A Little Patience and Follow the Signs

"The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." - Charles du Bois

Sisters' Log - Day 8

We learned today that one should have patience, because one doesn't always know what's ahead. We were heading to downtown Buffalo to see some sights and came to a red light that seemed silly to us. It was a few hundred feet before a small bridge, but there was no cross traffic to stop for. There wasn't even a street crossing the one we were on for cross traffic to drive on. Sandy said aloud that maybe she should just run the light, since it seemed like it had no purpose and it had been red for what seemed like forever, but then from over the bridge, coming directly at us, was a line of traffic. The bridge had been narrowed to one lane for road work, so traffic couldn't cross going both directions. We would have looked silly backing up all the way to the light had we run it while it was red. Sandy really wouldn't have run a red light, but she was getting irritated at the light that seemed to have no purpose. Patience is a virtue.

What a beautiful day it was in Buffalo today. The humidity was gone and it wasn't as hot as it has been the last couple of days. There was even a nice breeze blowing today. Callie has taken us for some breathtakingly beautiful drives through the countryside. Buffalo really is a beautiful city--at least the part where Callie lives.

Actual conversation in car while driving over yet another bridge.

Edie: "That is a vast amount of water over there to the left."

Sandy: "That's Erie."

Edie: "I know, but what's the name of the lake?"

Have you ever seen overhead electrical wires with shoes thrown over them and they're dangling by the shoelaces? That's what the traffic lights look like in Buffalo. We've posted a picture of the lights at one intersection. We're not sure what happens to the lights when a brisk wind comes through.

We didn't go to the Niagara Falls yesterday, because we've both seen the Falls, but we've posted pictures that Sandy took four years ago when she was there. The smaller straight falls are called the Bridal Falls, and they're on the American side. The larger falls are called the Horseshoe Falls and they're on the Canadian side. If you ever have the opportunity to see Niagara Falls, we recommend that you take a ride on the Maid of the Mist, a boat ride that takes you right by both of the falls. You can see the Maid of the Mist boat in front of the Horseshoe Falls, to give you an idea of how big the falls are. The Maid of the Mist is also on the bottom left of the picture of the Bridal Falls.

We've also posted a picture of the back of the Buffalo Bills stadium. We couldn't get a picture of the front of the stadium because of road work. Road work seems to be a common theme all across America.

Shout out to the desert. The foliage in Buffalo is beautiful, but when you're trying to get somewhere using street signs that you can't see because of all the leafy trees or street lights that you have no idea which way they're pointing because they're bouncing around on a thread, it can be a little disconcerting. The beautiful trees also limits picture taking of large objects, but we did get a picture of one very old beautiful cathedral (we try to be equal opportunity religious structure picture takers -- we're charter members of the EORSPT). This is a picture of Basilica Our Lady of Victory Catholic church. We learned today that there is only one Basilica in a city and that is the church building that the Pope goes to if he's in town. Father Baker oversaw the construction. After five years of work, the Church was dedicated and consecrated on May 25th 1926 by Cardinal Patrick Hayes and Bishop William Turner. Two months later Pope Pius XI elevated the Shrine to a minor Basilica, making it the second such church in the United States.

We went to UPS today to send home a few items that we aren't going to need. The girl behind the counter told us she attended Green Valley High School and graduated in 2001. We spoke to her for several minutes about home and the differences between the east coast and the west coast. She said we made her day.

Notes to self:

Make sure all of your toes are in the car before you shut the door.

Curling irons are for hair, not foreheads.

Thanks very much to all who have sent comments. We love hearing from our friends and family.

Jami - We're looking for a synogogue to photograph to use for the blog, being members of the EORSPT and all.

Vicki - We're glad you're enjoying our blog. It snows in New York in the winter. You may want to consider visiting Damon in the spring or fall.

Jonas - Hope your forehead is getting better. We can compare the bruise on your forehead and the bruise on Grammy's little toe when we get home. Edie burned a hole in her forehead.