Friday, April 3, 2009

Fun Times in the Middle-of-Nowhere, New York

Who knew?

In fact, my short recruiting trip to where-the-heck-are-we made me really, really homesick.

Why?

No, not the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere. But for the simple fact that everyone was just like my fellow Kansas folk.

People were (gasp) actually...happy. I saw lots of  smiling. People were chipper. They gave a reciprocal "hello". They even initiated several "hellos". By golly, someone even held a door open for me. I haven't experienced something like that in about 2 and a half years.

It was refreshing. And now, I really miss home. I miss the warm, welcoming and somehow-almost-always-happy people from the Midwest.

*Sidenote: I LOVE my friends in Rhode Island. They are amazing. However, I do not love the grumpy,negative,always-complaining,scowl-faced individuals who live here.

So, back to my trip.

I always like to experience the "local flavor" every time I travel. So, of course, for upstate New York...that meant visiting Wegmans. The most amazing grocery store ever.

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Now, this may not sound super exciting, but let me tell you...Wegmans is an experience! For those of you who love a Whole Foods or Central Market, Wegmans is even more wonderful and somehow makes grocery shopping...cool! The displays are incredibly, and the food is delicious! And anyone who lives or has been to upstate New York knows that Wegmans is the place to be.

We got done with interviews a little early yesterday afternoon. So, we decided to take full advantage of the BEAUTIFUL weather. I haven't seen weather that nice in what seemed like decades. We drove to Beaver Lake Nature Center, and before we knew it...we had walked 5 miles! It put me in THE best mood because all the little squirrels and chipmunks were out...which can only mean one thing: It is springtime folks!

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Other Sidenote: Speaking of squirrels...did you know that squirrels on the East Coast are gray? I have never seen a gray squirrel until I moved here. My home-squirrels are most definitely brown. Or, am I crazy?

10 comments:

Aliya said...

Stop it. I could live inside Wegmans. Its a food-lover's Disney World!

little erin said...

i agree. even though i was born and bred here, people from this area are miserable. it kind of brings you down too, even if you don't know it. when i moved to VA for a while it was so refreshing to simply say hello to or smile at someone you walked by. in RI if you walk by a person, they generally scowl. how sad is that??? sorry you are homesick :(

Jules said...

Wegmans is like heaven. There is one near my job and we love going there for lunch. So glad you got to get out and go for a hike!

I have never seen a brown squirrel, but that's probably because I'm from the east coast. We have lots of little gray squirrels running all over!

AG said...

love Wegman's! You are totally in my neck of the woods. I'm glad to hear you think people up here are friendly. :)

Enjoy your trip!

Jackie said...

I loooove Wegmans! They have amazing subs. I am salivating just thinking about them. MmmMmmM. Glad you enjoyed your trip! Did you hear it is snowing there today? NY weather is crazy!

Shoshanah said...

I went to Rochester once and was told we had to go to Wegmans. There's not a lot of supermarkets out there that have become tourist attractions!

Lucky in Love said...

So I went to Purdue...lived in Indiana my whole life (until now...) and we always had the brown squirrels...but at Purdue...they had gray!?!

Meg said...

Hi! I find your blog from clicking someone elses to someone elses blog etc etc.

I thought this post was hilarious because I just moved from Rhode Island. I lived there for 3 years. I am originally from the South(tennessee) and there is a noteable difference in the "niceness" of people.

Melinda said...

I have been to Wegmans and it's awesome- I wish I had one where I live!

CC said...

No you are most definitely NOT crazy, squirrels at home are brown. they're grey here too, and i almost got in a fight with someone who wouldn't believe me about brown squirrels...lol...