Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (Minus the Trains)

I can't believe it's already been over a week and a half since my last post and I can't believe it's been nearly 5 weeks since hubby and I attended this RC Plane Show up in Olean, NY!

Life has just been flying by that is for sure!  I figured I should post a bit about our trip to see a friend fly his radio control plane and out Car Show from a few weeks ago BEFORE post about the fair and concerts of last week.

Pardon me while I get my past posts caught up!

Yup!  About 5 weeks ago hubby and I went to Olean, NY, to see a friend of ours fly his RC Plane.  It was pretty neat!  I remember it being chilly that day - one of the few chilly days of this summer so far - and a bit gloomy and rainy - as well.

We were able to get our Abarth detailed prior to a local car show we actually participated in this summer!

Because our vehicle was 'too new' and not modified enough we weren't judged to be awarded anything but it was still fun because we were able to meet up with some of our Fiat Friends.

We had a guy in Corry, PA, do the detailing work on our Abarth and it turned out really nice!

I still can't believe it's taken me this long to post about these two day trips!

I will have many more posts coming soon - so stay tuned!

I will have a recap (or several) from the WNY VegFest as well as many from our Warren County Fair.

But first - how about some more photos from the car show, eh!?  This is our car next to our friend Tom's car.  He qualified to be judged for the modified and he won first place!

I still really like the orange graphics and paint we did last year.  My parents don't love it as much as we do - apparently - they think it makes it look like one of those 'Fast and Furious' cars!

That makes me laugh but in a way it's true!

A Few Days Off, MWM, Inductees

I took a few days off from work!  I needed it!  I was getting burned out!  Hubby and I were able to spend some time on the road with our Abarth!  I slacked on photos except for when it came to Monday when we went to Cleveland.  More on that later in this post and a near future post.

We were able to visit Mad Mex in Erie on the way home and I opted for the Veggie Enchilada which was easily veganized by asking for vegan cheese and sour cream!  It was so YUMMY but not photo friendly so sorry for teasing you!  Here's a snapshot of the guacamole, tho!  I'm LOVING the GREEN theme in this photo!  I want those green plates, too!  'Just sayin".

While in Erie we stopped by the Whole Foods Co-Op.  It's been a while since my last visit.  And I had to restrain myself because I didn't want to spend a lot of money this trip.  I was very pleased with the visit because they are consistently upgrading EVERYTHING in the store!  I'm so happy they are doing so well!  I know someone who is reading this who used to live in Erie and who's cat loves Daiya would be thrilled to see the upgrades!  (hint, hint!)

I'm also happy to see so many new products there!  I grabbed Daiya Slices because they were $1.20 cheaper than Chao Slices.  I still haven't seen the Daiya Gouda and it's driving me CRAZY!  Since finding the last Jackfruit product I posted about I am compelled to buy additional Jackfruit products when I see them.  They had a growing Upton Naturals section and I decided to grab the Jackfruit BBQ.  I noticed Victoria Vegan has new labels and new offerings, too!  When I saw they have an Alfredo Artichoke I couldn't resist! That was my splurge as VV is quite expensive.  You can see the Earth Balance in the right hand corner, too!  Hubby has now converted to EB.  He really likes it!  No...is isn't veg and he never will be but EB he actually likes.  So now it's the only 'butter' found in our (mixed diet) frig.  The Whole Foods Co-Op is the only place I'm able to actually pick up issues of VegNews, too, so I jumped on it.
One of these days I will actually subscribe!  Of course I have been saying that for YEARS!

Here is my first MWM Post of the Week!  Remember to keep reading and link up below to participate!  You can link up as much as you want thru Tuesday!  It can be anything VEGAN...product reviews, grocery store visits, online purchases, produce stands and farmers market hauls, recipes, etc!  LINK UP at the bottom of this post!

I won't post photos in this post from our Monday trip to the RnR HoF but it will be very soon!

YUP!  We dropped by the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame!  Just days before this years induction.  They were getting ready for the festivities!  More on that in a future post!



It's LINK UP Time!!!!  We would LOVE for you to join us during this week's MWM (MidWeek Munchies!)

An InLinkz Link-up

Our First Fiat Club Meet Up!

This past weekend Dale and I participated in our very first meet up with the Western New York Southern Ontario Fiat Club. 

I, personally, have been waiting a month or two for this!  It did NOT disappoint!  It was a FUN time!  We did a LOT of driving and met some really great people! 

Our starting point was in Warren, PA, and we met up with a couple from Jamestown, NY, over at the Park N Ride there.

After we met Tom and his wife Kathy in Jamestown - the 4 of us - in our 2 Abarth's - drove to Ellicottville, NY, for the first stop on the run!  

When we got to Ellicottville we grabbed some tea and coffee at The Coffee Culture and chatted a bit.  This was the first time we have met ANY of these people.  Everyone was great tho!  Shortly after we started sipping and chatting another man drove in with his Ferrari.  Not too long after that the brunt of the Buffalo Area crew drove in - with their various Italian Cars!  2 of them stopped to get gas before the entered the parking lot of the coffee place. 

Of course I snapped some photos on my iPhone.  After everyone official 'met' each other we decided to take off!   In the photo above I think I was able to get everyone accept maybe 1 car.  In this photo I wanted to get the Abarth's and Fiat's together.  The red one is Tom & Kathy's and ours is to the right of theirs...the grey one!

From Ellicottville, NY, we all drove to Bradford, PA.  We drove around downtown and over to the Zippo Museum.  This was the first time I had ever been at the Zippo Museum eventho it's not far from our home.  Funny thing, too, is we drove the other way to go back but we want to get to know these guys and thought it would be fun!  I think I am going to post another blog entry about the factory in the near future because this post is already going to be VERY long.  There is a TON of history when it comes to Zippo Lighters but more on that later.

We spent some time at the museum and were able to talk to the chapter's leader Darryl and his brother Owen quite a bit.

On the drive from Ellicottville to Bradford Owen was leading the pack then Tom and his wife and then Dale and I.  The Abarth's were in front.  When we left the Museum the Ferrari was in front of us.

I was able to get a photo of most of the cars in the parking lot of the museum except for Darryl's Spider that was in the other section.  There was also an Alfa that came along on the drive.

The weather ended up being pretty nice but it didn't start out that way!  When we left Warren we were attacked by bug swarms!  I think it's going to be a problem near the Conewango Creek this year.

As you can see our SPRING is a little behind because of the wicked winter we had.  Not much has bloomed yet.  Some area Landscapers have said it's about 2 to 3 weeks behind schedule.  Many people in our area have lost a LOT of their trees, shrubs, and other plant life that comes up every year because it was colder than usual.

So...that's why the scenic tour isn't as scenic in these photos, I guess.  It was nice, tho, at least it wasn't snowing!  Fingers crossed there will not be any more snow but then again nothing ever shocks me anymore!

From Bradford we headed back to the state of New York to Salamanca.  Much of Salamanca, NY, is on the Seneca Allegany Indian Reservation.  It's a lovely part of the state.

Our destination while in Salamanca was a restaurant on top of a hill.  It used to be called The Red Garter but it was recently bought and remodeled.  It's called Bear Mountain now.  They still have the restaurant and are adding a RV Park.

Dale and I got HUGE salads (because we were going to have dinner in a few hours) and they were really fresh and tasty and reasonably priced!

Here's a photo I took of the cars lined up in the parking lot on top of the hill.  You can see SOME of the trees bloom in the back.  We have mountains of trees around our area since we are near the Allegheny National Forest among other things! 

The restaurant was HUGE and had 2 floors.  They had a bar downstairs - capabilities of one upstairs as well as outside - plus decks on both levels.  The outside seating area was painted in Orange and Black - Harley Davidson Colors.

Here's a look at the view from the parking lot.  It's MUCH higher up than it looks in this photo.

We had a GREAT time!  There are more photos on my Facebook if you are interested.  The WNY SO Fiat Club will be participating in the Euro Car Day in Williamsville, NY, on June 8th and I think we are going to go!  I think on June 21st they are headed up to the Finger Lakes for a stop a a trio of Wineries.  I really hope we can attend that as well.  In between those two weekends we have a LARGE Wildtree event that I will tell you about in the near future, too!

After we parted ways from the group after a late lunch or early dinner we took a drive on our own.  Not nearly as speedy or lengthy.  But we ended up in Onoville, NY, which is near Frewsburg, NY, and went to The Horseshoe Inn for dinner.  It was nice.  I haven't been there in a LONG time and they made me a wonderfully LARGE Veggie Wrap!

Afterwards we headed back home.  It was a FULL day but it was super FUN!  Can't wait for the next Meet Up with the Fiat Peeps!  I think we ended up putting 400 miles on the Abarth but we didn't even empty the tank!  NICE!

Taste of India - Amherst, NY - Visit

Yes, once again I am behind on my blogging but I do have a lot in-store for this week so stay tuned.  I would like to thank everyone for the well wishes for our cat Charlie.  He's progressing with his recovery and I hope to post a progress report on that later this week. 

In the meantime...for today's post...a visit to A Taste of India in the Buffalo, NY, area a little over a week ago.

My husband and I took a day trip to a few places in the Buffalo area in the Abarth.  This is where we had lunch.  They have a HUGE menu and a nice vegetarian section.  I thought it was neat that you could 'name your heat level'.  I decided to choose Medium but next time I will be going with the Hot.  What did I have?  Well...off their vegetarian menu I chose the Chana Saag.  Curried Spinach with Chickpeas.  It came with Rice and in their white rice they added simple chunks of carrot for color.  I really enjoyed it. 

Along with my meal I had a large glass of straight-up Mango Juice.  Dale is somewhat hooked on Mango Lassi Drinks now.  I am going to start making them at home for him.

Because he's FAR FROM Vegetarian he chose one of the platters because he wanted to try a bunch of different things that they offered.  I believe there was Tandoori Chicken and Shrimp, Chicken Tikka, Boti Kebab, Naan, Sauteed Onions and Peppers, Beef Curry, and he had some of the white rice of mine because there was a huge plate of it and I thought he would enjoy it.  The location was on Sheridan Drive in Amherst but many people just say "Buffalo".  It's always FUN visiting the area I grew up and I think we will be doing it more often with the small cars and the Fiat Club.  Speaking of which - we hope the weather holds for this Saturday because it is the first time we hope to meet up with them.  We are planning on visiting the Zippo Factory and Museum in Bradford, PA with a few other stops along the way.  More on that next week, tho!