Erieversible

We toddled along to the Clarence Winterfest 2009 yesterday.  We had no idea what to expect and, unfortunately, neither did the organizers in respect of the weather!  It is somewhat hard to hold a Winterfest when the temperature is in the 50s.

The unseasonal weather wiped out the ice skating attraction, though it was interesting to learn how the tennis courts are used as ice rinks in the winter.  The display by the Husky Club was also hampered by the weather, but both the people and dogs were lovely.  Some intrepid souls tried sledding but on the whole winter activities were made difficult as things melted fast around you - the ice sculpture people did their best to stay ahead of the big melt!

Our 6-year old daughter was determined to get a hayride, and she did.  And she loved it.  A totally new experience for her - and the rest of the family.  The Arts & Crafts area, where the kids could be creative, was very good.  Congratulations to the sponsors and volunteers running that area, it was very well run.  It was also an opportunity for us to check out one of the Clarence parks, and it looks like they’ll be a great town asset in the summer.

All in all it was an interesting event with more potential had the weather actually been wintery.  We’ll have to try it again next year when, hopefully, we’ll need boots and heavy coats rather than sunglasses and light jackets.

In the Buffalo area I have to say that the state of the roads is generally very good.  On an average basis, amongst the small sample of areas in the US I have driven around so far, it has the best roads.  Mostly.

Maple (from Transit westwards) is the forgotten road as far as repairs are concerned.  Quite simply it is the worst road for some distance around.  And it isn’t just bad in patches, it is consistently in bad repair.  In both directions.  Did the people and businesses along Maple not pay their taxes?  Is there some boundary dispute between authorities involved?  It is strange that one road should be singled out for neglect - or is this a feature of the US that I just haven’t discovered, that there’s one road in every area that is like this?  Very strange.

That is how long I have been getting around without the GPS device.  Go ahead and laugh, but I’m proud of me.  Okay, I’ve moved before and I always managed without a GPS device when it came time to learn my way around.  Many years ago (I won’t say how many) I moved to Washington DC by myself and managed quite well to learn my way around and find everything I needed with the help of maps and directions from people who already knew their way around.  I’m dating myself if I mention that internet mapping was in its infancy and wasn’t a huge help in those days.

But I did just fine and only got lost in “scary” neighbourhoods a couple of times!  But once you get a GPS device, you start to count on its being there for you.  And it does make life so much easier, knowing that someone knows exactly where you are going and exactly how to get there.  And the GPS device doesn’t ever shout at you when you take a wrong turn (or two or three) or when you confuse left and right.  All you get is a gentle “recalculating” and then it tells you how to get where you are going from this new and interesting direction.

But I discovered that when I have Andrew (hubby’s is called Suzy), in my car I don’t pay enough attention to where I am and where I am going.  You learn your way around by observing landmarks and learning street names and when the GPS tells you exactly when to turn, you can miss those sorts of details.  So I’ve shut mine up in the glovebox and I’ve managed to find Walmart, Target, Wegmans and also get back to Erie and back home again all by myself.  It is nice to know that Andrew is there if I need him, though!