My Buffalo Shuffle + St. Patty's Festivities

{The Falls}

Two weekends ago, I headed up north to Buffalo, New York for work. It was cold-cold-cold and snowy, which was not what my soul was needing. (My soul needs SUNSHINE, friends! And lots of it.) However, because my last two trips to Canada were such a bust in terms of exploration, I decided that despite the chilly temps and my lingering sinus infection, I would brave the cold and drive up to Niagara Falls. Let me mention that while I was not properly dressed for the freezing snow/sleet/mist coming off of the water, I will say it was a pretty spectacular sight.

{So...funny story. I had no idea where I was going or what Niagra would really look like. I just followed other cars into the National Park, then parked, then started walking. And it may have just been the Dayquill talkin', but I kept seeing mini waterfalls and I would think to myself, "Is this it? Surely this isn't it..." and I would keep on walking. Finally, FINALLY, I saw a big group of people gathered in the distance, and so I figured, "that MUST be it." But these two pics here? I was snapping pics at every swirling maelstrom, just in case....}

{Getting closer....}

{Finally!}

{Sooooo not dressed for that hike. Or the freezing spray coming off of the water. But aren't my new baby blue Nikes cute?}

Other Buffalo memories? The pharmacy I was at was located in a hospital, so I saw some pretty interesting characters throughout the course of my visit. I also got to eat my Subway sandwich opposite of a man in a hospital bed, complete with his IV and catheter, also eating a sandwich in the lobby-slash-hospital entryway-slash cafeteria seating. That was interesting. Also disgusting. And let’s see…I was also there for Daylight Saving Time, so I lost a full two hours after I arrived. If you know me, you know mornings aren’t really my thanng, so that was rough. Otherwise, Buffalo was pretty lowkey. I was so ready to get back in town and have some friend time.

 

Spring around KC is always a good time—between the Big 12 Tournament (which we shall not speak of, due to the poor showing of both Kansas teams) and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, March turns out to be a pretty fun month. I will say, last week was a little tough, as I am used to a Spring Break (24 years…and now it’s gone), but I made the most of last Monday night by celebrating my Irish blood and having a few green beers. Actually, I had a lot of green beers…and Bailey’s shots (I know, I KNOW…who orders Bailey’s shots? My coworker Brad. At my dubious look, he replied “it’s St. Patrick’s Day,” like that makes it okay to shoot Bailey’s)…and Fireballs…oof. Let’s just say last Tuesday was a little slow.

{Friends! Complete with our Bailey's shots. Thanks, Bradley. Also, can everyone please note Ben's stylin' green sequined headband and beads? I told him, look sir, if you want to drink a beer with me on St. Patty's Day, you wear some green. So he took what I provided.}

{Some dude at Kelly's was wearing this saa-weet hat. So I stole it, and look who I found! Two little leprechauns!}

{Lotsa green, lotsa beer, lotsa friends. I love a holiday where really, all you do is drink and make merry. Cheers to my Irish clansmen!}

Adventures in Calgary

{Hello, mountains! My view of Calgary as we descended...}

I had high hopes for Calgary. First of all, I did a little research prior to booking travel and since I had that awful 6:00am flight, I figured I would do a few touristy things when I got into town at 11:30am. However, I did not account for all of the snow and frosty temps. It was COLD and super snowy, as in snowing pretty much every day I was there. And so, being the cultured Midwest girl that I am, I went and got a manicure. Because, hey—a lot of people are looking at my hands and fingers as I point and gesture during my training on the robot. And I think this shellac business has gotten me addicted—I never ever used to wear nail polish, unless it was clear, and now, I find myself choosing the most unpredictable colors (“Kiss Me, I’m Brazilian”? Yes, please. Also, does anyone else think OPI just recycles their colors and gives them new names? I feel like I have an awful lot of pinks that are suspiciously similar in shade…). So, yep, instead of climbing to the top of Calgary Tower, which is what I had planned to do, I instead stuck closer to the ground and drove fearlessly to the nail salon and then on down the road to my hotel, where I penned my oh-so-eloquent previous blog post and caught up on House of Cards. (Oh. My. Gosh. Addicted.)

{...And my view of Calgary when I landed. Snow, sleet, and cold. Boo. Would you want to climb up 1228 meters (however tall that is) above sea level in this weather? Yeah, me neither.}

{A little blurry, but check out the temp up there in the right corner. This is what I came out to each morning. Also, on my last day there, I finally asked the hotel clerk why there were outlets in front of the parking spots. She said sometimes it's so cold, you have to plug your car in to get juice for it to start. You have to plug your car into an outlet. That's COLD, friends.}

I actually stayed in a town outside of Calgary called Strathmore. It was kind of a small town and it reminded me of somewhere in central Kansas (the smell of cattle wafted through the air as I arrived). I don’t know if this is common knowledge, but Calgary was very proud to be known as the “Gateway to the NEW West,” and they also host a pretty serious rodeo apparently. I saw a lot of cowboy hats and big ol’ trucks, which is not what comes to mind when I picture Canada. So that was interesting. Otherwise, Strathmore was really snowy and cold and it had maybe the best restaurant I’ve found in my travels so far. It was a take-away Japanese place, but you could get a bento box with stir-fry, sushi and dumplings or a springroll for like $12. I ate there maybe three times in my three day stay (yeah, that’s every night). Edo Japan, please come to Kansas. You’d do well. I promise.

 

I also discovered Aero chocolates, which are ah-mazing. I think the Hershey’s Bubbles are a knockoff, but these are flavored chocolates and they’re in the shape of little balls. The orange were my fav. Let’s see…what else, what else? The accents in this part of Canada are waaaaaaay more noticeable, eh? The “oh” sound is much more pronounced, and “eh” really is part of their vernacular. They use it like “yeah?” or “okay?”. Pretty funny, but I have noticed that I have a habit of mimicking wherever I am. When I was down in the southern states before Christmas, my draaaawl came out. And up in Canada, I’m all about the “oot” sound. Although, up north, they all thought I had a southern accent. Ha!

{Candy pic? Check. Isn't my life on the road simply stimulating?}

My journey home was where the real adventure started. Because of a scheduling snafu, I ended up having to travel to Canada a day earlier than expected, and come home a day earlier as well. So…I got booked on the red-eye home. I left my pharmacy at 2pm (after working since 7am); drove to Calgary; flew to San Francisco at 6:30pm; flew to Houston at 1am; and finally flew home to KC at 8:30am. It was a lonnnnng day/night. Also, let me add to my previous list of People You Don’t Want To Sit Next To On An Airplane: Guy Who Never Stops Moving. First of all, I knew this guy was trouble when I sat down in my seat on the plane and I could smell his breath as I hugged the window. Halitosis? It’s real. It’s rough. Secondly, he picked his nose. Not just like, swipe and be done. I’m talking, he picked with his fingers, rutting it around in there consistently throughout the three hour flight. Picked and flicked. Barf. And he did. not. sit. still. He was moving his legs; he was rolling his head around; he was leaning forward in his seat and putting his head on the seat in front of him; he was hogging the armrest and moving into my territory, so I may have had to throw some ‘bows, if you know what I mean. It was annoying, to say the least. Let’s just say, I’m glad to be back Stateside and let’s all cross our fingers that the flight to Buffalo this weekend is uneventful and there is NO MORE SNOW.