2022-01-29 42 -78

Location

Off Essjay Road in Amherst, in the parking lot of Buffalo Medical Group

Participants

Pedalpusher

Expedition

Planning our day together on Friday, I suggested to my girlfriend that we hike somewhere near her in Amherst because this was a very reachable Geohash. We had plans in the evening so I didn't want to rush and try to make this an Official Saturday Meetup at 16:00. It would be easier to meet up in the morning. Since she hadn't done Reinstein Woods yet from her Winter Challenge, we decided to go there around 11:00 and then head into Williamsville (village in Amherst) for lunch. Also, because the forecast was saying we were going to have another brutally cold weekend, I didn't mind leaving the dogs at home (dogs are not allowed at Reinstein).

In the morning, Simon was very antsy in the morning, and I knew he needed some exercise so I ended up leaving Myka at home (she hates the cold) and took him to the dog park. Unshockingly, we had the whole place to ourselves, and he happily ran around in the 7°F/-14°C cold for about 20 minutes. Even shivering toward the end, he really didn't want to go home, but even bundled up, my face was starting to freeze off so I 'dragged' him back to the car.

Getting to Reinstein, I met J and we walked around the area and eventually found the landmark for the Hiking Challenge. I do have to say it definitely warmed up a bit by this time and I noted as we were walking around that my face wasn't as cold as it was earlier. However, it was still pretty chilly and we didn't extend our walk too much. It wasn't quite noon when we got back to the car, but we did walk around for about 45 minutes.

The next part of the plan was I was going to go to the Geohash and she was going to Britesmith Brewery to get a table in case there was a wait for a table. I was able to pull into the parking lot and just pull into the spot for the hash, although it was a bit difficult to see since there was a lot of dried salt on the pavement obscuring the lines. I was able to get a good reading without getting out of the car, but I did have to back up slightly and wave my hand around in the car using the HashDroid app. Getting my pictures, I then met J for a delicious lunch and a flight of beer.