Spring Break Adventure: New York

I'm back! My whirlwind Spring Break road trip has come to an end. We left Carbondale Friday after work and drove through the night. Our friend Caitlyn in Columbus stayed up and we got to visit her at 1am! It was a short but nice visit. By morning, we had made it to Buffalo, NY. We looked up a place to have breakfast and chose the Lake Effect Diner because it was featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

The 1950s diner was saved and moved from Pennsylvania to Buffalo. So cute but very tiny! We started with the fresh-squeezed OJ. I ordered Eggs Benedict. Great decision!

My only complaint was that the hash browns could have been a bit crispier. Brandon had the Blizzard Breakfast, it was huge!

His sausage was house-ground and tasted delicious. It also came with a pancake topped with a big ball of sugary butter.

When we were done, it was a short drive to Niagra Falls.

Brandon Jr.

We explored the visitor's center first.

Then we headed outside, where we froze our butts off. But the view was worth it:

The mist turned into the snow that was falling on us.

Both Brandon and I had been here with our families before but it was our first time there together. We were glad we stopped and checked it off our list (and added it to the map).

Weekend Get-away

Brandon and I are traveling to the Kenniston Family Reunion this weekend in Corry, PA. We are leaving tomorrow and plan on taking our time driving out there. Possibilities for Friday include:

Louisville, KY:

• Lynn's Paradise Cafe Bobby Flay challenged Lynn to a breakfast Throwdown here!
• Louisville Slugger Museum Brandon wants to get his dad an engraved bat for Father's Day, shhh... don't tell!

Cincinnati, OH:

• Carew Tower For the view
• William Howard Taft Historical Site Brandon's choice, clearly, but maybe I can trick him into taking me to the Taft Museum (art)
• Cincinatti Museum Center A cool looking building
• Wineries along the way, if open (we're such winos now)

And spending the night with our friend Caitlyn in Columbus, OH.

Any other suggestions for a good time? See you on the flip side!

Jarling's Custard Cup

This past weekend has been a whirlwind. Friday night we drove up to Chicago. On the way there we saw a very large cross in Effingham, IL: 

We also made a pit stop in Champaign to visit a friend at Jarling's Custard Cup.

The menu was huge, it spanned the length of the store. They offer everything from milkshakes and sundaes to old fashioned sodas and "snowstorms" (like Blizzards). I had 1 scoop of chocolate custard in a waffle cone:

Brandon had a pomegranate raspberry slushie (I think they called it something else, but I forget). Our waitress was new and I think she put in too many pumps of syrup, but it was a good flavor. We ate outside in front of the store. They had a bunch of tables out. Unfortunately, middle schoolers took over the place - some were even dancing on top of the picnic tables. They also have a drive-thru which was packed. We waited in line for about 10 minutes and we walked out with 2 waffle cones and the slushie for about $7. It was a fun pit-stop.