I was still bent on getting authentic Buffalo wings as well as doing some shopping--my cousin's birthday party was that day and I needed a present. Peter also wanted to pick up some Pokemon gifts for his friends' children.
We checked out of Olde Niagara House at 11:30 a.m. and arrived in downtown Buffalo and half an hour later. We followed the maze of signs to the tourist center. The woman there gave us directions to Frank and Teressa's, and advised us to go shopping at a mall outside of town. I should have listened to her, but I had read about a "downtown walking street" and wanted to check it out.
I know the U.S. economy is supposedly in top condition right now, but Buffalo seems to have missed the boat. Half the shops were closed (not closed for the weekend, but permanently closed). Only a few discount stores like McGrory's and CVS and Rite Aid remained standing. Peter bought an American flag at McGrory's and we both picked up some other things at Rite Aid. Shopping there felt more like charity than fun. I almost lost my appetite for lunch I was so depressed by the economic depression. But I figured eating wings would help me and the economy so on we went. The wings were okay. The sauce was not good enough to be bottled, but they did the best job of cooking the chicken of any chicken wing place I've tried and they did a good job of drowning the wings in sauce. Unfortunately, the sauce we chose was one level too spicy for Peter.
After lunch, we headed to Rochester for my cousin's birthday party and stayed through dinner. We left at about 8 p.m. and arrived back in Philadelphia at about 1:30 in the morning.