Letchworth State Park

Back in Mid-September DH and I decided to take a day trip to Letchworth State Park.  Eventho I grew up in and around Western New York I never visited Letchworth.  Come to find out, I used to live about an hour away from it!  People from the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area joke that locals don't visit The Falls (or more specifically ride on The Maid of The Mist) until after we move from the area.  I guess the same could be said of Letchworth State Park.

These first two photos are part of the Glen Iris Inn at Letchworth State Park.  It was formerly the estate of William Pryor Letchworth and has been a country inn since 1914.  It overlooks the Middle Falls on the Gennessee River and overlooks Letchworth. 

Before I start posting the waterfall photos I wanted to make special mention of this area within Letchworth.  It's called Tea Table Rock area.  It's located in the Wolf Creek section of the park and named for the unusual rock formation.  In the 1920's, photographs of the scenic area were said to show the 'table' high on the edge of the cliff.  As for this specific photo that I took this is one of the many picnic areas of Tea Table.  It was an open-air pavilion.  There was a back wall with a fireplace and chimney.  The two sides were somewhat enclosed but had window frames that were cut out much like you see on this back wall...other parts of the sides had half walls that were about hip-high or so.  Where I was standing - taking the photo - that entrance side was open and exposed.  I think it was a great way for people to huddle to get away from the elements but still have open air for the nature lovers.  It looked VERY old and really took me back to a different time.

Here is a photo of some of the cliffs they were referring to.  When we went in mid-September, the leaves had yet to change...as you can see here.  It was still an amazing sight to see, tho!

I tried to take as many photos as I could before DH's patience ran thin.  There is a lower falls, middle falls, and upper falls.  The Middle Falls was the largest.  We mistakenly thought that was the Upper Falls and didn't actually make it up to the top.  I know we have to go back at some point so when we do I will report back and hopefully have more photos of that waterfall.

I know it's hard to see, but close to the middle of this photo, there is a small bridge that you can walk over.  We didn't make it over to the other side so I didn't get any photos from that area.  Again, I hope to go back and explore it more!

Here is a closer look at one of the bridges.  It's a little grainy because I zoomed in as much as I could.  Again, we didn't make it over to that side or else I would have gotten a better snapshot.

Here's another angle of the gorge area.  And another one of the many cliffs.  Overall, Letchworth State Park is nearly 14,500 acres and about 17 miles long.  It's about a 35 mile drive from Rochester and a 60 mile drive from Buffalo.

I was able to get more photos of the Middle Falls when we went.  Here is one as we were approaching.  In the upper right-hand corner, (which is actually the Portage Viaduct), you can see what looks like a bridge and/or railroad bridge way type structure or skywalk.  That area is where the Upper Falls is.

As we continued to walk, we could feel the mist of the falls.  The stone surrounding everything was truly amazing!  It was a bit windy that day and because we arrived earlier in the day it wasn't too busy YET and was a tad chilly.

I've always LOVED waterfalls!  When I saw how massive the Middle Falls were I knew I had to take as many pictures as possible!  I'm bummed we didn't make it to the Upper Falls that day.  Letchworth State Park is also known as the "Grand Canyon of the East".

Here's a side-shot of the Middle Falls.  I read that as many as 50 waterfalls found on tributaries that flow into Gennessee River.  In some places, the rock walls are over 550 feet high!  I had a lot of fun that day and can't wait to go back!

Mustard Seed Market, Slash, & White Bean and Cashew Cheese Quesadillas!

As I teased in the blog post from last night...we took a day trip yesterday.  We went to the Woodmere/Lyndhurst/Beachwood areas of Ohio.  I really enjoy that area.  This time around we branched out a bit more and discovered this place in Solon, Ohio, called Mustard Seed Market!  They have two other locations in Montrose/Akron area.  This place was AMAZING!  I can't wait to go back!  DH said that he thought it was better than Trader Joe's AND Whole Foods Market!

Here are my extended thoughts...price wise...they aren't as expensive as WF Market but they aren't as cheap as TJ's.  Selection?  I truly believe they have BEAT both chains when it comes to vegan options!  Size?  I was completely blown away!  The photos I saw online don't do it justice!  Atmosphere?  Well, let's just say that Mustard Seed Market blows BOTH of them out of the water!  It was much more...CHILL...than the other two.  When I have been to other WF's and TJ's it's like a RAT RACE in there and there are constantly people pushing and lingering.  NOT this place!  It's spacious and comfortable.

They had a large Cafe, Juice/Smoothie Bar, etc that we didn't stop at but we want to next time!  Dare I say it?  This might be my NEW favorite place!?

The trade off for me going to WF or TJ or now...MS (Mustard Seed)?  DH gets to go to the music stores!  We went to Guitar Center, Sam Ash, and when we went home we drove thru Erie and stopped at World of Music!  However, when we were at Guitar Center we picked up some picks for a co-workers husband and I found this lil guy!  Yup!  That's Slash from Guns N Roses!  I couldn't resist!  I HAD to buy it!  He's the latest addition to my Funko Pops!

I have so much more to share but I'm going to space it out over time because there is SO MUCH and because it's going to be a busy week and that will make more things I can share with you!

Like I stated above...we came home thru Erie and I stopped at Whole Foods Co-Op to pick up just a few things that jumped out at me.  In their Grab & Go Cooler I found these Quesadillas!  

Plain and simple they are White Bean and Cashew Cheese and they were so yummy!

If time allows...I might blog some more tonight...if not I will be back tomorrow with another post for sure!

Day Trip - Fringe of Cleveland

This past weekend Hubby and I needed to get-out-of-dodge at least for a day...so we decided to take a trip over to 'our side of Ohio'.  We didn't want to get smack-dab in the middle of Cleveland so we stayed on the fringe of it with Lyndhurst, Woodmere, and Mentor on our minds.  We decided to drive to the farthest point and work our way back.  It was just under 3 hours there.  We went to a very LARGE music store in Lyndhurst called Sam Ash Music.  It's the first branch we have been to.  We usually frequent World of Music in Erie, PA, or various Guitar Centers but this shop blew all of them out of the water!  This is a FIRST...Hubby didn't buy anything but I did!  I found a fabric Ukelele Case with a shoulder strap for about $20!  In was in a nice little plaza section with various other stores and we walked by the store fronts but didn't go inside any of the other shops. 
We then moved on to Woodmere.  I found out they had BOTH a Whole Foods Market as well as a Trader Joe's!  I was limited to one stop because there were other places we were interested in going so I decided to choose Whole Foods.  It's only the 2nd Whole Foods Market I have ever been to!  Usually when I speak about Whole Foods I am referring to Erie, PA's Whole Foods Co-Op which is owned by members and not by a chain like the market is.  Anyhow...the only other one I have been to is the one in Las Vegas.  I really liked the store but because we were only there for about a week and staying in a hotel I didn't purchase much, then.  I did notice that the Las Vegas store had a large Juice/Smoothie Bar that the Woodmere location didn't have but I have to say I really enjoyed the Woodmere location.  The staff was AMAZING, the store very clean, the selection was very nice, and I ended up buying about $45 worth of stuff.  Mostly things I couldn't find in my area/region as well as items that were lower in price than I am used to finding.  I also chose Whole Foods over Trader Joe's because they are supposed to be building a new Trader Joe's in Amherst, NY, during 4th Quarter, and that is half the time to get to once it's up!  I'm looking forward to it very much!  I have only been to one other Trader Joe's, as well, and that was the one in Pittsburgh about 2 years ago.  Saturday they were having a Vegan BBQ to raise money for a local Sanctuary and had I known I would have tried to participate but hubby had his heart set on The Winkin' Lizard and we sort of build the trip around that original thought in the first place. 

I think it's been about 5 years since we've been to the Winkin' Lizard last and I remember liking it.  So after Whole Foods Market we drove to Mentor where we ate at Winkin' Lizard there.  They have various locations as well.  I wanted to sit outside so we did.  I had a veggie wrap - without the dairy - and we shared one of their 'Drinks for 2'.  It was very nice.

We were going to try and look for a winery or two on our way back thru but we were driving on a different route and went back thru Erie and stopped to see my brother in law for a few minutes and then drove home.

It was a nice drive!  A nice day!  I'm so happy we stopped at the places we did and now Hubby has a new Music Store and perhaps we can swing by Whole Foods Market a couple a times a year now.  What did you do this weekend?  Anything special!?  Any plans for this week or upcoming weekend?