To Buffalo and Back or How We Survived Thanksgiving, the Rodeway Inn, a Snowstorm and a Very Poopy Diaper

(I have some photos that I will post as soon as I can)
Well, we weathered Thanksgiving in Buffalo, with “weathered” being the operative word considering the snowstorm that turned a 7-hour return trip into a 9-hour, white-knuckled marathon. We left Plattsburgh with high hopes at 8:30 Wednesday morning and made good time, arriving in Buffalo after a few stops along the way at 4 p.m. We got two rooms at the Rodeway Inn. Note to self and anyone else who may be reading this: A photo of the Rodeway Inn comes up when you look up the adage, “You get what you pay for” in the encyclopedia. I had to remind myself that it was “$44 a night” every time I entered the place, but, in all fairness, it wasn’t camping and they allowed us to have the dog. But the place was run down and very obviously hadn’t had any work done to it in years. Anyone in the Buffalo area who is familiar with the property, it used to be the old Charter House, a good chunk of which was torn down in the early 1980s.

We had dinner at the Cracker Barrel Wednesday night then let the girls go swimming in the kidney-shaped pool. What they didn’t say in their brochure is that the pool isn’t only kidney-shaped, it’s also kidney-sized. They were also obviously saving the environment by not heating the thing. But the girls didn’t seem to mind.

We had a very slow and relaxing Thanksgiving day, with the girls and I driving around looking for something to do in the a.m. while Jack tended to the dog. We had a bite for lunch at Denny’s (“It’s always open! An American institution!”) and then after Brigid had a nap, we headed northward to Dave and Connie’s for a lovely dinner and family visit. Spoke to Mom in Texas on the phone and Joanne in South Carolina as well. Joanne, if you read this, the next time I see you I’m going to smack that accent out of you if you don’t leave it south of the Mason-Dixon line. Girl, you’re a northerner! Brigid loved playing with her cousin, Stephanie’s, Barbies and accessories. The dogs got along very well (thanks, Dave and Connie, for letting us bring Tessa with us). Dinner was delicious and conversation was even better. Miss you guys already.

Friday, Margaret and Patricia and I drove to Fredonia an hour south of Buffalo to meet up with Margaret’s friend, Maggie. Her family was in Pittsburgh for the holidays – and Maggie lives outside Cleveland, Ohio. They moved away from Plattsburgh in July so we were able to arrange a visit and overnight with Maggie coming back to Buffalo with us. The pick-up went smoothly and the girls had a great visit. Thanks to Maggie’s aunt and family for helping us make it work. It was great to see her again – she’s the fourth daughter I never knew I had. They girls went swimming and then we made the huge mistake of going to the Galleria Mall to hang out and grab a bite to eat. Very busy, very noisy. But we got seats at Johnny Rocket’s (Margaret’s idea) and even had a Build-a-Bear made to donate to the Toys for Tots campaign (I had a coupon). Back to the rooms so the girls could all go swimming and then a snack party in the room complete with a viewing of “Star Wars” on TV. What could be better?

Saturday we got up and hit the road to bring Maggie back down to Fredonia for a rendezvous with her aunt and uncle, who then drove back down to Pittsburgh. The girls were sad to say goodbye, but we promised to make it work again in the future. We then headed north again to Buffalo to meet up with Chet and Marilyn at the Cracker Barrel for lunch. It was great to sit and chat for more than two hours (!) Jack had to take Brigid back to the room for a nap, but it was very convenient because the hotel is just behind the restaurant. After we bid farewell to our friends from Holland (New York, that is, not the Netherlands), the girls and I went over to Sandy’s house to pick up Cassandra, who was chomping at the bit to come back with us to go swimming. We were invited to their house for dinner, so I offered to take Cassandra for the afternoon. She didn’t mind the cold pool, and the girls all enjoyed the bonding time. We then dried everyone off and climbed back into the car to go over to the Keglers’ house for dinner. Mike made a great meatloaf and even better (!) mashed potatoes dinner – yum. Great recipe that included green onions, vinegar and mayonnaise. Sounds bizarre but it was great. Sandy was tired and sore from surgery a week before, so we didn’t stay as late as we might have otherwise.

Back at the motel, the girls went swimming again (!) and then another snack party in the room, this time, watching the “X-men.” We had a leisurely morning and breakfast at the motel and hit the road by 10 a.m. We made the mistake of leaving Tessa unattended and uncrated in the room while we had breakfast – had to pack the crate before anything else went in the car – and Jack and Brigid returned to the room to find a mess on their hands, and everywhere else, apparently. Tessa got a hold of one of Brigid’s very poopy diapers and ate it. Ugh! It made a huge impression on Brigid, however, and she is still talking about it.

Regardless, our leisurely feeling of the morning wasn’t to last long, however, because we hit snow just outside of Rochester and it lasted and got worse as we went east and then north. The Northway was very scary. We arrived home at 7 p.m. It was a nice, relaxed visit, but it felt good to be home.