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Old 10-03-2016, 12:32 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,321,639 times
Reputation: 19072

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Well, it's official. My partner and I both received approval from our respective employers to take Monday 10/31 off as a vacation day, and I just booked a room for two nights at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Downtown Buffalo! It was my first time using Priceline to book a room, and I was shocked that I was able to book two nights for ~$135 combined when most web sites for Downtown hotels want more than that PER night. My partner is paying to board our dog for nearly that much!

Anyhow, tentatively our plan is to leave our home near Downtown Pittsburgh on early Saturday morning, 10/29, and drive up I-79 to I-90 to I-190 into the area. Since check-in isn't until 3 PM we were going to drive straight to Niagara Falls first (NY side only, as we don't have passports). We'll be rolling into the area late-morning and will probably look for a quick bite to eat before parking on Goat Island and exploring the views of the falls on foot. Any recommendations on a good quick CHEAP spot for lunch on the NY side of the falls between I-190 and Goat Island? A quick cursory glance via Google Maps shows approximately a half-dozen Indian restaurants (partner doesn't like Indian), a Hard Rock Cafe (we have that in Pittsburgh), and a TGI Friday's (we have that here, too).

How is Donatello's on Third Street? We're "walkers". I walk 2.5 miles each way to and from work daily, and my partner is a fitness nut. Would it be feasible to park for free on a nearby residential street like Fourth Street, head over to Donatello's for hoagies, and then walk from there down to Goat Island? From Google Street View I don't see Fourth Street marked as permit only, and on-street parking appears to be ample. I've been told Niagara Falls, NY is a "ghetto", but that street doesn't look so bad that we'd have to worry about a vehicle break-in in broad daylight. Google says it is only just over a mile from Fourth Street to the Top of the Falls Restaurant, and being quick walkers this should be a 20-minute walk. If it's only a 20-minute walk, then why do so many people pay to park ON Goat Island? Is the surrounding city THAT dangerous, or do people just not want to park a mile away for free?

In Niagara Falls itself I wanted to do the Maid of the Mist; however, my partner gets seasick. Does the boat rock you around enough so that those who are prone to seasickness may fall ill? If so, then we'll scrap it. There's also Cave of the Winds, which was recommended to us by friends. Is that cool? How tight is it? My partner is claustrophobic. If it seems like both Maid of the Mist AND Cave of the Winds are a no-go then is it worth paying to go up on the observation tower? Is there a trail where you can walk along the river from the Maid of the Mist area up to Whirlpool Point? We'd have no interest in the wax museum, aquarium, casino, or outlet stores.

After spending roughly 11 AM-5 PM in Niagara Falls my plan would be to drive us back to Buffalo to check into the Adam's Mark Hotel. From there we'd walk somewhere for dinner. I'm thinking that if the weather is agreeable it might be nice to walk to explore Canalside. Any good dinner recommendations there? I'd be up for a good burger, and it looks like there's some places over by the arena like Cobblestone and Lockhouse Distillery.

We may or may not be up for a quick drink (nightcap) before bed, but we'd probably get that at the bar at the Adam's Mark, as many reviews of the hotel we've seen rave over one of the bartenders there. I also see that Helium Comedy Club is nearby. Maybe we'll see if there are any shows that evening.

Sunday will be a FULL day in Buffalo, and, to be quite frank, while my partner is more excited to see Niagara Falls I'm much more excited to visit Buffalo! As I said, we're WALKERS. The last time we took a day-trip to Manhattan we walked 26 miles. I walked about the same distance one day when I was in Memphis for work several years ago. As such I don't want anyone to say "You can't walk all the way from Downtown to Elmwood Village" because we are.

Not sure yet if we're going to do breakfast or not on Sunday morning, 10/30. Tentatively I'd like to wake up relatively earlier and set out on foot, heading up Elmwood Avenue all the way to Bidwell Parkway. We are Starbucks addicts, but I also want us to try out SPoT Coffee, your local roaster chain. We'll either grab coffee at either company's location in Elmwood Village on Sunday morning and grab the other company's coffee on Monday morning along West Chippewa Street prior to check-out. In addition to coffee, is anything else a "must-see" along or around Elmwood Avenue and Elmwood Village? I like architecture and urban planning, so I may be tempted to wander off on a residential side street or two nearby. I also am very interested to see Soldier's Circle in person as I have a lot of respect for Mr. Olmsted's landscape urban planning work.

I was then thinking we'd go down the Chapin Parkway to Delaware Avenue and follow that back to Downtown Buffalo via Allentown. Not sure yet if there's anything we want to see/do in Allentown other than getting some wings at the Anchor Bar. I wanted to take a tour of Buffalo City Hall. but I'm not sure if we want to wait until noon on Monday hanging around the city. Could you enter the City Hall on your own on a weekend day and putz around a bit? Any other architecturally-significant buildings Downtown to see? I'd like to take us somewhere nice (albeit not fancy enough that a jacket is required for gentlemen) on Sunday night for dinner since we'll both be celebrating our 30th birthdays. Somewhere in Downtown Buffalo would be ideal.

Finally, we want to take a "scenic route" back home since we both also took Tuesday 11/01 off and don't have to pick up the dog until Tuesday, either. Any suggestions? I was thinking of taking Route 5 along Lake Erie into Erie, PA and then hanging out at Presque Isle a bit before heading down to Pittsburgh. I was also looking at U.S. 219 South to PA 66 to PA 899 to PA 36 to PA 28 back to Pittsburgh. I thought this might be scenic, but I'm also sure this will be PAST peak foliage, so it may be dreary with a lot of the leaves off the trees. Then again we've had a very warm September, so maybe peak foliage will be delayed a bit this year?

I found this map detailing when peak color is expected in PA: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/group...r_20032110.pdf

I'm guessing WNY's color will be even earlier since it's colder up there.
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Old 10-03-2016, 12:50 PM
 
92,167 posts, read 122,417,225 times
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Perhaps throw in Lewiston, Youngstown/Old Fort Niagara and maybe Lockport, which has canal cruises/cave as well.

Pine Ave in Niagara Falls has some restaurants as well.
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Old 10-08-2016, 07:30 AM
 
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Right next to the casino is a bar called players . They have really good burgers and subs . It's on the corner of Niagara and maybe 4th ? Next to the 711.
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Old 10-08-2016, 12:15 PM
 
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Hertel Avenue may be another area of Buffalo to check out.
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Old 10-10-2016, 11:56 AM
 
92,167 posts, read 122,417,225 times
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This may be another idea to consider: 12 great spots to go apple picking - Gusto
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Old 10-11-2016, 05:55 PM
 
Location: 'greater' Buffalo, NY
5,342 posts, read 3,833,158 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
From Google Street View I don't see Fourth Street marked as permit only, and on-street parking appears to be ample. I've been told Niagara Falls, NY is a "ghetto", but that street doesn't look so bad that we'd have to worry about a vehicle break-in in broad daylight. Google says it is only just over a mile from Fourth Street to the Top of the Falls Restaurant, and being quick walkers this should be a 20-minute walk. If it's only a 20-minute walk, then why do so many people pay to park ON Goat Island? Is the surrounding city THAT dangerous, or do people just not want to park a mile away for free?
Very feasible. You could probably also park right on the street on Buffalo Ave, or on the street around the bend where Buffalo Ave ends (not sure of the name offhand--the landmark at the intersection in question is the restaurant where Jim and Pam of 'The Office' spent a dinner for their fictional honeymoon, heh). NF is, generally speaking, a bit of a ghetto but the area in question is not. I play poker frequently at the nearby casino (located a few blocks away) and often take walks/park down here. You're fine at basically any hour in this particular area (although, as JH6 remarked in his recent thread, there may not be as much going on as you'd like/expect...but safety-wise, you're fine)
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Old 10-11-2016, 07:21 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
3,298 posts, read 3,861,724 times
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Wish I could go to a ghost tour at the Buffalo Central Terminal
https://www.facebook.com/buffalocentralterminal/
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Old 10-11-2016, 07:44 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
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If you drive south 219, stop in Ellicottville, NY.
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Old 10-12-2016, 06:27 PM
 
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I wonder if the Olcott Beach area would be worth a trip as well: Home - olcottnewfane
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Old 10-12-2016, 07:24 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,321,639 times
Reputation: 19072
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
Perhaps throw in Lewiston, Youngstown/Old Fort Niagara and maybe Lockport, which has canal cruises/cave as well.

Pine Ave in Niagara Falls has some restaurants as well.
Thanks for the suggestions! We'll be a bit pressed for time on this trip to head that far north or east, but if we like what we see in Erie and Niagara Counties we'll be back for a return visit in 2017. For this trip we really want to do the falls, nice dinner, Anchor Bar for wings, Elmwood Village, Allentown, Canalside, and MAYBE the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Darwin D. Martin House complex.

I'll check to see what places along Pine Avenue there are to grab some grub. Thanks for that. I was so focused in on the more immediate around the falls that I didn't expand my search that far east into the city.

Quote:
Originally Posted by notinpa View Post
Right next to the casino is a bar called players . They have really good burgers and subs . It's on the corner of Niagara and maybe 4th ? Next to the 711.
Thanks! This is exactly the type of recommendation I was looking for in terms of a cheap place to grab a quick lunch on Saturday afternoon.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
Hertel Avenue may be another area of Buffalo to check out.
Our hotel charges $10/day for parking, and I'm not sure yet if that's self-park or valet. I really hate valet parking to begin with, so if it's the latter I don't want to move the car at all once we park it on Saturday evening when we check in. As I said we're "walkers", but I think walking as far north up Elmwood Avenue to the Albright-Knox Gallery or so may be north enough given our time constraints.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
This may be another idea to consider: 12 great spots to go apple picking - Gusto
Thanks! Maybe for another trip.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Marcinkiewicz View Post
Very feasible. You could probably also park right on the street on Buffalo Ave, or on the street around the bend where Buffalo Ave ends (not sure of the name offhand--the landmark at the intersection in question is the restaurant where Jim and Pam of 'The Office' spent a dinner for their fictional honeymoon, heh). NF is, generally speaking, a bit of a ghetto but the area in question is not. I play poker frequently at the nearby casino (located a few blocks away) and often take walks/park down here. You're fine at basically any hour in this particular area (although, as JH6 remarked in his recent thread, there may not be as much going on as you'd like/expect...but safety-wise, you're fine)
Thank you! Glad to hear that we could easily park for free on a residential street and walk ~1 mile to the falls instead of paying to park on Goat Island. I'm a huge fan when traveling to different cities of parking the car just once off the beaten path a bit in a residential non-permit area and then walking miles to all of our destinations.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bluecarebear View Post
Wish I could go to a ghost tour at the Buffalo Central Terminal
https://www.facebook.com/buffalocentralterminal/
That sounds cool!

Quote:
Originally Posted by bluecarebear View Post
If you drive south 219, stop in Ellicottville, NY.
We are looking for a more scenic route home since we're taking the quickest way up there from Pittsburgh via the Interstates. I was thinking of detouring on the way home to take Route 5 along the lake to Westfield, where I'd pick up Route 394 along Lake Chautauqua to Jamestown to 60 to 62 to 8 in Franklin, PA. If you think Ellicottville is more scenic than Route 5/Lake Chautauqua, then we'll go 219 instead, though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
I wonder if the Olcott Beach area would be worth a trip as well: Home - olcottnewfane
Too far north for this trip, but thanks again for the suggestion!
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