Old People in the Attic

As I was busying myself with posting my pictures to facebook, I was notified to view my memories.  It’s funny how so many of my memory posts have triggered thoughts for things that are happening this year.  On June 19^th it was the memory of four different albums I had posted from a trip we had taken back to Salt Lake in 2017.  We were staying at the house where we had once lived.  By then Randy and Carrie had moved in and made the house their own.  We were staying with them three years ago.

no family members currently reside or have anything to do with this house

A year and a half later we went for Christmas.  By then Randy and Carrie had moved to Eagle Mountain to a house larger than I thought was necessary.  I don’t guess they were planning on moving again so soon. 

Randy had wanted us to stay with them, but it wasn’t a practical location for all of the family to meet – not that the hotel was.  That was probably more inconvenient for everybody, but just as neutral of a location, I think.  Plus we were tired.  Randy’s house would have added at least another hour.

And this year we went to stay with Randy again – only it was in New York instead of Utah.  He’d been given this opportunity to become a safety inspector and had interviewed for and accepted the position in Lockport – about 30 minutes outside Buffalo and 20 minutes from the Canadian border (or was it the other way around?)

Not quite the house they had purchased in Draper, Utah.  Lockport is a very old town with housing created during the turn of the 20^th century – thus the home they are currently residing is over 100 years old.  When we drove up to it I was reminded of the McCallister house in “Home Alone” 

Randy led us up 32 stairs from the bottom floor to the attic.  After being cramped in a plane and car (as the car seat had not been removed and Jenna and I were squished in the back which really wasn’t any less roomy than flying from Seattle to Detroit) my body felt like it had climbed over 100 stairs to get to the attic where they store the family members who come to visit – except for Jenna who was given a choice between the attic or the basement.  I don’t think I had visited their dungeon basement until our third day there. 

The basement was definitely cooler but the attic was only hot the night we arrived (well, half of it.  Randy had cooled off the room with the two beds – which was nice.  He said it normally doesn’t get that hot – which it didn’t.  I like the summer temperature.  I would not want to live there during winter however).  I was cold only one night during our stay.  I think Jenna could have used another blanket.

On our first day there Randy took us over to the Locks District and gave us a tour of the Erie Canal.  There is a little history at this site.

Randy apologized that we weren’t able to do boat tours or the zip line or that the jack hammer tearing up the stairs was so loud.  The pandemic wasn’t his fault.  As I mentioned before, New York had just started phase one.  Of course places were going to be closed.  But it was okay.  Randy was quite informative and we were able to get a huge number of pictures without other tourists around. 

I have ridden on boat when a lock was used (see here) but would have liked Roland and Jenna to experience it as well. Or just even see it in action.  It really is quite fascinating.