Road Trip

Yesterday's Destination

7:37

A bit of a change, as we have a combination of morning sleet and snow, enough so that the lawn is dotted with white.  It's 29º and we have a Winter Weather Advisory for icy roads.  What a contrast between this morning's gloom and yesterday's clear skies and sun rising.

Monday was a big day for us, one that turned out well.  We knew it might be the only sunny day of the week and we knew it would be cold.  So what to do?  We decided to drive to the Reinstein Woods, an hour and a half from here and walk the woods, something we had done in late October.  I sweetened up the excursion with the possibility of a stop at Ted's the famous hot dog drive-in, just a couple of miles from the Reinstein Woods.  That was enough for both of us so we said let's do it.

We left after 10:00 and did not arrive at the parking area until 11:30.  We knew it would be a good hike when we realized there were only eight or nine cars in the lot.  We knew it would be in the 20's but cold does not bother us as long as we dress appropriately, in various layers.  And as long as the wind is not a factor like it was a week ago when we went to Niagara Falls, we knew we would be comfortable.  We hiked the perimeter trail, about two and a half miles, through various landscapes, mostly leaf-strewn woods.  Our favorite section was the Beech Trail, highlighted by a dead but still standing beech tree, at least two hundred and fifty years old.  We met probably four or five hikers on our jaunt along with various small ponds, bogs, and woods.  The temperature was in the '20s, just the way we like it.  

About 1:00, we drove to Ted's and waited in line to order for at least ten minutes as others had the same idea, a lunch of hot dogs and onion rings. I ordered the foot long, with pickles, onions and Ted's hot sauce and Evie had a dog and onion rings.  Needless to say we were happy, sitting in a booth, safely distanced, enjoying our hot dogs, 

Grillin And Chillin

On the way home, we got off #Interstate 90 at Exit 58, Irving and Gowanda, to get cheap gas at the Seneca Reservation gas station.  We also stopped and browsed at Stagecoach West, a country-western store with an emphasis on gear for horses, from saddles to reins, to boots, to vests and chaps.  It's a fun place to browse although we rarely end up buying anything.

We arrived home by 4:00 and relaxed for a good hour.  I fell asleep reading and Evie watched some TV until dinner time.  For dinner, Evie took the leftover chicken, stir-fried some mushrooms and broccoli, added a Trader Joe's simmer sauce, made some rice and a salad, and we had dinner.  We watched the Grammys from the previous night, skipping through some of the speeches and vocals. Many of the artists and songs were unfamiliar to both of us, especially pop and rap perhaps because neither are our favorites. We ended the night with Jeopardy and a Hometown we had already seen.