Winter Activities

We are well over the halfway mark of the winter season (officially 23 days until Spring!) and while I can’t wait for the warmer weather to come back, I’ve tried to really embrace winter for all that it is this year. To be honest I don’t think we’ve had a really bad winter, the grey skies and cold temps can be daunting some days but we haven’t had unfathomable snow amounts.

winter walks at Front Park

Over the last few weeks despite the cold I set a goal for myself to get outside and get in as much fresh air as I can, even if it’s a short walk it can work wonders on my mental health. Below I share some of the places I’ve gone for walks and other winter activities I’ve done and things I’d still like to do before the season is over.

greenhouse at MLK Jr. Park

Walking/Visiting the Olmsted Parks. I’m part of a new young professionals group, YPOP for Olmsted, so when the idea was tossed out there to meet up at a park and network it was a no brainer for me to participate in as many of these meet-ups that I could. Not only have I met some pretty cool yp’s but I also walked around some parks I don’t get to visit that often. Some of the parks we walked were Cazenovia Park, Delaware Park, Front Park and MLK Jr. Park.

Another place that my niece, Savannah and I visited a couple weeks ago was the Charles E. Burchfield Nature and Art Center in West Seneca, even though the trails are short we made the most of our time exploring, rolling down snow mounds, looking at the art work and Savannah got to play on the playground for a little bit.

Tifft Nature Preserve has been another great winter spot where my niece, nephew and I have visited this winter season. Great all year round, its nice to visit and explore what’s around you.

The Niagara Wine Trail - last weekend a couple friends and myself did a day trip up to Niagara County. Spring Lake Winery was great, they offer smore’s, a glass of wine or beer (or non-alcoholic drinks) and a bonfire for an hour. Tickets are $12. This was great for the snowy day that it was. We then went to Niagara Landing, they are taking reservations for tastings which is nice because it wasn’t crowded. The last place we went was Arrowhead Winery, there space is so big that it was easy to social distance yourself from the other visitors and the view out the window was pretty nice.

Things I’d still like to do before winter is over:

• Snow Shoeing at one of the parks in the area. I hear Ellicott Creek Park may be good for this, suggestions are welcome!

• Cross Country skiing (I haven’t done this since I was in high school)

• Night Tubing under the lights at Peek’ n Peak Resort

#Itsjustfun My Ellicottville Day Trip!

This past Monday my friend, Annette and I took the day off and decided to make a day full of fun in Ellicottville. We knew we were going to grab brunch at Katy's before heading to Holiday Valley to try out the ski boards. As we got closer to the date, we decided on either doing cross country skiing or tubing to save a couple bucks {because I'm "living on a budget" more now a days}.

{I love these coffee mugs at Katy's}

When we arrived in Ellicottville it was a little later than planned {this was my fault because I arrived late to Annette's house}. Katy's only serves breakfast until noon {note to self if you plan on doing the same thing}. So we grabbed lunch which was pretty good {I had the Firecracker Panini and Annette had the Tannenbaum Panini} and then decided to go to tubing.

{Holiday Valley Tubing - Open Thursday thru Sunday}

We went down the street {because Holiday Valley tubing isn't located on the main resort that the skiing and snowboarding is on}. When we arrived, the parking lot was plowed, but no one {I mean NO ONE} was there. To our surprise they are closed Monday thru Wednesday. Yes, I say to our surprise because I assumed it was open the same hours as the main resort is {don't ever assume}. So we decided to head to the main lodge and get an adult beverage and then decide if we wanted to hit the slopes. When we arrived, the bar was closed {we literally laughed out loud at this point}. We then decided to just head back in to town and grab some drinks at EBC {Ellicottville Brewing Company}.

{Some of the slopes}

{The view was so pretty}

{Beer flights at EBC! I found some new beers I like beside my go to Blueberry Wheat}

While the day didn't go as we planned, we still made the best of it and had a fun day off { #itsjustfun - Holiday Valley's tagline}.

As much as I dislike and never really post anything negative about places I go on my blog, I am always honest with what I share and share my opinion, so here it goes... I love Holiday Valley, I think its a great place to go, but I do think that their website is a bit confusing and isn't as "straightforward" as it could be. I feel like it takes multiple clicks and pages to get to the information you are looking for.

I will also say, it seems {comparing to my last year's snowboarding experience} that weekends and nights are their busiest time, so instead of having coupons geared for more of the Canadian clientele or offering coupons for your peak hours, why not offer coupons or discounts for those "off peak" hours. There wasn't nearly as many people on a Monday afternoon as compared to a weekend.

I understand Holiday Valley is ranked in the top 10 for best resorts in the East, but for those people on a budget and not as experienced in skiing or snowboarding {like me}, it can be expensive and steer people away. While are plans for a adventure packed Monday didn't go as we had planned, we still made the best of it and have new memories we made.

Until next time.

-B