The first leg of our road trip led us to Western New York to visit my family. Because of COVID, most of my family was not about to attend our wedding, so my parents planned a big get together and pig roast at their house to celebrate while we were in town.
The Party
The Barrett’s definitely know how to throw a party and this one was no different. Zach and I arrived to preparations in full swing; my dad and uncles putting up the large tent, my mom, grandma, cousins and aunts working on food and decorations. In the summer months, my parents take full advantage of their large backyard and each year add a few new things. My dad has been working on his outdoor kitchen/bar for quite a few years and loves to put it to use. My mom is always adding new flowers, birdfeeders or decorations in the landscaping.
Parties are also the time that the pool gets put to good use. Unfortunately this year we weren’t able to use the zipline, but that has been a great source of entertainment in the past. My parents are also no stranger to people “camping” in their yard, so we were able to get HALL-E all situated for our stay.
Since my Grandpa Barrett passed away, my dad has really taken on keeping his traditions alive and one of those is pig roasts. So a big party is a great excuse to throw a pig in the ground and roast it. I clearly get my love for adventure from my parents because nothing ever goes quite how we plan. Like you never know when you might need to go to a farmer down the road and beg to cut down some corn stalks for the pit to roast the pig. Or when the pig becomes more like second dinner because it takes longer to cook than expected. No worries though because there is always plenty of food at these shindigs to tide everyone over.
After the Party
Letchworth State Park
After getting to spend some great time with friends and family at the party, it was nice to spend a couple days relaxing at my parents house. I love getting back home and spending some time in the country. We also got to take a day and go to Letchworth State Park. I have not been to this State Park in a very long time, so it was great to go back and show Zach the “Grand Canyon of the East”. Pictures just don’t do the beauty of this area justice.
Hamburg
We also got to go meet my friend Laura for lunch in Hamburg at Butera’s while we were visiting. For this adventure we took the motorcycle. I am definitely a wimp when it comes to riding on the back of the motorcycle on windy, twisty backroads. We did one mountain ride together in North Carolina and we got about halfway through one of his favorite routes and I was hitting him to get his attention because I couldn’t take it anymore. He thought I was getting motion sickness, but I freaking out about the twists and turns and having absolutely no control. So he promised to take it super easy on me. It really is a beautiful ride through the backroads around my parent’s house though, just way out of my comfort zone.
Lunch at Butera’s was great and I always enjoy catching up with friends that I don’t get to see nearly enough. Laura has been one of my best friends since my first year of college at Oswego State. And it’s even crazier to think that we only knew each other for one semester before I moved to North Carolina, but we have remained so close. It goes to show that some people just come into your life and you know you are meant to be friends regardless of distance.
Next up on the road trip adventure… packing up and heading to Michigan to visit Zach’s family!
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