From So Cal to Buffalo Again (in November)

 

 We went to Buffalo in September 2014. September 2015, and September 2021. Do you see a pattern here? Cause I do. I said I’d never go to a Buffalo Bills game past September and yet there we were on our way to a Buffalo Bills game past September. I didn't even have an appropriate jacket. I bought one at Costco the day before we left! November in Buffalo sounded…scary but this man loves the Bills so much that he went to a total of FIVE last year (including one in January!!) and this was the only time we could make it work this year, so off to Buffalo we went.   

 

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Even if we only have a day or two outside of game day, we always try to find something fun to do in Buffalo or a Buffalo adjacent area. This time we decided to check out the waterfront. We walked by these old Navy ships. I thought they were cool and then when I found out we could go inside for $18 I was all in. Two ships and one submarine have been donated to Buffalo to be used as museums in the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park. We started out on the USS The Sullivans, which is the smaller of the two ships, and was in service between the years of 1943 and 1965. It served in WWII and the Korean War. This ship was named after five brothers who were all stationed on the USS Juneau and lost their lives when it was sunk during WWII in 1942. This ship actually started sinking in April. They pumped out 1 million gallons of water and got funding to do some repairs to keep it afloat.

 

The second ship of the tour was the USS Little Rock, which was in service from 1945 to 1976. That ship was huge! We spent most of our time in there. The floor is marked with yellow lines and arrows on telling you which way to go, but after a while I had no idea where we were anymore. There were so many doors, hallways, and areas to explore. A few areas were blocked off, but most of the ship was open for us to see on our own. The submarine was called the USS Croaker. It was in service from 1944 to 1946 and did serve in WWII. Every section we went into just got smaller and smaller. I can’t imagine living in such tight quarters for a long period of time….and being miles underneath the sea. We spent a good hour and a half wandering around those ships. It was so interesting and really fun. 

Next stop was Mulberry Italian Ristorante in Lackawanna. This is our favorite spot and we try to go every time we visit Buffalo. You usually need a reservation but we showed up right at dinner time and got a table. The lasagna is a very large portion. It was much bigger than I remember, but just as good. We both needed a to go box. Then we hit up the bars. I’m always shocked and so pleasantly surprised at how cheap the drinks are in Buffalo. $10 for 2 mixed drinks is unheard of in San Diego and in a lot of other places. Even after happy hour the prices were still good. And once again we ran into a bunch of friendly people to chat with, and we ended up with three sets of free drinks! Mulligans’ Brick Bar was awesome. I loved the vibe, and the music was so fun. I was chair dancing the whole time. We checked out Old Pink for a bit too. I didn't like the vibe quite as much and it was really dark. It was getting late so we didn't stay long.

I did not wear MJ's ski-pants, but only because I knew that I only had to make it to the stadium and back. It was cold! My upper body was very warm, and it wasn’t AWFUL, but my legs were pretty cold and I would have really needed those ski pants if we were going to be in general seating. There is no difference in tailgating between when it’s cold and when it’s not. They just add more clothes and fire pits. The Bills Mafia was out in full force. I love the energy. I love being part of it. We just don’t have anything remotely like this where I live. It’s loud. It’s rowdy. It’s fun. Everyone just bundles up and gets on with it.

I’m not gonna lie. When I found out club seats were a thing, I insisted on it. I truly did not know if it would be possible for me to survive otherwise. I didn’t want to be miserable and if warmer seats were an option, I had to take it. And my oh my, was it nice and toasty up there. Those heaters saved me. I finally found out where they are hiding the good food and drinks at Highmark Stadium. They had a bar! I got wine. I don’t remember these options being available to in the metal bench seats. Over there it's just like bad pizza, hotdogs and beer. These seats were way more expensive, but I think I really needed it.

It was not a good day for Buffalo. When we went into overtime the crowd was the quietest, I’d ever heard. Everyone was on edge. They fought through overtime and then just couldn’t make it happen. Final score 30 to 33. It was a long cold sad walk to the car. It was a little disappointing to travel all that way for them to lose, but what are you gonna do? Onto the next game. 

It turns out we made it out of Buffalo just in time. 77 inches of snow fell. How is that even possible? And next Sunday’s game moved to Detroit. It was very, very cold. I now know that I CAN survive a November game in Buffalo, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I ever want to do it again. And for sure, for SURE!!! Never ever past mid November and really, I’d like to say October would be the latest, because weather is unpredictable, and you never know what the heck will happen after that.

Another fun trip to Buffalo. Yes, it was cold, but I survived!! I'm looking forward to seeing how they do the rest of the season. They've already recovered and won three straight games since then.