Reason No. 30: Being a son of a beach.
Posted on Friday, June 4th, 2010
by block club
In wintertime we curse Lake Erie for being directly responsible for our mountains of lake effect snow, but our grumbles soon melt into gratitude when the warm weather comes and the lake’s glistening waters spread out before us. Buffalonians can have a day at the beach that suits whatever mood the work week has left them in. Thank God it’s Friday night and you just got paid? Sunset Bay, about 40 minutes south of Buffalo in Irving, has the hot babes, cold beer and beachy nightlife scene. No alcohol allowed on the beach, but nearby Sunset Bay Beach Club has a view of the water, drink specials, and 20-somethings rocking out to cover bands. Looking for something a little more family-friendly? Sherkston Shores is north of the border in Fort Erie, Ontario. It’s a resort with RV camp sites and vacation homes, but a day pass will get you use of the clean, sandy beaches, heated pools, waterslides, putt-putt and more. For the quieter, less-touristy crowd there’s Beaver Island State Park on southern Grand Island. The Niagara River’s cool waters offer swimming and a marina, plus nature trails and a golf course that make for a stress-free sanctuary.
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Reason No. 29: Drinking Niagara Falls
Posted on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
by block club
It’s always difficult if you’re at a restaurant and you’re asked what kind of wine you’d like with your herbed goat cheese and roasted strawberry tartlet, and you answer, “I’ll just have a water, thank you.” Or how about when you’re put in charge of ordering a bottle of red for the table and you ask for a nice cold White Zin. The looks you get are not comfortable looks. That’s why it’s a fantastic thing that we live just minutes from an entire wine-producing region just waiting for your arrival. The wine industry in Niagara County has exploded over the last 15 or so years, bringing with it ample opportunity to tour beautiful vineyards, taste some serious wine, learn how to pair with food, how to store and serve different varietals and meet the growers who are making it all possible. Now is your chance; don’t ruin another backyard barbeque with your exalting jibber-jabber about boxed wine. Visit niagarawinetrail.org for winery and tour information.
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Reason No. 28: Being inside and outside at the same time.
Posted on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
by block club
Many like to take refuge under a porch to avoid getting wet in a rainstorm, or to get out of the sun after a long day in it. But the benefits of having a porch don’t stop there. In many city neighborhoods, when you are out on your porch and look to either side, you’ll see many of your neighbors out on their porches as well, enjoying the fresh air. It’s a great chance to say hello or greet the new residents on your street.
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Reason 27: Grilling your dinner and dessert.
Posted on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
by block club
T
here is nothing like firing up the grill on a hot summer night. Sure, hot dogs and hamburgers are a quick and easy dinner option but putting together a random assortment of meat, seafood and veggies on skewers is much more fun. You can grill almost anything! The possibilities are endless, but the best part could be dessert. Toss some pineapples, apples and pears onto the grill for some grill-marked-dessert goodness.
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Reason No. 26: Chasing after trucks.
Posted on Monday, May 31st, 2010
by block club
You’ve been toiling away in the oppressive sun all afternoon, mastering your Parisian landscape in sidewalk chalk, while somewhere your game of hide-and-seek is still in progress (or is it?), and suddenly you hear the bells of the summertime angels sing to you. It’s not that hard to stock your freezer with Creamsicles, but there’s just something magical about a rainbow-clad short bus driving down your street, singing The Entertainer, with the simple objective of making you happy. These days, old-fashioned ice cream trucks thankfully still come around, but if you’re mastering your name in chalk on Elmwood or Hertel, you just might catch James and his Ice Creamcycle riding his big freezer-attached tricycle your way. Times may be changing, but it’s nice to know that King Cones haven’t.
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Reason No. 25: Getting dirty.
Posted on Sunday, May 30th, 2010
by block club
Some find Zen on a motorcycle, but we bet more find it in a garden. It takes a kind soul to find digging through dirt, worms and weeds in the hot sun a peaceful exercise. At its best, it’s a chance to be meditative, to be one with the earth, to get down and dirty and be part of creating something as magnificent as a flowering hydrangea or plump beefsteak tomato. As solitary as gardening may be at times, the gathering of greenthumbs at neighborhood nurseries gets conversations going–about pH levels, proper propagation and everything else about which non-gardeners know nada. And that, as Martha would say, is a good thing. You can also get your thumbs green at this year’s Garden Walk, Buffalo’s ever-popular garden tour.
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Reason No. 24: Woof, woof, bark. Bark, woof bark.
Posted on Saturday, May 29th, 2010
by block club
There’s something about a wide open field that flips a switch in a dog’s brain. It could be the laziest, gloomiest, won’t-get-up-except-to-eat-from-its-kibble-bowl dog, but give it a strip of grass and unhook its leash and–zing!–Fido’s suddenly a tiny spec in the distance. Thank goodness The Barkyard, LaSalle Park’s off-leash dog park, is fenced in. With 70,000 square feet of freedom open from dawn ‘til dusk it’s a tail-wagging good time, and there’s even a special area just for smaller pups. The Amherst Paw Park has got the same idea, and they’re planning on opening Labor Day weekend. Besides the exercise, dogs get to socialize at the parks. A few local groups for specific breeds–like the Buffalo Dachshund Club on meetup.com–let owners chat about their canine crushes while the pets play nice.
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Reason No. 23: Boozing on a cruise.
Posted on Friday, May 28th, 2010
by block club
For being located on one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world, WNYers don’t nearly take enough advantage of Lakes Erie and Ontario. One way to get out on the water is to take a Booze Cruise. Get a group of friends and hop onboard The Moondance Cat or The Miss Buffalo, cocktail in hand. Typically there are two departures a night, but be sure to call ahead because often times boats are booked for private parties. We recommend taking the sunset cruise. It’s magical to see the Queen City lit up at night from the water.
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Reason No. 22: Breaking the law with your little brother.
Posted on Thursday, May 27th, 2010
by block club
A WNY summer wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the drive-in. With only one remaining in the area (Transit Drive-In) it’s important that we show our support to ensure it stays in business. Typically, with an admission you get to see two movies and plenty of people doing other, non-movie-related activities (use your imagination). If you have younger siblings, it’s a sacred duty to show them how to sneak a friend into the drive-in without paying. Just hope that they don’t rat you out to Mom and Dad. If you can’t make it to the drive-in, there are plenty of other outdoor movie options in the area. Check out Bacchus Restaurant for their weekly movies on their back patio. Squeaky Wheel has an outdoor animation festival in Allentown (July 24 and 31).
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Reason No. 21: Dining under the stars.
Posted on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
by block club
In Italian, al fresco means “in the cool,” but we’ve come to refer to any meal eaten outdoors as such. Though your morning bagel on the way to work might technically count, we had other dining experiences in mind. True, a stop to the hot dog truck in the park makes an acceptably charming lunch, but until you’ve sipped on a house-made lemon cordial on the secluded, enchanted back patio of LaTeeDa (206 Allen St., Buffalo), you don’t know what you’re missing. Tempo (581 Delaware Ave., Buffalo) and Ristorante Lombardo (1198 Hertel Ave., Buffalo) take front patio dining to new levels of sophistication with their outdoor Italian feasts, which manage to be both elegant and simple without sacrificing innovation. If dining by the water, a ride north to the shore of Lake Ontario gives you both the country club-like Wilson Boat House (57 Harbor St., Wilson), with their picturesque view of the inner harbor, and the more casual Silo (115 N. Water St., Lewiston), where you can chomp on a grilled wiener sitting on the wraparound porch of the converted silo overlooking the Niagara Gorge. Hmm, I think it’s going to be awhile until we eat indoors again.
