Rochester is a little bit of a detour, but I figure it's a must see since I'm already in the area...

As I near the city, though, only one thing is on my mind:  find a Chinese Buffet before the 4:00 lunch breakoff time!  So I frantically drive around Strip Mall Hell in the Rochester suburbs until I find the biggest Chinese Buffet I've ever seen...

That'll take care of lunch, supper, AND tomorrow's breakfast...

Heading into town up Monroe Blvd I park my car down side street so I can walk into town.  Although the houses in the area quite beautiful, Monroe has a bit of a seedy feel with its adult bookstores and liquor stores and lots and lots of police cars... But as soon as you cross "The Loop" into downtown, everything changes...

There's the Children's Museum with an unusual glass enclosed little forest... there's a bigass castle (apparently emptly at the moment)... there the East side of town with tree lined boulevards, mansions and museums... conservatories... live music... splendid concert halls... more museums... And then there's this building that from the outside it looks like an old, run-down High School--but inside it's been converted into a really cool mall with all sorts of odd, trendy shops and bizarre Modern Art sculptures...

I asked a guy as I waited in line to use the restroom at Wendy's (yes, I use restrooms at fast food joints all the time without buying anything...) why Rochester had such a focus on art and music.

The guy told me, "Rochester is what it is thanks to George Eastman (the inventor of Kodak film).  He also invented the 8 hour work day.  Since his employees had so much time off, he built the Eastman theater and the conservatory to give folks something to do with their free time.  Thus Rochester is the art and music hub that it is."

I don't know that that's all entirely true--all the same, I'm truly inspired by this city.

Across the river there's another downtown district--I come across a really cool shot of a steel and glass skyscraper, a French Baroque style building and neoclassical Roman building all crammed together!

Loved Rochester... maybe someday I'll come back here and meet a few more folks...

Right now, however, I'm on a mission:  CANADA

So I am sitting here in the airport surrounded by absolutely no one.  It is completely quiet except for Reo Speedwagon and a cleaning person jammin out to the power ballad.  The last time I went anywhere it was LA.  That was about 4 years ago before moving from NC to NY.  Security check points are a heck of a lot easier.  You just walk in an enclosed space get shot up with air, wait and walk through.  If you're lucky enough you even get to have a conversation with security about full sleeves versus half sleeves and quarter sleeves and their impact on their friends and family.  Like seriously, are you kidding me right now.  This is what I am paying for, a conversation I could have at starbucks, shouldn't you be frisking me or something, maybe chasing down some bad guys. I'm just sayin.  The guy that walked through behind me made the metal detector go off.  I would love an actual free society where you could say what was on your mind for real.  I would love to walk up to people like that who quarter by quarter remove enough pocket change to do a weeks worth of laundry after walking through the detector 2X.  Really are you that stupid, did you ride a short bus in today.  The guards asked you-do you have any metal or change in your pockets you need to take out-he thinks to himself-what?  Someone tell me that.  Anyway enough of the rant.

I have a 30 hour flight all up and in.  I thinks its about 20 and change to Tokyo and then from there we'll change planes and we're off to land in Manilla.  When we arrive there should be someone waiting to drive us over to our flat in Clark.  Once we arrive in Clark the person we're working with will pick us up and take us out to discuss business.  Yup I'll be on top of my game then.  Eh, trip over I am planning on taking Melatonin to stave off most of the jet lag.  I am looking forward with great anticipation to seeing the philippines.  Every thing I have seen so far and everyone I've spoken to has me looking forward to landing and exploring.  I included a picture of my kids in this one because I am going to go crazy not seeing them for 6 weeks.  This morning my daughter gave me a care bear to take with me.  She showed me "all of her animals" and then gave that one to me to take with.  About 1/2 an hour later, she wanted it back because she realized that the "Pilitines" would eat it. :) So after a quick ride to the airport, I kissed my teary eyed wife good bye and entered into the airport. 

If you are an avid film connoisseur, head over to the Little Theater and catch some interesting indie and foreign films. Come to film festivals and see what local film students are producing. Located in downtown rochester, it is easily accessible. Find films here that you can not find in any other theaters.. watch that interesting documentary that you've been dying to see. Head to the cafe portion and grab a drink or snack. Listen to some live music,and bite that piece of quiche. Check out the exhibits of local artists. check out the website to see what's playing, or what upcoming artists are visiting and performing, or showing their work. The Little is also right around the corner from Spot Coffee. Check out this artsy.quirky.eclectic. surprising. exciting. place!

If you have an exciting occasion coming up, and you're looking for an elegant, yet contemporary restaurant to dine at, definitely head to Sienna Contemporary Grill and Bar on St. Paul street in downtown Rochester. When my friends and I decided to ditch attending our senior ball on the football field (a protest really, it was supposed to be somewhere much nicer...and it got rained out and flooded), we headed to Sienna to have an elegant evening. We each spent around $60.00 between dinner and dessert. entrees run between 20 and 40 dollars. I ordered a seafood assortment(lobster tail, scallops, calamari..oysters) with a spicy red sauce. My friends ordered various kinds of fish,chicken, and beef. They even offer a surf and turf. Service is impeccable. I went as a 17 year old, and they absolutely treated us like adults. Dessert was amazing. I had some sort of strawberry sorbet in a chocolate cylinder.. with nuts on the side. The plating techniques are absolutely edgy and gourmet. This place is great for people of all ages. And it is easily my favorite place for fine dining.

Okay, so by now you all have realized that I am a coffee shop addict.. though truth be told, I am allergic to coffee. anyway, Spot coffee in Downtown Rochester has a delicious array of items on the menu. While most coffee shops offer only pastries, Spot offers amazing sandwiches, homemade soup, and a very wide array of beverages. They have a reading room, draped with elaborate fabrics from floor to ceiling. They have an elevated portion to sit and enjoy your food at. They even have a very ambient upstairs. The vibe of this place is awesome, artsy, eclectic, and completely relaxing. Murals surround the walls, and the building itself is an oldddd and I do mean OLD chevy dealership. The original sign still adorns the top of this Rochester cafe.

Are you heading into downtown rochester anytime soon? If you are, make sure to make a hop,skip and a jump past the Eastman Theater and head on over to Javas. This bohemian coffee shop is massive. It offers several rooms, all exciting and unique. Saunter over to the tea room and pick out some nice tealeaves. Or.. head downstairs to play some pool or billiards. Each room is themed differently. The walls are coated from head to toe with local artwork. Musicians sit outside, jamming with eachother under the night sky and street lights. The pleasant aroma of high quality brewing coffee sits in the air. Java's is by far the most chic coffee shop in the greater rochester area. It is incredible. You absolutely must check it out! besides, It's open til midnight on weeknights!

The Strong National Museum of Play is a museum based on the way people play and you can see, and play with, hundreds of games and toys. There are a bunch of displays like old doll houses and barbies through the years, but the museum really shines with all of the toys you can play with. It really focuses on imagination and there are big ships and planes to play on, a replica of Sesame Street, a fake super market, things to draw and build, instruments to play and tons of other things. My friends went for three hours and didn't even get close to getting through everything. Also, the nationaltoy hall of fame is housed and displayed here. It's great for kids and adults alike, I think it's impossible not to have fun here. It was only $9 for access to the whole museum and everything in it (except for the butterfly display...I'm not sure what that is/how much it costs).

i gave up trying to get to this point. so two months after my trip to europe ended should i still talk about it? i guess this will give me something else to procrastinate with!