Weekend in New York

Last Thursday, Aidan and I flew to New York to spend a long weekend with James. Hooter County schools had a student holiday on Friday and we decided that Aidan could also miss school on Thursday.

We flew into Rochester, because Rochester typically has better airfares than Syracuse, so James had to drive about an hour and a half to pick us up. It was so good to see him after four long weeks! We drove to his apartment in Baldwinsville and then stretched our legs by walking around the village. So charming! I adore the mix of house styles and like that we could be in "downtown" Baldwinsville in just a few steps. We had pizza for dinner, then walked back home.

On Friday, James went into work for the morning so Aidan and I walked around the village. I got a delicious cup of coffee from Shamballa Cafe, and we walked to a park right by the Seneca River.


There were geese in the river and on the riverbank; I stopped counting when I reached 100. Aidan played in the playground while I sipped my coffee and enjoyed the scenery. It was a chilly morning, but the sun was shining and it was beautiful.

James picked us up and we went to Sal's Fish Fry in Syracuse for fish sandwiches and slaw. Yum! He took us to his workplace for us to do a Meet and Greet; we walked all through the office meeting James' coworkers and staff. Everyone was very nice but don't ask me to remember anyone's name!

We then went to Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool. Although several of the attracitons were already closed for the season, we enjoyed walking through the park and admiring the fall colors. Aidan paused from playing long enough to have his photo made with James:


Back in Baldwinsville, we did a bit more exploring before my feet completely gave out. Lock E24 on the Erie Canal is located in B'ville and while we did not get to see a boat go through the lock, it was still quite interesting.


We ate burgers at Zebb's for dinner - yum! - then called it a night. After a hearty breakfast at the B'ville Diner on Saturday morning, we headed up to Oswego so Aidan could see his first Great Lake:


He was very impressed with the size of Lake Ontario and declared it "cool". We spent most of the morning wandering around Fort Ontario. Aidan liked going into the casements and pretended to shoot the bad guys with the cannon:


We drove back to Syracuse for a late lunch at the famed Dinosaur BBQ. While very good (but also very crowded and VERY loud), it doesn't rate anywhere near delicious Eastern North Carolina barbecue. Sorry, folks.

We took it easy the rest of Saturday with only a short walk around the village and snacks for dinner. On Sunday morning, we drove back to Rochester where Aidan and I sadly got on the airplace and flew back to Georgia. It was a delightful weekend, although way too short, but at least we know we will be back home in New York in only two months.

Never underestimate the power of a good haircut

It has been a rough couple of weeks for me. Oh, who am I kidding, it's really been a rough couple of years for me. But the last few weeks have been tougher than usual and I have felt my old nemeses, the demons of depression, creeping up on me.

After Aidan was born, I developed postpartum depression. What a rude surprise, given that I had never experienced depression prior to that time. It took a compassionate pediatrician kicking my butt and a multi-month regimen of Prozac to get me back to my old self, but the doctor warned me that I would thereafter be prone to depression.

She wasn't kidding.

At least now I recognize when the demons are creeping up and I know what to do: I can either try to drive them away using my superhero powers or, if there are too many of them and the threat is too great, I can temporarily use pharmaceutical weapons. Last week I decided that I would try to beat them using brute strength and try to avoid the med route. I am kind of doing tough love on myself, thinking that if I act like I am doing well, then maybe I will start feeling well.

So far, it is working and I am feeling better…and it also helps that I FINALLY got a decent haircut on Friday! It is a long [translation: boring] story of how I found Randy, but thank goodness I did find him. He gave me the best haircut I have had since leaving Raleigh over four years ago. I feel as chic as a forty-ish small-town mom can probably feel and, more importantly, I can style it well myself!

Of course, I am annoyed that I found Randy just as I am exiting the area but at least I will exit with a great 'do.