New York, Buffalo

This has been a very special trip!  Rudy has a hockey tourney in Buffalo this weekend and Michael and Rudy invited me to join them.  They flew in Thursday night.  I drove (about a 7 hour drive).  I started on Thursday (blogged the first part of the trip on my knitting blog).  But I drove in a snowstorm that was big enough they had named it.  The drive was crazy terrible….but never scary terrible.  Just RAIN, SNOW, all of the phooey weather you can think of.  But I did it right.  I started mid day both days so at least I was getting the best weather of the day…..It is only a 7hour+ trip, but it felt like two days of driving.

Buffalo is very interesting.  It is at the very …..hmmm….I am not sure if it is the beginning of Lake Erie or the end….but I think it is the beginning….formed by Niagara River and maybe Buffalo Creek?  So here is a photo of the sky line from Lake Erie:

We are staying right down downtown in the Westin Hotel.  Oh, Wow, this place is amazing.  I love the hotel!  The building is owned by Delaware North.   I can only say this is exactly my kind of place.  Nice but not fancy.  Young people taking care of every detail!  The same young person who drove you to the rink might deliver dinner at 9:30 to your room.  And then be at the desk to answer a question at 10:39.

Rudy played great tonight.  It was fun.  Honestly this may be my favorite sport to watch as a spectator.  It is FAST!  There are almost no time outs and when there is a time out it is so brief you almost can’t ask a question to the person sitting next to you.  The tournament is exactly on time!  And that includes the machine that comes out and “fixes” the ice between games.  Michael was kind enough to introduce me to the other grandmother who was attending the game tonight.  So we sat together.  I was so excited to sit with her as she honestly knows a lot about hockey and was glad to answer all of my questions, so I learned a lot.  Her name is Susan.  

Susan has one son, Jerome Iginia.  Jerome was a big time hockey player who has just retired.  He is a co-coach for Rudy’s team.   Susan says that Jerome LOVES being retired because he can now spend time with his three children and wife.    Michael chose this team for Rudy because of Jerome.  Here is the Wikipedia article about Jerome:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarome_Iginla

New York, Buffalo

Rudy played great in the game today.  He had 2 goals and 2 assists out of 5 total points.   The entire team went to lunch after the game in a fairly amazing sports bar in the Marriot that is part of the huge building that houses the ice rinks.  It was the perfect venue for our group.  The shuttle picked us up after lunch.  Michael wanted to stop at a pharmacy on the way home and I suggested the Walgreens close to our hotel as I had been told it was located at the intersection of Delaware and North....the location that gave it's name to the company Delaware North which now has it's corporate headquarters in the building in which we are staying at the Westin.

I took some photos and then came home to google which building had belonged to the company before their move (fairly recently....2015) from another building to our present location.  My research is not perfect.  However, I believe that the company had started out in a building across the street from the mansion that one sees now.  Perhaps it was on the lot where the Walgreens stands now.






 In 1915, a company was starrted by the Jacob Brothers. They were located at the intersection of Delaware and North Streets in Buffalo, NY. Over the years, the successful Jacobs Brothers firm wanted a more marketable name and considered many. Unable to settle on one, they decided to make it easy was to just use the intersection out front. Thus, they became the Delaware North Company.

There is one significant event in this story. As things went, the neighbor across the street lived in a rather large house known as the Butler Mansion. In the years that followed, the Delaware North Company (or DNC) acquired it. In 1901, the mansion was then donated to the State University of New York (SUNY). The building was earmarked to become the  Jacobs Executive Development Center, honoring the original founders. It is now a setting for corporate events, business training, conferences and social functions.

The guest of honor at the dedication was to be President William McKinley. He was in Buffalo for other ceremonies. The date was September 6, 1901. That afternoon, the president was killed by an assassin during a public reception. To complete the story, DNC re-bought the Butler mansion and moved its corporate headquarters there. Today, Delaware North has over $2 billion in revenues, and is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. It employs approximately 40,000 Worldwide.

This information was found at a google search:
http://hikehalfdome.com/dnc-delaware-north-company/

My best understanding since reading several posts on the internet is that in 1915 the company that is now Delaware North was founded by the three brothers with last name Jacobs.  Their business address was located at the intersection of Delaware and North in Buffalo.  My best guess is that the actual first building was located where the Walgreens is located now.  But I could not find a single site that explained this possibility.  The above story does not make sense unless the family had money before they founded the company as the company wasn't founded until 1915.  But there is no doubt at some point the Jacobs brothers did acquire the mansion.  And there is no doubt that it is now used by the University of Buffalo.  And there is no doubt that the corporate headquarters of the company is now the top floor of the building that also houses the Westin in which we are staying about three blocks closer to the lake than the mansion.

Then when I rethought this scenario again later, it is possible that the brothers were in business earlier than the 1925 date.  That they were already successful, but had not formed a company and that indeed they bought the mansion before the formation of the company in 1925.  And that when they formed the company, they adopted the address as the name of the company.

Delaware North is now a huge company that employees 55,000 people and is involved in casinos, food service, hotels and etc all over the world.  The company owns the Boston Bruins and the building in which the Boston Bruins play games.

I have found the Westin to be fascinating in many ways.  It has turned out to be another highlight of the trip.

Ohio, Cuyahogo Falls

This stay is serendipity at its best!  Sally had an appointment at Cleveland Clinic.  Dar accompanied her.  On the way back, they stopped at a yarn shop in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.  They shared their experience.....I filed it in the back of my mind.....thinking I would never go there....but, you just never know.

Michael and Rudy invited me to meet them at a hockey tourney in Buffalo NY.  Of course, I will go!  Great fun!  But as the day grew closer, everyone started asking me about the snow....hmmmm....big storm coming at the end of the week which is when I plan to drive the 7+ hours to Buffalo.  However, in my usual system, I continued to plan to drive while considering back up plans.  And by Thursday, I had decided to leave about 11 and drive until I hit snow.  Then I could get up and make my best decision the next morning .....drive on or turn around and go back as I could see by the forecast that it was going to be too warm in the Ohio Valley ....we would have rain rather than snow....so the trip back was relatively safe.  If I waited until 11, I could pack and leave....and drive in the nicest hours of the day....which turned out to be anything but nice.  It was a nasty day....hovering around 34 degrees and rain that was persistent.  By dark I was more than ready to get off the road.  Of course, I had not been able to get out the door by 11....it was more like 1:30.

I had forgotten the piano turner (who I booked last spring to come exactly that day) arrived exactly at 11.  I needed to turn in my car and take a new one....I forgot and left my phone on the counter when I checked out after having my hair done.  I couldn't find my debit card and needed to stop by the bank and make an important deposit as well as cancel the card....and on and on.....

But I pushed just a bit harder in the terrible 5-6 PM traffic in Canton/Akron area and arrived in Cuyahoga Falls just about 6PM.  I had done my home work just in case I decided to stop at the yarn shop and I had directions and hours for the shop.  More importantly, Sally had give me an explanation of the odd parking arrangement.  The shop was on Portage Trail, but there is no parking on the street....the parking lot is in the back of the building.  That made my trip to the shop seamless.  And as soon as I got into the shop, I asked the owner best place to spend the night and called and made my reservations so that I could relax and enjoy her shop.  The owner, Cindy,  said that the restaurant in the Sheraton (where I was to stay) is lovely.

The Shop is LOVELY as well!  

I took a photo of the hours, but it would probably be best to double check on line for another trip.  At this time, Thursday is the evening she stays open late until 8PM.

There was a rather large gathering in the shop which held both groups quite well.  One group was taking a lesson around the table in the back half of the room while the other group was randomly sitting in the front half of the room taking a different lesson.  Cindy and the lady that Sally and Dar had worked with earlier in the week (I think her name is Cora) sat kind of in the middle of the room on the sofa and chair closest to the check out area in case anyone needed help.  This place will stay in business if Cindy and her daughter, Sarah, do any kind of continuation of business encouragement!  Everyone was happily knitting.  I wondered around browsing....then asked Cindy for help.  I was determined to buy some Three Irish Girls yarn.....but as is the way with very special yarn arrangements, Cindy was missing some of the colors that I most wanted in order to make the exact project that she had made.  I need to think about this.  The evening was lots of fun....if you want to read about the yarn part of it, I will share.

The Sheraton is just perfect.  Not too fancy....just right.  

I checked in, put my stuff in the room, and hurried to dinner as it was late by then and the restaurant closed at 9.

They were seating everyone in a small area (later I saw that the bar was very pleasant on the other side of the room ......but I do think that this is one time that I preferred to sit in a booth or table on the other side from the bar).  I chose a booth so that I wouldn't bother anyone with phone nor computer.....which would not actually have been a problem as all the groups eating left before I finished.  Much to my surprise, all of the tables along the window had amazing views of the Cuyahoga River!


The last couple to leave our area stopped briefly to say good night to me.  She was charming!  He was quiet.  She welcomed me to the hotel and explained that the man was the person who had originally designed the building.  I did OOH and AAH....but I wish that I had seen the view from my room window and some of the other views before I met them.  This would be a perfect place for a genealogy conference!  I am going to suggest it when I go to the Ohio Genealogy conference at Great Wolf Lodge in the spring.  It looks as if it would be large enough?

The Bed was also wonderful!


The next morning I saw that my room also has a great view!



In the below photo you can see how the Restaurant overlooks the River:






I was on the fourth floor....I think that if one traveled in the summer, we might want to stay on the floor that has the small balconies:




But I would remind anyone reading this that if road noise bothers you, you might want to stay on the other side of the building.  There is no doubt that the interstate noise is a factor on the river side of the building.  I found it AOK.....almost like being at the beach and hearing the ocean.

And one last photo of the Cuyahoga River in which I have cropped out the modern buildings:



Fun stay!   Room service this morning!  Room is great!  Need to begin getting ready to get on the road!

Oh, I have a funny PS:  I realized early in the week that I needed a size 17 circular needle that was 24 inches rather than the 29 inch one ( I had found at all three of the craft stores in Huntington on 29 inch circular needles in that size).  I have plans to make a cowl that is a copy of the one that Sarah had given me.  I am anxious to wear it with a fleece jacket that I already own that is not my favorite color.  The cowl will make it more fun to wear.  So I decided to stop quickly at Kanawha Yarn Shop to pick this very particular needle set up to take with me.  I had called ahead and Sarah (the owner) said that she had several on hand.  I parked, went in, bought the needles, and left while doing no more than look around to see that Sarah had changed her lay out and to tell her I would be back when I had time to browse.  When I went out, I panicked.  I had not taken the keys out of the vehicle.  Someone had stolen it!  It was NOT there!  Several minutes later, I realized that the BLACK vehicle right smack dab in the front of the building was mine.  I had just turned in my white one.  Too funny.  I can't tell you how panicked I was after everything else had gone wrong all morning to find that my car was missing.