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BUFFALO / NIAGARA FALLS / ROCHESTER
I had missed my 30th high school reunion due to my flight to Buffalo being cancelled as hurricane Rita approached the Houston area. So when the school’s 50th Jubilee came up this year to coincide with my 35th reunion I couldn’t pass it up. I had wanted to go to a reunion for years. I hadn’t kept up with anyone from high school since I moved from Buffalo to Houston 29 years ago.
This would also be an opportunity for Dawn to meet friends and family of mine that she had never met. Also, she had never been to Niagara Falls so I booked a hotel there to turn the trip into a vacation as well.
She had a free flight coming to her on Southwest so that determined which airline we would fly. I searched expedia.com and priceline.com for a hotel in Niagara Falls with the best view at the best price. I settled on the Oakes Hotel using expedia.com. For about $50 less than any other hotel offering views of the falls it was the best value.
On departure day we parked at the Hobby Airport Terminal in Houston
and proceeded to our gate. Since Dawn was a frequent flyer she was able to board much earlier than I and save me a seat. We had a layover in Baltimore and landed on time in Buffalo on May 7th 2010.
I had also booked a car rental through expedia.com and was able to get an SUV for just $23 per day. Our first destination was the hotel but since we were driving right past my old neighborhood I couldn’t resist the urge to take a little detour and check out my old stomping grounds.
I grew up in Tonawanda; that word to be said in a loud, shrill voice like some character in
“Fried Green Tomateoes” would yell “Towanda”. Dawn’s vocalizing that every time we say a sign that read “Tonawanda” would become an important memory of our trip.
As we drove along the Youngmann Expressway I could see Brighton Park where I honed my golf skills and the ice rink where I didn’t quite hone my ice skating skills. We drove past the plaza where “He and She’s” was, the bar where I would go to listen to Talas. Then we exited the freeway and
drove into my old neighborhood and drove past Hamilton Elementary where I went to kindergarten.
The old neighborhood, Green Acres, (yes, really) looked great. As a matter of fact I think it looked a lot better than when I lived there 30 years ago. As I drove down the cul-de-sac street I related various stories to Dawn about each of the houses and who lived there. St. Amelia’s, where I went to elementary school directly behind our house looked about the same as I remember.
We then drove around Kenmore East High School and I reminisced about school and sports and wondered how many of the kids I went to school with would be at the reunion. The elementary school that was next to the high school had just been torn down.
Then it was back onto the freeway towards Niagara Falls. There was construction just before the Grand Island Bridge. That along with it being rush hour made for about a half an hour delay in our arrival in the Falls. I had no trouble finding my way. I had spent the first 24 years of my life in that area and navigated my way around
almost like I had never left.
As we approached Rainbow Bridge to go into Canada we had to pay a $3.25 toll and then once we crossed we got the short and quick interview, i.e., “Citizens of what country?... where you from?... what’s the purpose of your visit?...how long will you be staying?” It used to be that’s all that would happen and you’d be on your way, assuming you answered all the questions to the border agent’s liking. However, since the increased border security brought on by 9/11 you now have to present a passport, although we were told that New York residents could get by with some kind of special driver’s license.
Once we found the hotel and got checked in we were amazed at the incredible view of the Falls from our room. I can’t imagine a better view. We were on the 18th floor and looked down on the Horseshoe Falls and had a clear view of the American Falls on one side and all the way to downtown Buffalo on the other. We could see the “Maid of the Mist” boats slowly making their way to the falls. That reminded us of the
movie
”Bruce Almighty” when Jim Carrie lost it while reporting live from the Falls about those boats.
We didn’t have much time to lollygag around since there was an event that evening at Caputi’s Sheridan Pub in Tonawanda. The weather was cold and rainy, really cold for May. At night it got down into the 30’s. We stopped by Caputi’s Pub and the place was packed, shoulder to shoulder. There were no name tags and it was so loud we couldn’t hear ourselves so we only spent about 15 minutes making our way through the place and since I didn’t recognize anyone we decided to go eat and then come back and hoped the crowd would have thinned out a bit by then.
So we started to drive down Sheridan Drive to find a place to eat. I wanted to stop at Duff’s which is one of the best places for wings but it was also packed with reunion people. So, by coincidence, my brother called from California while we were driving around looking for a place to eat and he went on the internet and directed us to an Olive Garden which we both like very much.
After dinner it was pouring down rain and really, really cold. I was beginning to remember why I moved to Texas. Since the weather was so bad we decided to blow off going back to Caputi’s and just went back to the hotel. Since we were so close to Niagara Falls Blvd. I decided to take that all the way back to the Falls. That drive also brought back some memories.
The plant where my father used to work, it was Bell Aerospace back then, is now closed down. As we got close to the Falls I noticed all the little motels lining the street. Many apparently have been able to survive a very long time from the days when the Falls was known as the “Honeymoon Capital of the World”.
When we got back up to our room we were hoping to see the Falls all lit up but apparently they turn the lights off at some point. So we just enjoyed the Jacuzzi tub in the room and the warmth of the bed and got a much needed good night’s sleep.
The next day we spent some time on the American side on Goat
Island which lies between the American and Horseshoe Falls. The wind was near hurricane force and blowing the falls’ mist towards the island. We purchased those cheap plastic ponchos at the gift shop but the way the wind was blowing that was a waste as the plastic just kept battering us in the face and the wind eventually tore it up. The wind was blowing the mist so much that we didn’t go right up to the railing because we didn’t want to get drenched but we did get some great views anyway.
The beauty was not lost on us though, even with all the distractions created by the wind and blowing mist. There were tulips everywhere and the landscaping is impeccable. And for a few brief moments the sun shined through the clouds to create a rainbow in the mist.
We tried and eventually succeeded in getting in one of my compulsory handstand pictures taken by the falls but the wind made it extremely difficult. We also had to make a little video of Dawn acting out the infamous Three Stooges “Niagara Falls…slowly I turn…step by step…, etc.” skit that they did so many times in one
of their movies. (You have to be old enough to remember that one.)
Looking for warmth we got in the car to drive around the island a bit and found Three Sisters Islands which give you an exciting view of the rapids as the Niagara River starts descending towards the precipice that is the Falls.
After a brunch at Applebee’s right next to the hotel we took a walk towards the Falls on the Canadian side. The wind was fierce. As we rounded the corner of the building it nearly knocked us over. As it turns out there is no easy way of walking down to the falls as there is a steep hill to go down. If the weather were nicer we probably would have been more adventurous about doing that but instead we chose to explore the Niagara Fallsview Casino which is right next to the Oakes Hotel.
There is a nice touristy shopping mall there and a good sized gambling area. We found a couple of nice souvenirs for a friend who was taking my mother to church on Sunday while I was gone. In the casino we set a small budget and managed
to go through it on the slot machines in about an hour.
By the time we got back to the hotel it was time to get ready to go to the reunion. I wanted to leave early enough to have time to drive around the University of Buffalo (my alma mater) campuses. As we approached the north campus, or Amherst Campus, on the highway that seemed to be built especially for getting to the University I noticed many new buildings on the horizon. Of course, anything built in the last 30 years would be new to me. What struck me about the north campus was that it was so spread out it would seem impossible to live on campus without a car. Most noticeable was the football stadium. We didn’t even have a team when I went there.
We then made our way towards the south campus. As we drove around Buffalo we couldn’t help but notice how many of the homes which appeared to be of the World War II era and before, were so small. The south campus, or Main Street Campus, looked pretty much the same with some “new” buildings. It is much more of
a traditional college campus. The building are mostly of the old classical style architecture and much more close together than the north campus.
We then headed down Main Street towards downtown and the reunion. Buffalo really hasn’t changed much in 35 years but this was the first time I had seen the subway. I was hoping to see the baseball stadium but didn’t get a chance. All in all, the city looked pretty good. One thing I noticed as soon as we arrived on Friday is how close together it all seemed. From downtown Buffalo to Tonawanda to Niagara Falls is about 30 miles which is not as big an area as the city of Houston. Even Rochester is only about 70 miles away.
As we parked in the garage by the Convention Center we once again had to deal with the cold and wind to walk one block. You could tell who had moved away to warmer climes and who had stayed in the area by who was bitching and moaning about the weather and who was taking it in stride.
It was a nice event and I reconnected with some dear friends. Unofrtunately, you could
tell that they had some of the younger alumni handle the making of the name tags because the print was too small for all us old folks to read from more than a couple of feet. A much larger font was needed to identify all these people who no longer looked like the young kids we went to school with.
Mostly, everyone looked great. Sure there was plenty of gray hair and pot bellies, but that gave us all more character. The nice thing about this reunion was that it was for all the school’s fifty classes and so I go to see friends that were not the same year as I was as well as those in my own class. It seemed as though everyone was having a great time. It was really nice to see all the smiling faces, the years having erased any bad memories, disagreements, or jealousies that may have occurred.
By the time we had our social hour, meal, music and dancing we had been there over five hours and having satisfied myself that I had met everyone that I could we headed back to our hotel in the Falls.
Sadly, after
returning home I found out through some emails that I missed seeing a couple of dear friends that I would have loved to have chatted and shared some laughs with.
On the way back we saw the Peace Bridge connecting Buffalo to Canada. It was illuminated in blue light. As we approached Tonawanda I decided to take River Road all the way back. That road takes you through the City of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda, not to be confused with the Town of Tonawanda.
As we made our way back to the hotel we decided to stop at a Tim Horton’s. This is a coffee/doughnut/sandwich shop that must be the Starbuck’s of Canada, i.e., there is one on every corner. The one we stopped at was at the corner of Stanley and Murray. We had some hot chocolate to try and warm-up. This location also provided some interesting people watching at this late hour.
The next day we spent the morning on the Canadian side before heading off to Rochester to visit some of my cousins. We drove down to the area near the falls and parked at a $4 per hour lot which turned out to
be the cheapest parking around. As we were walking towards the Falls we discovered the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens that was free and open to the public. What a wonderful surprise that turned out to be. It had both indoor and outdoor displays that were worth the trip.
It’s a little bit further along the Niagara Parkway to get to the Horseshoe Falls which has a spectacular view of both falls. Fortunately, the wind was blowing away from us and so the spray did not drench us. I had a little better luck with the handstand picture as the wind was not as strong.
We decided to wait to eat until we got on the road to Rochester. About half way there we stopped at a Tim Horton’s to try their sandwiches. Dawn said her egg salad was very good, my ham and Swiss was very average. But, the price was right, very cheap.
As we got to Rochester I just had to drive down Lake Avenue to Ontario Beach State Park and see how much had changed. Both my parents were from Rochester and I spent a lot of my summers as a child there. A
Mom's house on Tiernan St.
In Charlotte section of Rochester.landmark, Abbott’s Frozen Custard, is still there. It was closed, but of course, since we were ourselves frozen after walking around a little bit we had no desire to have anything cold. There is a nice little park and beach house there and they’ve turned the old port warehouse into a touristy cluster of restaurants and shops.
We then proceeded to drive to my mother’s childhood home on the corner of Lake Ave. and Tiernan St. Tiernan St. is named for her family as they had a large farm right there in the early part of the twentieth century. Right across the street was her grandparent’s house. A little bit further down Lake Ave. is Kemphurst Rd. where my father grew up. His family lived there over sixty years until the mid 1990’s and that’s where I would spend my summers as a child. My father’s cousin and her husband lived there.
Then it was on to my cousin’s house which is close by. When we got there Rick’s wife, Mary Lou, and his sister Kathy and her husband, Rick, were there so we got to visit a bit with them before he arrived with his daughter. There
My Great Grandparents house
At the corner of Lake Ave. and Tiernan St. was about sixteen years of catchin’ up to do so we had a lot to talk about. They were nice enough to have Dawn and I stay for dinner. Rick barbequed a boat load of chicken and, at my request, a local favorite, white hots. White hots are pork hot dogs and are to Rochester what chicken wings and beef-on-weck are to Buffalo.
On the way out of Rochester we drove down Lake Ave. past what’s left of Kodak Park. Both my brothers and I had worked summers there while in college. It was a massive industrial facility, but due to many reasons is now a shadow of what it once was.
When we got back to Niagara Falls it was dark but still early enough to see the lights shining on the Falls. We enjoyed a relaxed evening on our final night. In the morning we had an 11:30am flight out of Buffalo to go back to Houston.
Monday proved to be one of those “character building opportunities”. In the morning our rental car wouldn’t start and I realized I had left the parking lights on all night so the battery was dead. Our flight was
74 Kemphurst Rd.
The House my father grew up in. leaving in about three and a half hours so while this was upsetting it wasn’t time to panic. Enterprise Rent A Car said that they could have someone out to jump start the car in 55 minutes. While I thought that was a long time I just decided that we could just go eat a relaxing breakfast at Applebee’s and by the time we were done whoever was coming to help us would be there.
It took roadside service an hour and forty five minutes to get there! So as we are leaving Niagara Falls it was ten o’clock and our flight was leaving in ninety minutes from Buffalo. It could easily take an hour to get to the airport so there was no time to lose. Fortunately, there was no traffic or hang-ups at the bridge so we got there about 45 minutes before our flight and I had time to fill the car up with gas.
Upon arrival we decided curb-side check-in would be fastest so we walked up, waited a few minutes and then saw the baggage check clerk walk away and leave us standing there. I looked inside and saw that there were only
a few people in line inside so I told Dawn to come in but before we could get in line a large group got ahead of us.
After waiting to check our bags and walking to the gate it was 11:17am and we had made it just before boarding started. Finally, we could relax. But, when we got back to Houston Hobby airport we found that my car had a flat tire! But, no worries, Dawn has AAA so we just called them and they sent somebody. So we went back into the terminal to have dinner. After dinner the truck arrived, he put the little donut-sized spare tire on that was in my trunk and we were on our way.
Just as we were wondering what the heck was happening to us that day and what else could go wrong a policeman pulled me over. As I sat there waiting for him to walk up I realized that my inspection was expired, I didn’t have a current insurance card, and both my front blinkers were out! As I opened my window to hand the officer my license and registration he said he stopped me because it looked
like my tire was about to fall off. I explained what had just happened. He didn’t seem all that interested in anything else. He did notice the expired insurance and inspection sticker but still just advised me to inflate the little donut-sized spare better and stay off the freeway. He let me go without any citations! OK, enough of the “character building opportunities” already. Let’s get home!
We didn’t let that experience mar our great trip to Buffalo and the Falls. That Sunday Dawn went to church at Lakewood and heard Joel Osteen’s sermon on what he called “Divine Interruption” explaining that sometimes God causes or allows crazy things to happen to us to make sure that we are where we are supposed to be when we are supposed to be there. So we took that to mean that all those delays and frustrations kept us from being somewhere that might have caused us harm. That or our egos were getting the better of us and He needed to put us in our place.
Either way, it was great to be home!
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Mary N Klein
non-member comment
Your trip
I enjoyed reading about your Niagara Falls trip. You are a great writer!!! Love you guys.