We got to Big Cabin and turned east at the Standing Brave. (If you have traveled I-44 through Oklahoma, you know what I'm talking about). Fall Break, October 2005: Buffalo and Back in 7 Days
Route from Plano:
Friday, we headed north on 75 to Oklahoma about 1:00 after morning classes. Doug had bought a GPS receiver with his new mapping software that we could hook up to my laptop, so we had way more technology in the car than anyone needs. It came in handy, though.
We got to Big Cabin and turned east at the Standing Brave. (If you have traveled I-44 through Oklahoma, you know what I'm talking about).
We took I-44 east through Oklahoma and Missouri. We saw the Arch in St. Louis lit up at night as we crossed the Mississippi River, and stopped for the night a few miles into Illinois.
Saturday morning we were awakened about 6am by a group of cheerleaders that were staying at the hotel. The whole day was just a lot of driving, mostly through Ohio - that state seems to stretch time. We did see a couple of interesting signs along the way, though.
We finally got to Buffalo Saturday night, and Doug had to call Avenue subs to order good Buffalo food on our way into town.
On Sunday, Doug, his mom Elaine, and I drove up to Old Fort Niagara and put our feet in the very cold waters of Lake Ontario, right where the Niagara River comes into the lake.
Elaine and I hunted for beach glass while Doug watched the sailboats.
We drove into Youngstown and ate lunch at the Yacht Club there - a very beautiful place. There were two tallships docked there in honor of the 400th anniversary of something, and it was great to watch the ships while eating and relaxing on the patio.
We drove back down along the Niagara river, stopping along the way to see the whirlpool and a few scenic overlooks. We went out onto Goat Island and stood right at the edge of Niagara Falls. It is incredibly loud and absolutely mesmerizing.
After seeing the falls, we stopped at the Daredevil Museum and Convenience Store for souvenirs, then headed back to Elaine's.
On Monday, Doug and I drove around downtown to see some of the beautiful buildings there. We almost got kicked out of the Ellicot Square building for taking pictures on private property.
We went by the Central Terminal, the old train station that preservationists are trying to save. It is in pretty good condition for a building that has been empty for years. I wanted to try to sneak in, but Doug wouldn't let me - he said the neighborhood was too dangerous to go wandering around.
We saw the Goldome building, and an absolutely beautiful church with wonderful glazed terra cotta details. Finally, we went to see the only funeral monument designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
On Tuesday, we went back downtown to take a tour of Shea's Theatre, the only remaining interior designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. It is magnificent - the detail, colors, materials are all unbelievable. We were the only 2 people on the tour that day, and the orchestra was practicing for the show that night so we had our own theme music.
 |
 |
 |
Wednesday, we were worn out, and we still had another 2-day drive to look forward to. We headed back Thursday morning, and made it all the way past Nashville by Thursday night. We stopped at a motel, and realized the next morning that we had stopped in Hurricane Mills, home of Loretta Lynn. Our motel was next door to Loretta Lynn's Kitchen and Gift Shop, so of course we had to shop before we left the next morning.
The rest of the trip was rainy and uneventful, and we were glad to get home.