Most of my friends thought it, a few even expressed it loudly, “You’re moving to Buffalo?”
Yep.
I did.
For the first time in my life I decided to do something completely out of character, I decided to trust happiness. I had spent most of my life making things work. Moving from one place to the next for my job. Making long, mind blowing commutes for my family. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED my jobs and I do not regret the commutes. I look back on them all with a profound sense of joy, immense pride that my girls turned out amazing and with thankful respect that I am now in a different place.
Each challenge, helped to bring me here, to the place I belong. Each transition helped me to recognize that sometimes we end up “exactly where we need to be.”
So here I am in Buffalo, NY. Working for a liberal arts college with great people, who enjoy coming to work, who say Good Morning and mean it! I am also in a delightful city that has incredible bones. At every turn, there are interesting activities, charming buildings, beautiful scenery, friendly people, and a spirit that is certainly contagious.
Buffalo has a tremendous theater district and wonderful galleries. I have a new favorite CEPA Gallery located in the old market arcade downtown, its mission states it is “a not-for-profit arts center founded in 1974 as a resource for photographic creation, education, and presentation. CEPA provides a context for understanding the aesthetic, cultural, and political intersections of photo-related art as it is produced in our diverse society. If any of you are near Buffalo November 3, 2012 or would like to visit, please join us downtown at CEPA gallery from 7-10 for As I See It: iPhone Photography by Cathaleen Curtiss a solo exhibit.
Yep. I moved to Buffalo!
Will I live in Buffalo the rest of my life? Maybe not, but for now it is exactly where I need to be and I plan to enjoy every bit of it while I am here. Granted, I have not had to deal with a “real winter” yet, I am told that last year was winter on training wheels. Well, I say, bring it on!!
Here are a few of my iPhonotos from the Buffalo area.
Enjoying the midway of the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, NY, currently the nation’s third largest county fair. The 2012 attendance at the fair was over 1 million!
James E. Strates Shows has played the fair since 1924 and still provides the midway with rides and games.
The Strates Midway is the only railroad carnival operating in the US.
Our Lady of Victory Basilica and National Shrine located in Lackawana, NY was dedicated and consecrated on May 25th 1926 by Cardinal Patrick Hayes and Bishop William Turner. Two months later Pope Pius XI elevated the Shrine to a minor Basilica, making it the second in the United States.
The Niagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls on the international border between the Canada and the U.S. The falls are renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power.
The Inner Harbor, the city of Buffalo began as a small village located at the nexus of the Buffalo River and Lake Erie. This natural harbor eventually became home to the Erie Canal.
A view of the Gold Dome Bank and the Niagara Mohawk buildings from a downtown hotel and conference center.
The majestic White Oak in Delaware Park. Buffalo’s park system was designed by one of the country’s great landscape architects, Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr.
The new Center for the Visual and Performing Arts at Daemen College.
The fall colors of Basset Park in Amherst, NY
Buffalo City Hall is the government seat in the City of Buffalo, New York, the 32 story Art Deco building was completed in 1931 by Dietel, Wade & Jones.
At a height or 398 feet from the street to the tip of the tower, it is one of the tallest municipal buildings in the United States of America.
Exploring photography at CEPA Gallery in downtown Buffalo.
On the banks of the Buffalo River, the city’s grain elevators have distinguished the landscape since the early 1900s. At one time in Buffalo’s history, the grain elevators dominated the waterfront skyline and served as a symbol of Buffalo’s industrial importance now the formerly empty icons have become a space for art, music, food trucks and a rebirth of community.
A walk at sunset on a beautiful summer night. This is choosing happiness.