Just got back from a road trip up to Buffalo, for Michelle’s graduation from college. She got a Bachelor of Civil Engineering, and has a job lined up starting in a couple weeks working on train bridges in the Bronx. We’re all very proud and she is quite psyched. Now she’s moving back in with us for the summer and maybe beyond.
We did a few things on the trip. Jeannie and I left New York on Wednesday night and drove up to Ithaca, so we we could do some hiking on Thursday. We picked a hike called Buttermilk Falls, which was quite scenic, and the weather was perfect, sunny and warm, after a long run of cold and rainy days. We arrived in Buffalo Thursday evening and went out dinner with Lizzy and Josh, and met Josh’s parents Rita and Ryan. They’re very nice people and we all got on well; it was alot of fun. It seems like this means Lizzy and Josh are getting pretty serious. He just graduated with a second degree, and tomorrow they’re going on vacation together. I wonder if he’s gonna propose to her soon.
Friday we kinda had a day off. Jeannie and I went to the Buffalo Botanical Gardens, a place I’d heard of but never been before. It’s a 19th century greenhouse modeled after the famous Crystal Palace of Victorian London, all glass with great domes and galleries. Lots of tropical jungle and desert plants, palms and cacti, and an impressive array of carnivorous plants. Afterwards we went up the Michelle’s apartment to help her pack and bring some things back to Orchard Park. That evening we met up with Larry and Jackie for the Hamburg Music Festival. Larry is a band director at Hamburg High School and some of his students were playing in small woodwind ensembles in a park right downtown. Afterward we walked around the neighborhood, where various bands were playing in all the bars. We ended up in a park with a beer tent watching a The Tragically Hip tribute band. Fun night.
Saturday was the graduation. There was a bit of last minute drama that Michelle might not be able to walk with her class because of an AP class that she never got credit for. But it all got straightened out. Technically she’s not graduation until September because she switched majors and needs to complete the last of the electives this summer. But she did the ceremony, and it was great and the Engineering and Applied Sciences school is huge, over 800 students graduating. Beforehand we went out to Board Point and took a bunch of pictures. The weather was windy and threatening but it didn’t actually rain. Afterwards we took Michell, Lizzy and Josh to a nice restaurant downtown.
Sunday morning we spent some time talking with my Mum. She’s been feeling kinda down, knowing she and my Dad are getting older, and wondering how much longer they’re going to be able to keep driving and doing other things, and what that will mean for their ability to get around and all that. No easy answers, I guess. Then we went up to Michelle’s apartment and helped her pack and load up all her stuff into her car and my SUV. It was a long drive and by the time we got home and unloaded it all, it was late and we were all pretty tired. Luckily we all had today off to relax and unwind and get ready for the next adventure. Today Michelle is looking to buy furniture.