back in town

no posts in a while, but we’ve got good reason. we were out of town for a week, went back to Buffalo, NY to celebrate my stepfather’s birthday, and attend the Buffalo Brew Fest.

it was awesome. read on for details and wistful yadda yadda. gosh i miss the east coast. and did i mention, nobody knew we were coming?

so, we flew in a few days in advance of either event. after finding out my stepdad was going out of town for business ON his birthday, we schemed with my brother & sisterinlaw to surprise as many people as possible. my mom was the last. hah! (hi, mom!).

so we bummed around a bit, i showed carrie UB’s amherst campus and all it’s lego-like 60’s design flair. we hit a few good brewpubs in town and visited with my brother’s fam before surprising my stepdad at work, and my mom at his birthday dinner that night.

saturday was the brew fest. what a great time! awesome for the city, the community, and the venue — this year, it was held at the Buffalo Central Terminal which is in the middle of a colossal renovation project. the area of the city was quite depressed (and depressing). to see a breakdown of people caring for their neighborhood, and the city failing to maintain even the most common public services. sidewalks and curbs were being re-taken by grass, houses in various states of disrepair. and the terminal itself — so much work done, but so much left to do.

i’ve previously pitched-wistful on renovation projects (i’m up to my elbows in a small-scale renovation, myself) but i have to say – places like the Buffalo Central Terminal are really the front-lines in the fight to save what the previous century’s prosperity built.

okay, enough blathering. it was a great trip!