Sometimes Ya Win, Sometimes Ya Lose

So, as I said in a previous post, this was our

first camping trip in about a decade.  That 

meant our tent has been in the shed for about 

a decade.  We considered buying a new tent but

we weren't sure if this was something we would

do again for another ten years ~ or ever.

In the night, it rained, and rained and rained,

all night.  Since the air mattress is basically a

raft, we didn't realize just how bad things were

until we got up in the morning.  It wasn't just 

damp, there were rivulets and puddling.  I sent

Wonderful off to find a laundromat to get the

 bedding dry and I stayed behind bailing, wrestling 

a queen size air mattress inside a tent and just

generally cleaning everything.

Once that chore was out of the way, we 

headed out for the days adventures.  We

stopped at a few antique stores and enjoyed

the beauty of the landscape of western NY.

While stopped at a crossroads we spotted a

roadside hot dog stand and pulled in.  When

ordering, Wonderful was asked if he wanted 

a regular or a Sahlen's.  The guy behind him in 

line said, "Get the Sahlen's".  Frankly, (haha)

I couldn't taste a difference from a regular dog.

We just split one and were still hungry when I

saw a kid walking out with sweet potato fries.

We couldn't resist, my advice would be to change

the name to Sparky's Sweeties, the fries were

delish!

After many twists and turns we arrived at our destination

for the day, the Buffalo Niagara Heritage Museum.  Now

you all know how much I love living history museums but

this was one we had a problem with.  When we were paying 

the cashier said some of the buildings are closed because they

didn't have enough staff.

We walked outside and could look through the

doorway of the one room school.

As we walked on ~ closed...

...closed.  There was no one in sight.

We had just been charged $8 each to take 

a 10 minute walk.  It was so bad we had 

to ask for our money back.  I hate having to

do that but in principle it was just not right

to charge an admission to a closed museum.

To try to make up for this bad experience,

we headed across the border to Canada.  The

day before we had planned to visit the Botanic

Gardens but we ran out of time.  This is a lovely

garden to wander through. 

Canadians are keen gardeners and we have 

enjoyed these gardens many times.

There is a horticultural school on the property

and the students maintain the garden as part of

their three year program.

Our college friend Linda lives in western NY

and she gave us names of the best places for

local foods.  Once we crossed back to the US

and got phone service again, we found out the

recommended places were over an hour away

so we went to a place just over the bridge in

Lewiston.  We tried the Beef on Weck, named

for the type of roll, that is caraway seed and 

salt on top.  I found it to be too salty.

Luckily, we also ordered a Haystack ~ it was

delicious.  We often will order a few things and

cut them up so we can sample all the best things.

And here's a travel note:  Ask on social media for

recommendations for the area you will be visiting.

Our friend Linda told us about the long waits at the

border crossings so that prompted us to camp in

the US rather than in Canada as originally planned.

That worked out great for us.  Thanks Linda!