Prowling my world, camera in hand

19 August 2014

Week 32: trucking up to Buffalo and powerlifting in Rochester

Filed under: — Administrator @ 13:52

The main event during week 32 was our trip to the USA. I had not seen my son since he moved across the Atlantic in September 2013, so I was obviously looking forward to seeing him. He now lives in Orchard Park, just outside Buffalo in western New York.

32_1
We flew to New York via London, departing on Monday midday from Barajas airport in Madrid:
DSF7741

32_2
We arrived at JFK around 6:30 pm on Monday evening. Around an hour later it became clear that 2 of our 3 suitcases had not made it. By the time we had filed the report with the airline and picked up our rental car, it was close to 9 pm. We set out on the 430 mile drive to Buffalo, but decided that it did not make sense to take risks to arrive at our son’s place at 3 or 4 am, so instead we spent the night at a motel in some small town north of New York and continued on our way the next morning. Here is Monica with our rental car at the parking lot of a supermarket somewhere in the Catskills:
DSF7748

32_3
By early afternoon, we were in upstate New York, driving through nice villages with farms like this one:
DSF7751

32_4
We arrived at Moses’s apartment while he was at work, but he had left a key for us at the rental office. We relaxed for a couple of hours, and then he came home to a joyous reunion. That evening, we went out for a dinner of beer and wings (what else?!) at a local sports bar:
R000010

32_5
R000016

32_6
One of the joys of visiting the US for a beer enthusiast like me is the enormous variety of craft beers that has become available during the past 10-15 years. This is the beer section at the local Wegmans supermarket in Orchard Park. Pure paradise:
R000024

32_7
Orchard Park is the home of the Buffalo Bills NFL team; in fact, my son lives about 1 mile from the Ralph Wilson Stadium where the Bills play:
DSF7779

32_8
These days, exercise is an important part of my day, so within 24 hours of arriving in Orchard Park, I had visited the gym my son uses and signed up for 2 weeks at the princely price of $20:
R000031

32_9
On Friday we drove down to the shore of Lake Erie:
DSF7770

32_10
The weather was beautiful and people were enjoying the lake:
DSF7773

32_11
We decided to have lunch at this lakeside restaurant:
DSF7776

32_12
It turned out that our delightful waitress was Polish:
DSF7775

32_13
The main event of the week for Moses was on Saturday, when he was competing in a powerlifting event in Rochester. He was really pleased that we were there to cheer him on:
DSF7795

32_14
Warming up before the first event, the squat:
DSF7805

32_15
The scorekeeper/announcer and her helper:
DSF7807

32_16
Then it was time for Moses’s squat:
DSF7821

32_17
DSF7826

32_18
The sign has been given, the lift is successful, smile on Moses’s face:
DSF7827

32_19
Scorekeeper’s little dog takes a break:
DSF7829

32_20
It is a long day, so there is time for a nap:
DSF7841

32_21
My wife and daughter took their siesta on the grass outside:
DSF7842

32_22
Lots of people were taking lots of pictures of “their” competitors:
DSF7832

32_23
For the competitors, there is also a lot of waiting around:
DSF7836

32_24
Moses performing in the second discipline, the bench press:
DSF7839

32_25
Powerlifting is male-dominated sport, but there were a few, very impressive, women:
DSF7854

32_26
The deadlift is Moses’s strongest discipline, and he set a new personal best in his third lift, with 570 lbs:
DSF7859

32_27
Two delightful spectators:
DSF7861

32_28
Event over, a group photo of the lifters with their trophies is taken:
DSF7863

32_29
The next day, we drove up to Niagara Falls. I have been there many times, but not recently. It is somewhat tacky and touristy but the falls themselves are an awesome sight:
DSF7874

32_30
Couple looking at the falls:
DSF7877

32_31
Tourists paying good money to get very wet:
DSF7876

32_32
Overall view of the Horseshoe Falls (the main falls, on the Canadian side):
DSF7885

32_33
After visiting the falls, we drove to the nearby town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, the centre of southern Ontario’s wine industry. Here is the entrance to one of the biggest wineries, Peller:
DSF7899

32_34
Besides the wineries, there is also a small craft brewery, Oast House Brewers:
DSF7918

32_35
DSF7919

32_36
I tasted their ale and would not let go of the bottle:
DSF7919

1 Comment »

  1. Another neat and interesting travel set, Nathan. Always good to keep up with the family’s lives as well.

    Comment by Geoff Hopknson — 20 August 2014 @ 21:53

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment

Powered by WordPress