Day 2-3: Crushed Orange?
[FRI] With Moammar's death being front-page news today, I made a note to pick up newspapers at our stops along the Thurway. The first was at a gas station outside Rochester, knocking off Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle and the Buffalo News.
Once in Buffalo, we found a parking spot near the First Niagara Center, home of the Sabres. We were a little early for their gift shop being open, so we hopped on the light rail -- because the wind off the lake was bitingly cold -- to the end of the line at the south campus of the University at Buffalo. Unfortunately, Chad discovered the south campus bookstore only had U@B Med School wear, and not the athletic wear he was seeking. Meanwhile, I hoofed it down the block to Tim Horton's and picked up a hot chocolate -- my first of the season. (It was 47, but felt much colder.)
We then ducked south to Orchard Park to see Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL Bills. Unlike other stadia which are either shoehorned into the downtown or placed immediately off a high-occupancy interstate exit, the Ralph required about a two-mile drive off of I-90.
For lunch, we stopped off at the Niagara Falls-US Hard Rock (having been to the NF-Can several years back). I was a little concerned about the parking garage we stashed our rental in, and for good reason: The Rainbow Mall is rightfully listed on DeadMalls.com. We took our HRC meals to go and headed eastward.
We stopped back in Rochester so Chad could pick up a Red Wings shirt, to go with his Detroit Red Wings shirt. The Rochester Wings -- continuously active in town since 1899 -- is one of only two professional teams to win a title in each decade of the 20th century. (The nearby Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL are the other.)
Next, we went off the beaten path to the small community of Auburn, where another FoC (friend of Chad) had managed the local Doubledays -- love that nickname -- for several years.
Things got interesting once we returned to the Thruway on-ramp. Instead of listing Syracuse as the eastbound city, the sign listed Albany. That apparently confused me, so we ended up making a 15-mile trip to the next exit to get reoriented back toward Syracuse.
While it didn't make us late, we did lose some decompression time before picking up our aunt at her hotel several miles away. Before the game, we stopped off to eat at a local institution, Brooklyn Pickle. Chad was giddy to get a PB&J sandwich until he found out that the J was strawberry, not grape.
The wonders of GPS were in full effect as we rode through neighborhoods to the satellite parking facility, bypassing most of the game traffic. (Likewise our return trip back to the hotel.)
Ah, the game....
The odd thing about the Carrier Dome is that, despite being named for an HVAC company, it's not air-conditioned. That wasn't an issue, as the thermometer displayed the outdoor temperature as 50. Response to me as a WV fan was slightly warmer; only one undergrad (in a pack) noted that I had the wrong color to go with the blue during halftime. (It spooked him when we passed each other on the opposite side of the concourse minutes later.)
We left early in the fourth quarter with Chad enjoying the large Syracuse lead. Our aunt and I got on the disabled shuttle, only to soon find that Chad was fifth in line for a two-wheelchair-capacity bus. So while we groaned to the last few minutes of the game on the car radio in the satellite parking lot, we were satisfied with Chad's worries that we'd run off and leave him there. (We didn't.)
[SAT] Again, our separate flights meant I got up and out to the airport first, returning the rental car; our hotel had an airport shuttle, so Chad was once again not left behind. Or was it?
Sitting in Charlotte on a three-hour layover, I was tracking his flight on my laptop. His delayed takeoff from Syracuse put the squeeze on his transfer in Washington -- which he made.
As previously scheduled -- but not necessarily planned -- we landed in Charleston about 10 minutes apart.
Once in Buffalo, we found a parking spot near the First Niagara Center, home of the Sabres. We were a little early for their gift shop being open, so we hopped on the light rail -- because the wind off the lake was bitingly cold -- to the end of the line at the south campus of the University at Buffalo. Unfortunately, Chad discovered the south campus bookstore only had U@B Med School wear, and not the athletic wear he was seeking. Meanwhile, I hoofed it down the block to Tim Horton's and picked up a hot chocolate -- my first of the season. (It was 47, but felt much colder.)
We then ducked south to Orchard Park to see Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL Bills. Unlike other stadia which are either shoehorned into the downtown or placed immediately off a high-occupancy interstate exit, the Ralph required about a two-mile drive off of I-90.
For lunch, we stopped off at the Niagara Falls-US Hard Rock (having been to the NF-Can several years back). I was a little concerned about the parking garage we stashed our rental in, and for good reason: The Rainbow Mall is rightfully listed on DeadMalls.com. We took our HRC meals to go and headed eastward.
We stopped back in Rochester so Chad could pick up a Red Wings shirt, to go with his Detroit Red Wings shirt. The Rochester Wings -- continuously active in town since 1899 -- is one of only two professional teams to win a title in each decade of the 20th century. (The nearby Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL are the other.)
Next, we went off the beaten path to the small community of Auburn, where another FoC (friend of Chad) had managed the local Doubledays -- love that nickname -- for several years.
Things got interesting once we returned to the Thruway on-ramp. Instead of listing Syracuse as the eastbound city, the sign listed Albany. That apparently confused me, so we ended up making a 15-mile trip to the next exit to get reoriented back toward Syracuse.
While it didn't make us late, we did lose some decompression time before picking up our aunt at her hotel several miles away. Before the game, we stopped off to eat at a local institution, Brooklyn Pickle. Chad was giddy to get a PB&J sandwich until he found out that the J was strawberry, not grape.
The wonders of GPS were in full effect as we rode through neighborhoods to the satellite parking facility, bypassing most of the game traffic. (Likewise our return trip back to the hotel.)
Ah, the game....
The odd thing about the Carrier Dome is that, despite being named for an HVAC company, it's not air-conditioned. That wasn't an issue, as the thermometer displayed the outdoor temperature as 50. Response to me as a WV fan was slightly warmer; only one undergrad (in a pack) noted that I had the wrong color to go with the blue during halftime. (It spooked him when we passed each other on the opposite side of the concourse minutes later.)
We left early in the fourth quarter with Chad enjoying the large Syracuse lead. Our aunt and I got on the disabled shuttle, only to soon find that Chad was fifth in line for a two-wheelchair-capacity bus. So while we groaned to the last few minutes of the game on the car radio in the satellite parking lot, we were satisfied with Chad's worries that we'd run off and leave him there. (We didn't.)
[SAT] Again, our separate flights meant I got up and out to the airport first, returning the rental car; our hotel had an airport shuttle, so Chad was once again not left behind. Or was it?
Sitting in Charlotte on a three-hour layover, I was tracking his flight on my laptop. His delayed takeoff from Syracuse put the squeeze on his transfer in Washington -- which he made.
As previously scheduled -- but not necessarily planned -- we landed in Charleston about 10 minutes apart.