Idea #18: Visitors

One would think that having all the free time in the world would create a flexible schedule to accomplish some traveling. That would be fabulous if traveling didn't require money. Such a Catch-22...I can't travel without money from a job, and if I have a job, I don't have the time to travel. Sheesh!

Well a quick fix to this problem is to make your friends visit you.

I've discussed before how I don't have any friends where I am living right now. This makes nights and weekends quite dull. I often dream about escaping to visit friends, have some real bonding time with those closest to me, etc. But have you seen how much plane tickets cost these days? And if also, most my friends live at least five hours away by car. Therefore, friends coming to you is a win-win situation.

About a week and a half ago, my friend Matt came to visit me from Ann Arbor. Matt is one of my closest friends from grad school so needless to say, I had really missed him since I left Michigan. When your friends visit you, you can offer them free lodging, chauffeur service, and food.

Not even ten minutes after Matt arrived on Friday night, I immediately drove him to a local Irish pub. This place had been hoppin' all summer long, always packed with people inside and out. Everyone looked so happy... and while you can drink at home alone, drinking at a bar alone can raise questions. So as soon I had a friend, I took him out to join the other social people in the area. What a great way to catch up! Matt and I also have that friendship where I can literally sit with just him for hours and never run out of things to talk about. We can talk about serious health care issues, or we can laugh at life's absurdities. He also knows me very well, so as a gift, he brought me a bottle of Smirnoff Cosmopolitan mix (vodka and juice already mixed together). We went back to my house and stayed up til 2 AM! 2 AM!! I haven't stayed up that late in months.

Because Matt had only been to Niagara Falls once when he was a young child, I knew I had to take him out there. We spent a hot, sunny afternoon at the Falls, and I even took him on the Maid of the Mist boat ride (his first time on that). With great views of the American and Canadian Falls, Matt had now seen one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. Not a shabby vacay folks.

After that, we were a little tired from walking in the heat, so I took him on a driving tour through downtown Buffalo. I don't know where everything is and I can't point out fun facts, but I think my friend Grace would be proud. (She's from Buffalo and I usually hire her to show my guests around. Now that's she's in DC, I miss her!!!) And we concluded the tour at the Anchor Bar, home of the Original Buffalo Chicken Wing.

Sadly Matt couldn't stay longer, but the joy of having spent time with a dear friend still remains. Hopefully I can persuade many more people to come out here.

Helpful websites =>

Southwest Airlines: http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/routemap_dyn.html?int=GSUBNAV-AIR-ROUTEMAP
You can conveniently fly Southwest Airlines (my all-time favorite airline) straight to the Buffalo Airport, which is conveniently located about 10-15 minutes from my house.

Buffalo Tourism: http://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/

Niagara Falls: http://www.niagara-usa.com/


Song of the Day: "Fake Your Way to the Top" from the Dreamgirls soundtrack (my last movie choice)