
5246 Transit Road
Depew
716-601-7865
www.thaihousedepew.com

Day trip to Fairport and Pittsford

Thursday I headed to Pittsford and Fairport with my daughter and youngest son to do some research for an upcoming article. We had a nice time browsing all the shops and the weather was perfect. We had lunch at the Towpath Café in Fairport and sat on the covered patio where we could watch the lift bridge over the canal in operation.

 

Pittsford

Fairport

Getaway weekend to Erie, PA

Last weekend we went on a getaway weekend to Erie, PA, mainly because I had gotten passes to Splash Lagoon and had to use them by the end of June. The kids had a great time there. In addition to Splash Lagoon, we went to Waldameer Amusement Park, explored the Erie waterfront and went to the Erie Maritime Museum. It was a nice trip from the Buffalo area, as it only takes about 90 minutes to get there.

Article about visiting Canandaigua

Thinking about taking a day trip to Canandaigua? Read my article in today's Buffalo News travel section.
http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/one-tank-trips/one-tank-trip-canandaigua-20140629

Exploring Williamsville

My daughter and I visited Williamsville today to do some research for an article I'm putting together for Forever Young Magazine. There is a lot to see and do....you'll have to wait to read the article in a few months. One of the places we checked out was Monarch, which carries jewelry and accessories. Almost all the jewelry was $10!!! And it was nice!

strawberry picking

Went strawberry picking this morning with my daughter  at Greg's U-pick on Lapp Road in Clarence. (www.gregsupick.com)  Made strawberry shortcake this evening and plan to make some freezer jam tomorrow. Yummy!

Day trip to Canandaigua

Went on a day trip to one of my favorite places, Canandaigua, to do research for an article. Enjoyed shopping along Main Street, strolling along the city pier, and lunch at the Muar House.

Great place to get a gift

I took my car to Bubble Boy carwash on Transit Road in East Amherst today. As I pulled in I noticed New York International Style accessories boutique. Actually, you can't help but notice it as it's located in a bright pink house! I had been there a few years ago when they first opened and remembered that they had some nice things. Since I needed to get birthday gift for one of my friends, I decided to stop in after the car wash.

Boy, what a nice selection of jewelry and other items. I had a hard time picking out something, as there was so much to choose from! I did eventually find something I thought she'd like.

If you are looking for special occasion, bridal or prom jewelry and accessories this is the place to come.

New York International Style, 6705 Transit Road, East Amherst, NY, 716-639-7574, www.nyinternationalstyle.com

Art exhibit in North Tonawanda

My daughter and I headed to Webster Street in North Tonawanda Saturday morning. We were originally going to visit the Partner's in Art gallery, as she had to visit one more art gallery for her design course. However, we found out that gallery had closed. Fortunately, the River Art Gallery is also located on Webster Street (in the tall pink building), so we went there instead.

They have a very nice gift shop in the front featuring items made by local artisans. In the back is a art gallery. The current exhibit, titled York by York West: Landscapes from Yorkshire (England) to Western New York features artwork by Joseph Mortellaro. The works at first glance look like impressionist paintings made with daubs of paint, however, they are actually created digitally using an inkjet printer. We had never seen anything like this before, they were actually very cool looking.

The lady at the gallery invited us to come back that evening, as they were going to have the opening reception for the artist. We took her up on the offer and returned later. It was a nice reception and they served a wonderful array of cheese and nuts!

The exhibit runs through June 6th. River Art Gallery and Gifts, 83 Webster Street, N. Tonawanda 716-260-1497. www.riverartgalleryandgifts.com The gallery is open Wed.-Fri. 11-4, Saturday 11-5

Lockport Locks & Erie Canal Cruises

Here's a link to my article about the Lockport Locks & Erie Canal Cruises in the current issue of Longweekends magazine

 http://www.long-weekends.com/Main/Articles/Cruising_Along_the_Canal_1990.aspx

Ontario Beach Park

Read my article about Ontario Beach Park in Rochester in the current issue of Longweekends Magazine:

http://www.long-weekends.com/Main/Articles/Summer_Sands_1981.aspx

Plan a getaway to Niagara-on-the-Lake this summer

Plan a getaway this summer to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Read my article in Forever Young Magazine
http://www.foreveryoungwny.com/Forever-Young/February-2014/Niagara-on-the-Lake-The-Perfect-Romantic-Getaway/

Day trip to Lewiston

My daughter had to visit an art museum to do a project for one of her art courses and since she is on spring break this week, we decided to go today. We headed up to the Castellani Art Museum on the campus of Niagara University. It's a nice museum and admission is always free.

After doing her research we decided to head into the village of Lewiston for shopping and lunch. We normally visit Lewiston during the summer, so we were surprised to see that a number of the stores weren't open today, just on the weekends during the winter. We did find a few places to shop and had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, the Brickyard. Love the ribs there! Yum!

It was a great day to take a walk outdoors, too bad tomorrow is supposed to be cold and snowy.

Looking for something to do next week when the kids are off?

If you are looking for somewhere to go for a daytrip next week when the kids are off from school, why not check out Destiny USA in Syracuse. This shopping mall has much more to offer than just shopping. It's about a three hour drive from the Buffalo area

Here are some comments about the mall from their community outreach department:

Have you ever wanted to play in the Augusta National, or head out to the West Coast for a round of golf at Pebble Beach?  With the state of the art indoor Golf Simulators gaining popularity, that can be an option any day of the week—anytime of year!

Most indoor golf simulator locations offer a full bar and food service on site! Enjoy your time with friends or the family! 

Hikers, rock climbers, and outdoor lovers in general can take advantage of indoor rock walls and ropes courses in the winter months. Canyon Climb, at Destiny USA, is the world’s largest indoor ropes course— nearly 70 feet high with over 80 elements and platforms. No better way to bring the outdoors, indoors.

Rock climbing is exercise for both your body and your mind. From beginners to skilled adventurists, indoor locations provide you with fun obstacles and a safe environment.

Start your engines! At indoor locations across the country, tracks like Pole Position Raceway offer courses over ¼ of a mile with karts that go up to 45mph. What’s your need for speed?

 

For more information visit their website at www.destinyusa.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearby day trip ideas

Need some day trip ideas when the weather gets a little warmer? See my article that appeared in the January 5th Buffalo News travel section about nearby things to see and do.

http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/one-tank-trips/you-can-make-a-day-of-these-three-nearby-trips-or-even-longer-20140105

My article about traveling to New York City by train in Forever Young

Want to travel to New York City by train. Check out my article in the January 2014 edition of Forever Young Magazine.

http://www.foreveryoungwny.com/Forever-Young/January-2014/Getaways-All-Aboard-for-NYC/