Recapping road trips to create travel diary posts on the blog is one of the things I enjoy most about having this blog. I love being able to go back in my mind, photos, and notes to share interesting moments on our trips, but to also share tips that will help you should you decide to take off on your own road trip.
But, before I jump into the details of our road trip to Buffalo, New York this past weekend, let me give you a little context to our trip.
Our great aunt and uncle live in Buffalo and we don’t see them often at all. However, over the past 10 years, I have made it a priority to visit every two years. I’ve been to West Virginia, Nevada, and Buffalo (twice now) to ensure that we have a few moments of quality time. Moving forward it will be more often, as they have just entered their 90s. Yes, their 90s.
Anywho, in December 2019, right before the pop of the pandemic, we took an impromptu road trip to Buffalo on Christmas Eve morning to visit the family. My aunt called and wanted us to come and there was no way that I would disappoint.
We drove down on Christmas Eve morning and drove back the next day after Christmas dinner. We had such a wonderful and jam-packed time. In fact, you can read all about it on the blog in the post, New York Travel Diary.
While I share a handful of details in the post, I decided not to share too many of our personal photos. There are just some moments, I want for us in our hearts and family scrapbooks. Nevertheless, I did share some.
A year or so after that visit, I was doing some travel writing for NewsBreak and decided to think more about what I would like to do the next time that we were in Buffalo. After doing some further research on the city, I wrote, Buffalo, NY in 24 Hours: What We Will Do Next Time on the blog, and also shared a version of it on NewsBreak.
Armed with those ideas, a few places that I learned about on Atlas Obscura, and what my aunt had planned for us, we ended up with a pretty fun-filled agenda amidst our quality time. So, let’s dive right in.
What We Drove | 2023 White Pacifica Van
On this road trip, we rented a seven-passenger Pacifica van. It was such a smart move because we needed every inch of that space. My mom, two boys, and daughter fit perfectly in the van with all of our belongings, not to mention having to bring along the stroller, car seat, and playpen. There was talk of my brother going, as well as my aunt riding with us, which would have also worked well because we still had two seats available.
On our first trip to Buffalo, we took my Ford Edge, and on our trip to Canada last year, we rented a small SUV (which was not a good move). While we made it work for a weekend trip, it was entirely too small.
If you are ever thinking about renting a car, I would highly recommend Enterprise. I have never had any issues when it comes to renting vehicles from them.
In the past, I have also rented from H*rtz. However, after that past H*rtz scandal and a recent change in their rental policy, I decided to stay clear of them. I have had sour car rental transactions in the past and have certainly learned my lessons. Feel free to read about them.
Day 1 | Indianapolis, IN to Buffalo, NY
Once I picked the van up on Thursday morning, we drove towards Indiana to pick up my mom on the way. We took a pit stop outside of Indianapolis to get really get situated, and get gas, ice, etc. While we were already on the trip for about an hour or so, I really consider this the start of our adventure.
Overall, the ride was enjoyable. We stopped multiple times, of course, and eventually made it to our hotel in Niagara Falls, New York (right outside of Buffalo) at 9 pm. So, essentially our trip was from 9 am to 9 pm.
Just as a side note, it appeared that hotels were less expensive in Niagara Falls than in Buffalo. We stayed at the Best Western Summit Inn and enjoyed it. I would certainly recommend it.
Day 2 | New York Style Pizza and Wings and Buffalo Waterfront (Canalside)
On Day 2 we made it to our aunt and uncle’s home where we started off we brunch and conversation. For lunch, we enjoyed New York Style Pizza and Wings from Bob & John’s La Hacienda. Very delicious, especially the wings!
Afterward, we headed down to the Buffalo Waterfront called Canalside. Canalside is situated on the Buffalo River, in an area that was historically home to the Seneca people. We strolled the canal and got a pretty nice view of Buffalo Naval & Military Park which included the museum.
The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park is a museum in Buffalo, NY honoring the US Armed Forces; USS Little Rock, USS Sullivans, USS Croaker. Since we arrived a little after 4 pm it was too late to take the museum and ship tour – which was okay, too.
Shark Girl and the Buffalo Heritage Carousel
After that, I was ready to look for Shark Girl and the Carousel which I had previously bookmarked on Atlas Obscura, and guess what? We found them both. Shark Girl is located right outside of the Children’s Museum and across the street is the new Buffalo Heritage Carousel that we did ride for just $1.
There are also a handful of food trucks in the park, so we stopped for fun treats (snow cones and floats). It certainly made it appear even more fun and vacation-like.
Day 3 | Niagara Falls State Park, New York Welcome Sign, and Carrabba’s Italian Grill
On our final full day, we drove to Niagara Falls and made a pit stop at Exit 19, the Western New York Welcome Center which houses the I Love New York sign – which I love and that we stopped at in 2019.
The humidity was ridiculous! I spent an hour curling my hair to have it end up looking like, whoa!
But, never mind that.
While watching the water fall I felt a sense of happiness and peace flood my body. Not only had I made it to see my aunt again and introduce her face-to-face to our new little lady, but I felt a sense of accomplishment.
Niagara Falls, Canada 1996
I was able to bring my children to Niagara Falls just as our parents had done for us in 1996 on a family vacation. You can literally browse those old-school photos in this post, Niagara Falls, Canada 1996.
Afterward, most of the family with to Carrabba’s Italian Grill. I chose to stay back and get some rest because I knew I had a full day of driving to do. However, I did enjoy the take-out from Carrabba’s Italian Grill. I have passed that restaurant a hundred times in different cities and had never eaten a meal from there – until this trip.
Day 4 | Our Journey Home with a Pit Stop in Akron, Ohio
Our final day had arrived and it was time to make the trek back to the midwest. We got going at 6:45 am Eastern time to head back home. We made an hour pit stop in Akron to put flowers out on our grandfather’s grave and continued on.
Again, the drive was rather enjoyable and we did make quite a few stops. I grew a little nervous as we entered Indiana, as they were under a tornado watch. Fortunately, we encountered nothing but some heavy winds and we were able to make it home safely at approximately 6:45 pm.
While I would have loved to show roadside attractions and cool pitstops, we just didn’t do that on this road trip. Maybe another time.
Final Thoughts
While I focused this post on a list of places for you to consider on your own journey, I failed to mention that we had a lovely time visiting with family. A lot of hugs, laughter, candid photos, and conversation!
Side Note on Air Quality and Outdoor Activities
Since we have arrived back home there has been a haze that has filled the air from the Canadian wildfires. Thankfully, we were able to enjoy our time in New York outdoors while we were there. Here outdoor activities are starting to be canceled due to the poor air quality and people are returning to masks as they did during the pandemic.
If you are planning any outdoor activities, keep this in mind, and perhaps bring masks.
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