Arriving in Rochester

From left: bigmacbear, djjo and gmjambear at the Lilac Festival this afternoon


djjo and I arrived in Rochester yesterday for the Rochester Rams' Northern Exposure weekend. Fortunately we have plenty of time between events to visit our hosts and tour this beautiful city, which is new to me.

You can always tell when you've crossed from Ontario to the US. Driving, you notice the state of roads is poorer in Michigan and New York. Arriving by train yesterday I was struck, not for the first time, by the multitude of derelict buildings in Buffalo and Rochester. While Southwestern Ontario experiences urban expansion, upstate New York's population has declined considerably over the past century. To a photographer this is not necessarily a bad thing.

As good people go, bigmacbear and gmjambear are in the upper ranks. You know you're in good hands with these guys, and they show you a good time, too. I've met them several times before, but this our first extended visit without too many other distractions. I'm enjoying the opportunity.

This afternoon we explored Rochester Lilac Festival. More about that in a later post. This evening we'll attend the Rams' bar night. I glimpsed some hot men when we stopped at the Forum last night; looking forward to more meeting and greeting.