Day Trip Taughannock Falls & Cray At State Theatre of Ithaca
10/14/2023 - Ithaca, New York - Today, I headed East down NYS Thruway to Route 96S to 89S to Ithaca, New York for a day trip to see gorgeous Taughannock Falls State Park for some fall foliage and an evening of blues with one of my favorites the Robert Cray Band performing at the lovely State Theatre of Ithaca. It was an overcast day but stayed dry for me to get to Taughannock Falls and spend some time hiking around the nice area. The falls were kind of light but it was nice viewing from the top viewing area and then hiking at the bottom of the gorge to the falls was fantastic and the trail was an easy 1.5 mile walk. I left the park and attempted to go to Robert H. Treman Park but it started pouring rain so I headed into Ithaca and grabbed a quick bite at Dibellas. I was then off to State Theatre of Ithaca to see Robert Cray Band perform. This would be the second day in a row that I would see them as I saw them perform in Buffalo at Asbury Hall the night before. I had an excellent ticket five rows back center stage and shockingly the theatre was half empty on this night ! Cray and his excellent band came out on time, with no opener again, and played an excellent ninety plus minute set. They opened with Anything You Want and the set contained excellent renditions of classic Cray songs like Phone Booth, Deep In My Soul, Sitting On Top Of The World and Poor Johnny. He played an excellent version of one of my favorite songs, I'm Done Cryin'. The band sounded great on this night, even cleaner than the night before in Buffalo. They came out for a two song encore that included The Forecast Calls For Pain and the finale of Time Makes Two. I managed to snag a couple more Cray guitar picks at the shows end. The small crowd on this evening were treated to a great show and ended an excellent day trip to the Ithaca area. I will definitely be back to this venue.Slideshow[]
Another Flawless Memorial Weekend Letchworth Balloon Launch
Dr. Dirty John Valby Entertains The Degens At The Riviera
2/12/2022 - North Tonawanda, New York - We headed West today to a new destination the Riviera Theatre in downtown North Tonawanda, New York to see the classic degenerate humor of John Valby also known as Dr. Dirty. We stopped off in Lockport to pickup Mike who decided at the last minute to join us for the festivities. We had not seen Valby for many years probably not since when he was a regular at the After Dark. We arrived early at the beautifully restored Riviera Theatre and had drinks. The show was not a sellout and our seats were good about ten rows back right of stage. A local comedian whose name escapes me came out for an opening set in place of Rob Lederman who cancelled due to a medical emergency. He was just okay. Valby came out shortly after and went right into a good set of his classics and some new stuff. Many people in the theater were seeing him for the first time and he played classics like Philsophical Bullshit, Gangbang and Hey Lade to name a few. He even managed to get a couple girls on stage to expose themselves during Barnacle Bill. This was a fun night and definitely brought back some nostalgia watching the seventy-seven year old Valby perform. It appears Valby still has it and everyone left the show very entertained, thanks Dr. Dirty.Slideshow[]
Final Day In Dallas Ends With Cowboys Win Over Dolphins
Enjoying More Beautiful Days In Paradise This Is Our Maui
9/22/2019 - Arlington, Texas - Today was our final day in Dallas and we decided to grab some tickets on Stubhub at the last minute and head to Arlington, Texas to see the Dallas Cowboys take on the hapless Miami Dolphins at AT&T Stadium. We slept in a bit after the marathon two day Crossroads Guitar Festival and got up and took an Uber to the stadium. We arrived early and scoped out the absolutely gorgeous AT&T Stadium. The stadium was massive with it's huge replay screens made the game day experience fantastic. We had good seats in the upper deck right on the fifty yard line and that included a live band jamming classic rock at the Jack Daniels Bar in foyer. The game started out with Miami playing tough for the first half making a game out of it only down 10 to 6 at half that included a brief appearance by Ryan Fitzpatrick after a Josh Rosien injury. The second half was all Cowboys as they dominated the remainder of the game winning 31 to 6. A nice day of football at a tremendous facility that sets the benchmark for football stadiums.Slideshow[]
2/21/2017 - Maui, Hawaii - The start of our Maui trip began nicely waking up to a nice view of a rainbow arching over the island of Molakai from the condo at Kaanapali Shores. We started heading to Lahaina to take the first whale watch of the trip with Ultimate Whale Watch. Another great whale watch with plenty of tails and breaches to be had at this peak time for whale watching. The winds were strong today so we decided to take the annual jaunt west to Nakalele Blowhole. We descended down the mountain side and had up close views of the blow that was pretty active on this day. We took in an okay sunset and headed into Lahaina for dinner. We discovered a new favorite reataurant Pi Artisan Pizzeria where the service and the food were excellent. The next day we decided to head east on the island to drive up to the top of Mount Haleakala. The views and fresh air at 10,000 feet above sea level were absolutely fantastic, even with the cloud cover that plagued our views in spots. We were back to the condo for a nice sunset and a pizza dinner at the best Maui pizza shop, Pizza Paradiso. A good start to the annual Maui adventure with lots more to come.Slideshow[]
Eichel Scores OT Winner In Last Second To Beat Canes 3-2
3/12/2016 - Buffalo, New York - In what was a game time decision, we decided to head west to First Niagara Center in downtown Buffalo, New York to watch our Buffalo Sabres take on the Carolina Hurricanes in an early afternoon tilt. We picked up a couple of decently priced tickets between the blue line and center ice from Stubhub.com and headed out. It was a perfect day for a ride and we made it to the arena just in time for the anthems and drop of the puck. The game started off slowly with neither team generating much offense in the first period. In the second period Carolina struck first and then Marcus Foligno tied the score beating Cam Ward in the five hole. In the final period Eichel scored on a nice goal assisted by Kane and Reinhart. Carolina tied it up when Victor Rask scored on the power play and sent it into overtime. In overtime with only one second left, Eichel scored the game winner on a breakaway with a great feed from Evander Kane to give the Sabres the victory 3-2. Chad Johnson got the win in the nets for the Sabres. Post game we stopped at the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino for a little gaming action. It was a nice Saturday getwaway.Slideshow[]
Relaxing Free Weekend Getaway To Niagara-On-The-Lake
Eddie Daniels Joins Jazz Band At 12th Annual Evening Of Jazz
7/18/2015 - Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario - Today we headed just north of the border into Canada to enjoy a free weekend prize package at the fabulous Prince Of Wales Resort on beautiful Niagara-On-Lake-The-Lake. Deb won the prize as usual and we stayed at the Prince Of Wales Resort in the heart of Niagara-On-The-Lake. We started the gorgeous day exploring the area a bit with nice views of the Niagara River and Fort Niagara. We drove past the many wineries and stopped for a quick view of the floral clock. We also stopped at the little church which we both found amusing. We headed out for our free dinner at the five star restaurant The Cannery. The food here was excellent with a steak and garlic mashed that absolutely melted in your mouth. After dinner an a nice desert we headed to Casino Niagara for some late night gambling. We found luck at the blackjack tables winning a couple hundred in Canadian funds. We then headed back to the resort and did some late night exploring of the desolate Niagara-On-The-Lake area. We slept nicely in our room and woke to a delicious buffet breakfast at the Prince of Wales with nice views of the area. We finally checked out and headed to the falls and took in some nice views of the Falls from the Canadian side on another gorgeous day. We then crossed the border and headed home a nice little getaway, thanks for the freebie again Deb.Slideshow[]
2/6/2015 - Hilton, New York - Today Dominic and the Hilton High School Jazz Ensemble performed at the 12th Annual Evening of Jazz at Merton Williams Middle School in Hilton, New York. The Evening of Jazz featured the talents of world class jazz musician Eddie Daniels. The Merton Williams Jazz Ensemble opened the evening with several numbers under the direction of Charles Kane. This was followed by the Rochester All-Star Big Band with special guest Eddie Daniels. The band included local professional musicians under the direction of Jared Streiff. They played a great set that included Eddie Daniels performing some fantastic clarinet and saxophone solo performances. The evening ended with the Hilton High School Jazz Ensemble performing five numbers. The numbers included We'll Get It, Hay Burner, Decoupage and an original piece commissioned for the band called Needledrop. For the final number the Hilton High School Jazz Ensemble was joined by Eddie Daniels to play the David Benoit song Sao Paulo. The finale included an excellent solo by Dominic on the Soprano Saxaphone which was followed by a solo by Eddie Daniels on Tenor Saxaphone. It was a great show and Dom did a fantastic job playing both Bari and Soprano Saxophone. The next big show for the ensemble will be in Orlando, Florida at Walt Disney World in April, I can not wait....Slideshow[]
The Return To Thee Place Maui Yes Maui ! - Part I
Grand Funk Railroad Close 2011 Molson Canal Concert Series
4/7/2012 - Maui, Hawaii - The long journey to thee place yes Maui started early today leaving the house at 4AM. It started with a drive to Buffalo International Airport to catch a flight from Buffalo to Chicago to Honolulu and then a puddle jumper from Hononlulu to Kapalua Airport on the West Side of Maui a stones throw from our condo at Kaanapali Shores. The flight was long but ok except the Island Air flight which seemed like an adventure in itself but we made it safely without issue. We then checked into our condo at Kaanapali Shores and were slightly disappointed to have a side unit closer to the ocean but not our favorite view they moved us the next day to a center unit with the ocean view we have come to know and love. The Maui adventure began with the daily sunrise walks on the beach. We took a drive across the island to Kahului and picked up supplies at the super Walmart and stopped on the way to eat at one of our favorite burger joints on the island Ruby' Diner. We then wasted no time exploring the south west coast including hanging in the favorite Maui town of Lahaina. We went all the way to Kahakuloa Head, then back to Nakalele Point to climb down the mountain side to get our annual and up close view of Nakalele Blowhole. We then stopped at DT Fleming Beach but the winds were to severe to swim it or hang on the beach. We headed back to the condo for dinner at the Beach Club which was excellent, including Nicole's favorite Salmon in the world which did not disappoint. We did some swimming in the ocean side pool and enjoyed a nice sunset easing into our Maui vacation. 2345Slideshow[]
8/19/2011 - Lockport, New York - Today we attended the final concert of the 2011 Molson Canal Concert series featuring the classic rock of Grand Funk Railroad at the Ulrich Centre in downtown Lockport. It was another perfect summer night for a show and Dom and I arrived early for a quick dinner at Sunny's then off to the show. We took in two of the three opening acts Twenty One a local band who were actually pretty good and The Homewreckers who jammed a pretty good set including some excellent covers including a nice jam on Jeff Beck's Freeway Jam. After the first two bands we dashed over to the Palace Theatre for a meet and greet with Grand Funk Railraod prior to the show, thanks to Jack who also provided us with All Access passes. Grand Funk came out and did an excellent set opening with Bottle Rocket and playing many of their classics tunes such as Rock N Roll Soul, The Loco-Motion, Some Kind of Wonderful and finishing the set with I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home). We were in the VIP area and we planted ourselves front row center for an excellent very loud show. They came out for a good encore of Were An American Band. A great last show to finish the season in Lockport, hope they bring it back next year.Slideshow[]
Hilton Cadets Freshman And JV Cheerleading Win GRC
Obituary: Philemona J. DeFilippo (80)
1/24/2009 - Rochester, New York - Today at Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester the Hilton Cadets Freshman and JV Cheerleading teams competed at the annual Greater Rochester Cheerleading competition. The Freshman and JV teams performed excellent routines both taking home the first place trophy for their respective divisions. The arena was filled with family and friends cheering the girls to victory over numerous other local schools. Congratulations to the girls for their hard work and determination in earning the victories.Slideshow[]
11/21/2001 - Lockport, New York - Philemona J. (Andrello) DeFilippo "T", passed away November 21, 2001 in Mt. View Health Care Facility after a short illness. Born January 30, 1921 in Utica, New York she was the daughter of John and Maude Louise Church Andrello.
She was a retired production worker at Harrison Radiator, retiring in 1971. Philemona was a member of St. Anthony's Church, Navy Marine Club and she enjoyed bingo.
Her husband, Angelo DeFilippo passed away in 1970. She is survived by three daughters Jean Stover of Lockport, Elena (Perry) Azzinaro of Lockport, and Mary Jo (James) Floyd of Lockport; three sons, Robert (Barbara) DeFilippo of Lockport, Angelo Jr. (Lisa) DeFilippo of Dallas, Texas and Mark DeFilippo who is serving in the United States Navy in the Persian Gulf; she is also survived by 12 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, several nieces, nephews, brothers and sister-in-law.
Friends may call Saturday and Sunday 2-4 and 7-9 PM at Prudden and Kandt Funeral Home, 242 Geness Street, where prayers will be offered Monday morning at 9:30 AM followed by a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10 AM in St. Anthony's Church. Interment will be in Glenwood Cemetery. Memorials to the charity of one's choice would be appreciated by the family.
