Westward Ho!

We pulled out of Buffalo last week and headed west towards Omaha. We stopped in Cleveland for the night and visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the next morning.



The building, designed by I.M. Pei, houses such treasures as Janis Joplin's psychedelic Porsche:




Our next stop was Des Moines, IA, where we checked out the state capital before heading on to Omaha:

Buffalo

Ok, I have a confession to make. I didn't hate Buffalo. Sure, half of the buildings downtown are vacant, Main Street feels like a ghost town sometimes, there's creepy carnival music playing from speakers on the street, the weather is disgusting, and there are images of Bison everywhere despite the fact that Bison have never lived anywhere near Buffalo. But there's something about Buffalo that just wouldn't let me hate it. Maybe it was the chicken wings. Maybe it was the over-decorated theater. Maybe it was the architectural jewels scattered throughout the city. I won't say that I was impressed by Buffalo- I wasn't. It was kind of a miserable city and I'm not going to lie about that. But for some reason, I really, really, really wanted to like it. It's not the great American city that it once was, but it's not all that bad. There are good places to eat, some really cute neighborhoods and shopping areas, and interesting historic sites. Here are a few pics from our four weeks in Buffalo:

Unfortunately, this is what a lot of Buffalo looks like now.


Buffalo Savings Bank- across the street from the hotel.


The Electric Tower- built to showcase the electricity produced at Niagara Falls.


The Ellicott Building, designed by Daniel Burnham, was once the largest office building in the world.


The Episcopal Cathedral and Louis Sullivan's Guaranty Building, one of the world's first skyscrapers.




Monument to President McKinley, who was assassinated in Buffalo while attending the Pan-American Expo in 1901, in front of City Hall.


City Hall, the William McKinley Monument, and the new Federal Courthouse.



Eating wings at Anchor Bar.

Niagara Falls

Since Niagara Falls is only twenty minutes from Buffalo, we went there. Like everybody said, the Canadian side is much better than the American side, but I thought it was worth it to go to both sides. There was a couple who asked if we would take their picture in front of the falls, and of course we said yes and asked if they would take one of us afterward. They sat up on the rail and we took their picture, then we went and sat on the rail while they took our picture. After they had left, I confessed to Napoleon that sitting on the rail was a little bit terrifying for me but I felt like I had to since the other couple had and I didn't want them to think I was a wuss. Napoleon said that he had been thinking the exact same thing. Here are some pics:

the American side

Canadian side- double rainbow

We're so brave!

Fried Chicken and a Haircut

We always try to stop a couple times while traveling between cities to break up the drive and have a little fun. On our way from Ft. Lauderdale to Buffalo we stopped first in Savannah, GA. We spent the night in the Hyatt overlooking the river and woke up early (9 am is really early for us) to go for a run along the river front and through Savannah's palm and oak lined streets.







We showed up at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons, around 9:30 am and discovered that there was already a line of people that went to the end of the block. We decided to wait to be put on the seating list and it was well worth it. The food was incredible. We both had the buffet because we wanted to eat everything, and eat everything we did.





After we had stuffed ourselves full of fried chicken, mac and cheese, and other southern specialties, we fought off a food coma and got back on the road. We drove north through the Appalachian Mountains and finally arrived at our next stop- Pittsburgh. We had to take a few detours because of road construction and got a little bit lost in the suburbs south of Pittsburgh, but eventually we found ourselves on top of a hill with the lights of the bridges and skyscrapers gleaming down below. My first views of Pittsburgh were very impressive. I wish I had taken a picture, but after 12 hours of driving and being lost I just wanted to get to the hotel and go to bed. The next day we rode the Monongahela Incline- a tram that has been transporting people to the top of Mt. Washington since 1870. It was fun and the view from the top was nearly as impressive during the day as it had been the night before.



On top of Mt. Washington we found a barber shop/tattoo parlor and Napoleon decided to get his hair cut. It was a one of a kind place- tattoo parlor in the front, barber shop in the back, and an alligator in an aquarium to top it all off. While I was sitting there waiting for Napoleon, I kept thinking that something seemed a little off about the place. Then I realized that we were listening to elevator music. It was so weird. There was an alligator in a tank ten feet away from me and tattoo art on the walls around me and Kenny G was being pumped through the speakers.



Napoleon did get a very good haircut though.