On Wednesday night, Patti and I left for the Frozen North at midnight. Patti emailed me a couple of weeks ago and told me that she had to go to New York to see her brother and help out and asked if I would like to ride up there with her. I took a couple of days off and away we went! Like I said, we left at midnight. It was a very long, very dark, very rainy, very crappy drive. We had plenty of time for great conversation on the way up! I managed to stay awake (thanks to a very large can of something from Starbucks) until about 5:30am. Then I napped for about 45 minutes. We were slightly delayed on the way up by the weather and a road construction malfunction. At any rate, we arrived in Erie, Pennsylvania at around 10:30 on Thursday morning. It was very cold and raining, but Steve was waiting there for me!! :) WOOT! Patti and Steve met, we transferred my stuff to Steve's car, and then we went inside HealthSouth to meet Patti's brother, Bill. I am so glad he is doing better. It was very nice to meet him. After a brief visit with Bill, it was time for Steve and me to head for Dunkirk.
When we left HealthSouth, Steve had a couple of stops to make in Erie. We went to the mall to return a few things. Then we stopped for Steve to check on some coins. Then he took me to Chick-Fil-A (because I was STARVING!) and we were off to Dunkirk. I was glad Steve was the one to take me into New York state. :) When we got to Kelly and Mike's house, we got my stuff into the house, I met Duke the Wonder Dog (who is very LARGE, but mostly a very good dog), and then it was time to rest. Steve had to go to the funeral home for his great uncle :( so I stayed behind to take a much needed nap. I woke up when he came back and then I got to meet Kelly, who was home from work by then. After I said a quick hello, I took a shower and got cleaned up for the evening. I felt MUCH better after a shower! We visited with Kelly and Mike for a few minutes and then Steve took me to meet his grandma. She is so sweet! I'm glad I got to meet her! After that, Steve took me to one of the clubs he belongs to and I got to meet a couple of his friends. They made me feel very welcome! After the club, it was back to Kelly and Mike's for dinner. We had pizza and the best wings I have ever eaten. Ever. They were so good. Steve's parents came by Kelly and Mike's too, so I got to meet them as well. I was very excited (and nervous) to meet his parents! We called it a night kind of early because I was so very tired from the trip. (No pictures from this day. I was brain dead. Fail.)
On Friday, we went with Kelly and Mike to breakfast at Demetri's on the Lake. I had yummy cinnamon french toast and bacon. SO good! We spent most of the afternoon just hanging out. Steve had made dinner reservations for us at 4:30, so we got ready and took off for dinner. I don't know why I didn't take our picture. We looked pretty snappy. :) We had a lovely dinner at The Colony. I had chicken and broccoli alfredo, if you're curious. It was very good! After dinner, we went back to change and then Steve took me ice skating! I'm not gonna lie. I was terrified. It had been at least 9 years since I had been skating and I was surrounded by people from New York who seemed to be very comfortable on the ice. Steve promised me he wouldn't let me fall, and despite my best efforts, he kept his promise. :) I am a spaz. Seriously. It's a wonder I can even walk. But somehow, he was able to keep me upright. I held tightly to Steve and the wall for a while. Later on, I was able to let go of the wall and just hold onto Steve. :) Despite the fact that I was terrified of returning to SC in a full body cast, I had a wonderful time! :) Unfortunately, there are no pictures of this skating adventure. I could barely stand up...I certainly couldn't have managed a camera!!!
Saturday was a very big day! The weather was a little better (no rain, just clouds), so Steve took me to Niagara Falls! I was very excited!!
Here we are in the Hoop, about to leave:
We grabbed some lunch on the way out of town and took off. When we arrived at Niagara Falls, it was VERY cold! I am so glad that Kelly let me borrow one of her big coats and one of her hats! Otherwise, I might still be a popsicle! We walked around for a little bit, and then decided to go on the boat ride. It was cold and wet, but I'm glad we did! It was so beautiful to see the Falls that way!Here are a few shots of the Falls from the Maid of the Mist:
Don't we look adorable in our giant blue Maid of the Mist ponchos?
After our cruise, we walked around the park. We were seriously jealous of Canada. Unfortunately, because terrorists don't know how to behave, you have to have a passport to go to Canada now. Fail. And it's just right there....taunting you with all of its bright lights, fun looking places, and even a ferris wheel! We getting our passports so we can go to Canada next time. I mean it. Look how fun it looks!!! 
Here are some people on the Maid of the Mist, getting ready to set sail (and get wet!)
The Falls were beautiful. I took almost 90 pictures.
I was doing my typical hold the camera out and take our picture thing and a nice lady stopped to take one for us. :)
We walked and walked and walked and looked at the Falls, I think from every angle possible on the American side. And I took more pictures...
I had such an amazing time at the Falls with Steve! It was wonderful to get to spend the day together in such a beautiful place!! :) We headed back to Dunkirk for dinner with Steve's family. Since it was Saturday and game day, I had to go get my spurs up (or my Gamecock colors on)! I got dressed and we went for dinner. Steve's mom made a wonderful dinner for us! We had chicken (that I don't know how to pronounce, much less spell), corn, mashed potatoes, a cucumber salad, and rolls and a delicious strawberry dessert! YUM! Everything was so good and I really enjoyed spending time with Steve's parents, Kelly and Mike, and of course, Steve! They are all such wonderful people! After dinner, Steve took me to meet his grandpa. Oh my goodness, he was so hilarious. So very cute. :) After that, Steve and I watched the ill-fated Carolina-Alabama game. Gamecock. Fail. Oh well. It was a wonderfully marvelous day anyway! :)
Oops! I almost forgot Zeek! Heehee. Fat cat. :)
All too quickly, Sunday arrived and it was time to go. I got ready, said goodbye to Kelly and Mike, and Steve and I headed for Erie to meet Patti. The drive to Erie was beautiful. The sun came out and the fall colors were so pretty. Steve and I had a late breakfast at Perkins (blueberry pancakes and bacon) and then it was time to go. I hate saying goodbye. :(
Patti and I had a long, but uneventful drive back to SC. I am so glad glad she let me ride up with her. I had such a wonderful time. It was great to catch up with Patti in the car, to get to meet Steve's family, see new places, and most of all, to spend time with Steve! :)
