Ellicottville & Salamanca

I intended to write a post last night, but I was informed that commemorating picking up our daughter in China was more important than whatever I was bringing to the table. But I ask you, dear reader? Grace in China or a cat on a leash?

Last night I took Grant out for ice cream at Frostbite, our local ice cream haunt. While we were deciding whether to go cookie dough or banana split, two old ladies walked up. They had their old lady uniforms on -- floral print tops, white sans-a-belt slacks, wraparound shades, and pristine white sneakers. And oh yeah, one of them had a cat on a leash.

The whole time we were standing in line, the cat pulled and strained at the leash and harness attached to his body. Finally when it was the old ladies' turn to order, the one with the cat ordered an ice cream sandwich (a totally inappropriate Frostbite order, I might add. If you want an ice cream sandwich or a Drumstick or any other ice cream product that comes in a wrapper, you need to find a gas station or a grocery store. At Frostbite, you're just slowing down the line.)

As the ladies walked away from the counter, the lady holding the leash simply dragged the cat, as it clearly had no interest in going her way. The entire time Grant and I enjoyed our ice cream, the cat tugged and pulled at the leash, as if someone had told it "when she goes subterranean, you go with her." It was the only time in my life that I've felt bad for a cat.

Today I made my way to western New York for a work trip. After landing in Buffalo, I headed south and made my way initially to Ellicottville, New York -- a town that some folks call the "Aspen of the East." (I'm guessing that those folks are selling timeshares in Ellicottville.) In reality, Ellicottville is a delightful little ski town in the Alleganys. It has a couple of quaint little streets filled with the kind of shops just made for an afternoon break from the slopes.

But on a Tuesday night in August, Ellicottville was dead. So I quickly made my way to the Ellicottville Brewing Company, my prescreened restaurant for dinner. When I arrived, I quickly saw the EBC beer bottles on display and realized that I'd had their brews in Indiana previously, and they're very good. I was therefore excited to have dinner with a minimum of a good drink involved.

EBC didn't disappoint for dinner. I had the English pub burger and a pint, and it was all excellent. Since I was the only guy in the place, the service was fast, friendly, and the whole experience couldn't have been better.

After dinner and a brief stroll around town, I headed on to Salamanca, New York, the site of my Holiday Inn Express for the evening. As I drove through Salamanca, I found myself questioning why there was a hotel in the area. There didn't seem to be much in the town, so I figured it must just be a good stop on the interstate.

After I checked in, my host went into a little speech --

"Now when you're ready to head up there, just come down here and wait right over there. When you're finished, you can call this number, any time of day, and we'll come get you."

What the heck? I couldn't figure out what the guy was talking about. Just as I started to give him my "back away from the crazy man" move, I see a group of about 10 Asians wearing visors arrive at the designated waiting area. Asians with visors can only mean one thing in my world. Casino.

I stepped out the front door and looked over toward the back of the hotel. Situated on a hill behind the hotel was a huge casino. Apparently Salamanca is the heart of Seneca Indian country and the home of the Seneca Allegany Casino and Hotel.

I checked my watch and it was 8pm. I decided that I could give up an hour to wander up to the casino, just to check things out. In reality, I had no interest in playing slot machines or cards -- I was far more interested in finding a donut or more ice cream.

Inside, the Allegany Casino looked like every other Indian casino I've ever been in. It was nice enough, but the smoke and threat of being bowled over by a great grandmother with a walker and an oxygen tank always leaves me a little cold. So I wandered into the smoke-free portion of the casino and decided that I'd spend $10 max to entertain myself for at least the next 30 seconds.

I fed $5 into a penny slot machine and played for around 25 minutes, ending up around $1.50 on the positive side. I cashed out, in boredom, and wandered over to a different penny slot machine. I fed in my $6.50 voucher and pressed what I thought would be a bet for 10 cents.

Instead, it turned out that I'd managed to bet $1.00, which initially horrified me. It wasn't that a dollar is so much cash, it's just that losing a quick buck would knock off a solid 15 minutes from my evening's entertainment. I watched, dejectedly, as the wheels spun. Suddenly the thing started making noise and told me to "Pick 8 treasure chests." I did what I was told, and the thing spun for about 4 or 5 minutes on its own. At the end, it informed me that I had $48.00 in credit. I hammered the "Cash Out" button like it was on fire.

Based on the excitement in my voice when I called Erin, you would have thought I'd won a million dollars. But it's the small things that keep our little family happy. $43.00 won in a casino (well, $40.00 if you count the $3.00 ATM fee I paid). Pictures of our kids. Good beer. And cats on a leash. The good life.