To Buffalo & Back: Part 1

I've made the trip to and from Western New York so many times that I could do it in my sleep. I don't, but I could. And I've got it down to a science. 5 1/2 hours from Poughkeepsie to Buffalo. No stops. 31+ miles per gallon. Never been pulled over. I deserve some kind of award.

I was up in Buffalo this past Memorial Day weekend to be at the wedding of a friend from college. This friend - we'll call her "Amy" - was one of my classmates and my main study partner for all my music theory classes at Geneseo. We would get ready for tests and do homework together, and then she would always do just slightly better on the tests than me. How could I miss this?

I drove up Saturday and stayed at my aunt and uncle's house in East Amherst. I was immediately given a Labatt Blue Light and put to work helping to assemble a backyard gazebo canopy thing. Yes, I am handy, but I didn't really do too much. Then we joined another one of my uncles for dinner in Lockport (my third uncle in that area - all my mother's brothers - was in Baton Rouge for a bowling tournament). I had the veal parm and it was really good. After dinner, I made my way to a BBQ where about 8 or 9 Geneseo people were gathering. Some of these people I hadn't seen in probably 6 years. I brought Yuengling to celebrate the occasion, and I had a good time hanging out, catching up, and listening to the fireworks going off in the neighborhood.

Sunday was the wedding. I looked awesome, and I met my pseudo-date outside the church. She, too, looked good, and she had run a half marathon that morning. Crazy, I know. The pastor was a lot of fun and enjoyed enthusiastically using the word "awesome." Fittingly, there was a lot of laughter during the ceremony.

After not being able to find Bar Louie to hang with everyone prior to the cocktail hour, I checked into my room and we made our way to the reception at the Millennium Hotel Buffalo. The cocktail hour had a game: correctly identify the four cheeses and you will get the wedding's signature drink, the Blue Lagoon. Ooooo. I did, then gave my drink to someone else. Too much sugar. I began drinking Jim Beam on the rocks...and I didn't stop all night. Yup. The reception was a blast. Good food, good drinks, good DJ, good dancing, good picture-taking touchscreen. I can't wait to see those pictures.

How good a time did I have at the wedding? Well, my room was 827, and the after-party was in 828. On my way upstairs I was apparently chanting, "828! 828! 828!" Nice. Well, I never made it to 828, and I think we'll just leave it at that. And yesterday morning was rough, too. Everyone at breakfast pretty much looked and felt the same. Waters for everyone! After that I picked up my pseudo-date and we drove back to Poughkeepsie, where I dropped her at the train station to head back to Astoria. Overall it was a good weekend, and smooth trips both ways. I'll do it again next weekend, but slightly different. More on that later.