For posterity’s sake, here’s a post I never finished from Fall 2006:
School is back in session, so it’s time to give a report on my summer!
Without intending to, I guess I went the entire summer without posting. Time to catch up!
For the 4th of July, the Derges’ came to visit - including Mom & Dad, Billy, and Aunt Betty. We saw some of the lesser-known sites, such as Theodore Roosevelt Island and the monuments at night. If you ever visit DC, seeing the monuments a night is really the only way to go. You avoid the 90 degree weather and the fearsome crowds and the monuments look really cool when they are lit up. I have some pics coming to Flickr soon.
The fireworks were great, as usual, but the crowds at the Metro after the show were bad, as usual. Imagine everyone in Des Moines trying to squeeze onto the Disney monorail…
In August 2006, Julie and I went on our Great Lakes Megatour. Our stops included Niagara Falls near Buffalo, New York, a visit to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, a stop to see friends in Chicago, IL, some great ice cream in Madison, WI, and more friends and family in Minneapolis and Sanborn, MN. We ended up visiting three of the five Great Lakes: Ontario, Erie, and Michigan. Together, that spells the ‘OME’ in ‘HOMES’. It also spells ‘EMO’. Combined, that’s 1,689 cubic miles of water!
Our first stop was Rochester, NY by way of Buffalo. Mapquest and Google Maps told me to go through Pittsburgh, but I thought that was too much backtracking. Instead, we took a zig-zag route up US 15, I-70W, I-76W, I-99N, PA 350, US 322, I-80W, US 219, and I-90E. It was one of the coolest road trips I’ve ever taken! US 219 through Northern Pennsylvania and Southwestern New York was especially scenic. We passed through some old towns in the Allegheny Plateau harkening back to Pennsylvania’s industrial past - railroads, coal mining, and oil extraction. We even passed right by a Weyerhauser paper mill. In Bradford, PA, we saw the Brad Pitt oil refinery and the Zippo lighter factory. Ironically, a house not too far from the factory had been recently burned.
Once we got out of Bradford and into Southern New York, we came into the land of the Senecas and crossed the Allegheny River. It was an amazing site as we drove along the Allegheny River flowing through the valley. We passed through Ellicottville, which sits in a broad, flattened valley suitable for farming. One of the city’s main attractions is a ski resort.
Soon we came to the town of Springville, NY. Along the highway I saw a sign for a restaurant with a familiar name - The Apple Dumplin’! For those of you not in the know, there is a restaurant near Urbana, IL with the same name that sells superb biscuits ‘n gravy and apple dumpling desserts. An Apple Dumpling is an apple baked with cinnamon and sugar inside a crispy dough shell. It can be served ala mode.
With visions of Apple Dumplings in our heads, we decided to take a break and have a mid-afternoon dessert. The dumpling we had was good, but not as good as the ones back in Illinois. It was definitely worth the stop, though.
Leaving the restaurant, we headed into Buffalo where Niagara Falls awaited us. We parked in a run-down and smelly parking ramp and walked over to the falls. I had never seen the falls before. Matt and I had attempted to see them back in college when we drove back from one of our road trips. However, the foggy winter weather and the early darkness kept us from seeing the falls.
This time I was successful. The falls are pretty cool. They’re even cooler when you go down to the base and climb the stairs that lead right up next to the cascading water. We took our pictures and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Remember when that was one of the coolest restaurants ever? It’s pretty crummy by today’s standards. It’s bascially an Applebee’s with music videos and autographed pop music paraphernalia. That’s why my sandwich costed $10.
We left Buffalo and headed East to Rochester via the Lake Ontario State Parkway. This road lined the lake shore and gave some decent views of the lake. However, I unkowingly took a wrong turn and ended up on a more inland road. Still, the countryside was beautiful. Because of Lake Ontario’s moderating effects, farmers along the shore can grow peaches and apples. There were many orchards in the area. (sidenote: you know you’ve got it bad when you always capitalize “Apple” when typing) We stayed at the Clarion Riverside hotel in downtown Rochester. While we were in Rochester, I liked to shorten the name to “The Roch.” Julie, however, didn’t like that nickname too well. Maybe the “The Rock” works better.
The next day, Julie had an appointment to take a tour of the Eastman campus. We grabbed some breakfast at the next-door “Java’s Cafe.” It must be where all of the Eastman professors hang out, because we spent the whole time listening in on conversations about classes.
The campus tour brought us through Eastman’s music library (supposedly the largest music library in the nation - and includes original scores dating back to the 17th century) and the Eastman theater. The theater is amazing. It dates back to the 20’s, is decorated in an art deco style, and has a massive chandelier.
After the tour, we ate at a mediterranian restaurant, aslo next door to the school. It was very tasty. I tried some Turkish coffee. It was…interesting. It tasted like stale coffee (coffee you leave in the pot for 5 hours, then microwave) and had a thick layer of powder-fine grounds at the bottom. I’ll stick to espresso.
