The American Adventure: New York

For almost two weeks, I had gotten to travel around the Midwest--a part of the country that I had never been to before (check out my adventures here)--now it was my turn to show Adam around New York!

Instead of flying back to Buffalo, Adam and I decided to take an Amtrak train. It sounds like a good idea but if you are on a time crunch to get somewhere, pay the extra money for a quick and timely flight because passenger trains in America are almost a joke (luckily, we were not in a huge rush so the fact that our train was delayed eight hours, stranding us in Chicago for 20 hours, and getting us into Buffalo an entire day late wasn't too big of a deal... Being bumped up to 1st class for the first leg of the journey wasn't too shabby either!!). We had a day to spend in Chicago so Adam and I made the most of our time there checking out the big shiny bean, the navy pier, the Hard Rock Cafe, and we got Chicago style pizza (I had to try it in order to continue to speak out against it with some experience behind my claims).

We have differing opinions in regards to Chicago style pizza...

Finally, we arrived in Buffalo.

Because of unseen circumstances, our original plan of visiting New York City was cancelled. So now, poor Adam was in New York, thinking he was going to New York City, but was stuck in little old Tonawanda where I don't even enjoy spending too much time! So after Adam showed me such a good time in Minnesota, the pressure was on to show him some of the best spots of western New York!

#1. The Sterling Renaissance Faire

This place is about two and a half hours away from where I live and one of my favorite things to do over the summer! The shops, the shows, the food (steak on a stake!!!!!), the characters, and, yes, even the outfits. It's a fun, happy place to visit and I thoroughly enjoy attending at least once a year. So when I heard Adam listening to Celtic rock around St. Patrick's Day, I knew that he would enjoy the Renn Faire (and the jousting and turkey legs). We chowed down on steak on a stake, tried mead, the boys threw axes (guess who won?), got lost in the maze, watched the joust, and listened to the pub sing. It's a bit of a different place but if you go with an open mind and willing to have fun, you will thoroughly enjoy yourself.

The men ready to throw some battle axes!!

Look who won!!!

#2. Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is like New York's version of West Lake. Whenever someone comes to visit you and you ask them what they want to do, they say, "Niagara Falls!" So when Adam came to visit and New York City was out of the question, we knew we had to at least get him to the falls! We ended up going to the Canadian side because--let's be honest--the American side is pretty boring. We walked across the bridge and through the border (the best way to avoid the grumpy border patrol workers and the ridiculous traffic). We ended up at Clifton Hill where we visited the Hersey store, Hard Rock Cafe, the movie wax museum, the Ferris wheel, and indoor mini golf. With our wonderful tour guide (aka: dad), we took Adam up to the horseshoe falls... sadly we never got to do the Maid of the Mist... Saves us something to do next summer!!

#3. Anchor Bar

When you say Buffalo, New York, different things may pop into your mind. The pathetic Bills. The place where McKinley got shot (sorry about that...). The place where the Vince Lombardi Trophy and the Stanley Cup have been lost... multiple times. But our greatest claim to fame may be something smaller... so small, it can fit on your plate--in your hand even!! Yes, I am talking about the most glorious and beautiful of all culinary discoveries: The Chicken Wing.

Buffalo is obsessed with it's chicken wings--you just need to come and see our wing fest! And if you are from Buffalo, then you know that the birth place of the chicken wing as we know it is the Anchor Bar.

Now there is a war waging in Buffalo about where the best chicken wing is and Anchor Bar is one of them. So I knew that when Adam was here, we had to take him to both chicken wing places and the first on the list was the Anchor Bar.

It was a cool kids only date with me, Adam, and Jed. We thought far too highly of ourselves: we ordered 50 and maybe ate 20 (Jed always talks a big game but ends up eating four). It was a fun way to get Adam to try one of Buffalo's specialties (along with sponge candy and Loganberry soda) and a time for Adam and Jed to hang out and get to know each other.

#4. Buffalo Bisons Game

Our trip to New York City was supposed to include a Mets game. So to make it up to the boys, we all went out to the ball game and sat out in the sun to watch the Buffalo Bisons. Adam and Jed had their baseball mitts ready to catch a ball. The nachos were being munched, Adam bought some Cracker Jack, I caught a Tshirt, we got sun burnt, and we lost (yay Buffalo) but it was a fun day at the ballpark and a somewhat adequate substitute for the Mets.

 #5. Duff's

The rival to the Anchor Bar chicken wing is Duff's chicken wings. The restaurant is not nearly as nice as the Anchor Bar--it's crowded, dark, and dingy--but I'll eat at the sketchiest place if the food is delicious and Duff's did not disappoint. We ordered a bucket of 50 wings and this time (with help from dad) we were able to finish it off.

In my opinion: Anchor Bar originated the chicken wing but Duff's perfected it.

Both are good and both are famous for their own reasons... And the chicken wing is the thing I am the most proud of from Buffalo.

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Adam's trip was anything but normal and relaxing but we did manage to squeeze in some moments of fun, family, and delicious food. Hopefully next summer, we can have even more fun!!!!

Until Next Time,

Amanda

The American Adventure: Minnesota

I had managed to keep my arrival in America a secret from my brother, graduation was a huge success, the 4th of July was filled with food, family, and fun, and after 10 days of being apart, it was time to reunite with Adam in a part of the country I had never been to before--the Midwest!!

I have been actively traveling for over 10 years now. I have been all over Europe, the Caribbean, and eastern Asia. I have been up and down the East coast and even visited the West coast once...  but for some reason I had never made it to the middle of the country; the closest I got was waving down to it as I flew over. It had been sort of a nonentity--I never really paid much attention to that part of the country, not really having any deep desire to get there (no offense). So when I started dating Adam, I got to know a bit more about the Midwest (even though I still struggle with labeling them all on the map correctly), and I soon learned that I would be traveling there.

With a bit of drama in regards to my flight (add Southwest to my "I will never give you my business and fly with you ever again" list), I got in about eight hours later than originally planned... ah the joys of travel. I looked down as I flew over the Twin Cities (not Tonawanda and North Tonawanda, but Minneapolis and St. Paul) and started spotting all the lakes--now I know that the name, "Land of Lakes" is not too far off!! I got ready for a whole lot of cheese, cheeriness, and "You betcha"s: I was in Minnesota, home of the Vikings, cheese curds, and the Minnesota nice (which makes us New Yorkers look like such jerks)!!

What are some things to do in Minnesota, you ask? Plenty, don't'cha know!!

#1. The Spam Museum

Don't lie--that Monty Python song is stuck in your head now. Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, WONDERFUL SPAM! WONDERFUL SPAM!

Now, I will admit, I am not the biggest fan of spam. Unless it is a hot dog (judge away), I don't really like the idea of meat from an unknown part of an animal, chopped up, and smushed back together into a new shape. Spam is the poster child of that. My brother LOVES spam (he eats it raw sometimes) and I got into the habit of eating it in China because it was one of the only ways to actually get a substantial piece of meat (sad, I know...). However, spam was invented in Minnesota (don't'cha know!) by a man who had moved there from Buffalo (cool beans!).

Enough of the history lesson! Spam was invented in Minnesota, I was in Minnesota, therefore I had to go to the museum. The air smells like hot dogs and the building has that classic yellow and blue all throughout. You learn the history of Hormel and spam. You look at the impacts during World War II. You see how different cultures and cooking styles use spam. You can take the Spam Exam. You can practice putting together a can of spam. And (best of all), you can get free samples. Is it silly? Yes. Is it kitschy? Definitely. Did I thoroughly enjoy myself? You betcha!

#2. The Jucy Lucy

I had heard tales of this burger for months leading up to my trip to Minnesota. A burger filled with melted cheese. How could you not love the sound of that? I tried a lot of different foods (real cheese curds that squeak, the butter burger, and cheese and meat EVERYWHERE) but the Jucy Lucy was probably my favorite thing.

We went to Newt's in Rochester, MN, home of the original Jucy Lucy. Not even bothering to look at the menu, Adam and I both ordered the Jucy Lucy and when it came, it was one of the most beautiful burgers I have ever laid eyes on (the best one probably at Slim's in Hangzhou after having not seen a burger in 10 months). Adam's advice: Cut the burger in half so you don't bite into it and have molten cheese shoot down the back of your throat. The cheese just oozes everywhere, getting all over the bun and the fries. It is ooey, gooey happiness on a bun... and I miss it so much.

#3. Red Wing big boot

I have never heard of it but I also know absolutely nothing  about shoes but apparently, the little town of Red Wing, Minnesota is known for making shoes (expensive shoes if you ask me!). Adam understands my love for kitsch and so he made it his mission to find the big boot in Red Wing. We actually stumbled upon it by accident and I stood in all the boot's kitschy glory.

While in Red Wing, we also found the Uffda shop. "Uffda" is a word that I had never heard of prior to going to China last year. Then, I heard my Adam and Other Adam say it over and over and over again. I finally learned that it basically means, "Oh my gosh," or even, "Holy $h!t." It is such a fun part of the Midwest culture, there is actually shops that sell Uffda merchandise... and I wanted to buy something. I ended up with an Uffda sweatshirt (which I have not taken off since then since this summer feels more like October) and a headband from Adam to keep my ears warm when we adventure to Harbin next January.

#4. Lark Toys

Yes, it is a toy store. Yes, it is awesome. We actually passes it on the highway and made a U-turn to check it out. I wish I had been seven because this place is huge and it is awesome. They have books, a science section, sports, shells, dolls.

They also have a hat section:

A puppet section:

 And llamas:

Awesome.

#5. Whitewater Fire Tower

I love hiking. In China, there is a lack of locations and opportunities to hike (and when you do find one, it is crowded, on a road or paved sidewalk, in highly manicured nature). So when Adam took me to the White Water State Park to climb the old fire tower to look out over the whole park, I was a happy Amanda. It got cold, the wind had started to blow, and the clouds seemed to threaten rain so Adam and I quickly made our way up to the top of the hill and then made the terrifying climb up the fire tower to the very windy top. What a gorgeous view!!

#6. Lake Harriet Elf House

This was something that I had put on my bucket list a few years ago but in my mind I thought to myself, "When am I ever going to get to the elf house... Why on Earth would I go to Minneapolis?" So I definitely think it is a funny twist of fate that I met someone who lives about an hour from the elf house. When I started making the plans with Adam to come visit him and his family, the only request I had was to find that darn elf house!

I brought a small letter that I had written with me with a self addressed and stamped envelope to leave at the elf house, Adam tried to find directions online, and we actually found it within two minutes of walking around Lake Harriet!

It is a tree right between the bike path and walking path with a collection of flowers planted around the base of the trunk. It has a small, functioning door at the base just filled with letters. I was thrilled that we found it so easily!!! I left my letter behind and crossed it off My Life List (#223).

The coolest part of the whole thing was that a few weeks later when I was back in Buffalo, I actually got a response letter!! It wasn't even a simple sample letter that they send out to everyone--it specifically answered the questions I asked in my letter. So cool!! If you ever find yourself in Minneapolis, I would HIGHLY recommend leaving a letter at the Lake Harriet Elf House.

#7. The Sculpture Garden (AKA: The Big Spoon)

For some reason, a giant spoon with a cherry on it is practically the symbol of Minneapolis. I. DON'T. KNOW. WHY. I had my freshman classes choose American cities to report on and one group chose Minneapolis... and they kept showing that darn spoon. When Adam was showing me photos of what we could see in the city, I kept seeing that darn spoon. So even though I'm not a huge art girl, I wanted to see that darn spoon. Then, and only then, could I say that I had been to Minneapolis.

#8. The Mall of America

I'm not a huge mall person (always brings back awful memories of one of my first dates... ::cringe::) so if I ever have to go to the mall, I am in and out ASAP. But I have heard so much about the Mall of America and not checking it out would be like going to Orlando and not stopping by to see the Mouse (kind of the same...). So we wandered around the mall, checking out the food court, the American Girl Doll store (sorry Adam), board game stores, the Disney Store, LEGOLAND, and the amusement park.

We visited every part of the mall (except for the aquarium) and we did it all in three hours... LIKE A BOSS!!

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On top of these crazy adventures, Adam and I also made a road trip to Wisconsin for a wedding and a visit to see Other Adam and DH. Along the way, we stopped at every cheese market that we passed and bought so much cheese... too much cheese (if that is even a thing). If that is not the definition of the Midwest, I don't know what is!

I had gotten a glimpse of life in the nice, old Midwest... now it was Adam's turn to have a go in the wild and crazy New York!!

Until Next Time,
Amanda