My brother and his wife picked up me and my niece on the first full day back in Buffalo. The plan was to take us "to the river". A term that can evoke many possible events from forced baptism to Salem witch trials, neither one of which I'm interested in participating in. But in actuality it involves a trip to North Tonawanda (or NT as the locals call it) to a stretch of landscaped waterfront that consists of a couple of miles of (only two lanes) walking/biking/blading path with a stretch of parkland and a periodic boat dock or man-made rock outcropping. I've been before and they all come here regularly for 4th of July fireworks or to "throw rocks at ducks and chase seagulls". Not to worry as my niece has a shitty throwing arm (just like her Mother) and I'm sure should one of the seagulls take it upon itself to chase her back, she would scream and run like the wind.
Across the street from the parking lot (as with most suburban areas in the US you need to drive to walk) there's a food stand called Mississippi Mudds. They serve your usual assortment of picnic foods. Hot dogs, burgers, cheese fries and various ice cream sandwiches, cones and banana splits. I had already decided to take a vacation from a strict diet as well, knowing full well I would be spending a week in Carbohydrate Town. Fuck it, I decided to have some fun. The two foot long cheese dogs with chili, sauerkraut and bacon and the order of (real) onion rings and the medium pink lemonade? All mine. It was gooey and messy and I savored every bit of it. And while I couldn't quite finish it all I did make a respectable run at it, thank you very much. After that, a long waddle along the river seemed positively heart smart.
The weather was a constant topic of conversation the entire week as it seems that summer pretty much skipped Buffalo this year. I have to say for an August evening it was surprisingly cool and grey. According to everyone that's been the norm when not raining. As such, there was almost no activity on the water. No jetskis, no sailboats and most of all no speedboats. With Buffalo being on a lake and all the adjacent rivers and creeks, speedboats are as much an accessory as a second car. It was kind of sad and creepy but made for some great pictures. This (my brother and my niece.... and a duck) was one of my favorites from the entire week:
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