Rochester, NY
9:45 PM
Since I haven’t been back in Rochester for a summer since college, it looks as if I will be experiencing the festival season everyone talks about. The first one of the summer is the Lilac Festival. Rochester sometimes calls itself the Flower City. I decided that if I was going to be here, I’d better check out what the city has to offer.
So, after a nap from a late night, I called up Sean and we met at his place. A girl I’ve become friendly with met us over there too. She is off to England on Monday. Very jealous.
It was a sunny, but cool day. I got over there at about 4:30. I had jeans, a t-short, a long sleeve button down, and a baseball cap. I left my jacket in the car once we made our way through the traffic and parked. The wind blew the smell of flowers all around. We walked up the hill, past the veteran monument, and below us we saw the tops of festival tents. Smoke billowed out from some of them. We made our way down and heard music coming from one of the 3 stages.
We filed in to the sidewalk and passed through the strollers, the sideways hats, and the slow moving older people. It was cool to see such a diverse mix. Sean was hungry so we headed for the main food area. He went to grab food and she and I went and bought 16 oz. beers that were $5 each. A total rip, but when the sun is out and a festival is on, you do what you have to do.
We sat down at a picnic table in the shade. I soon realized why amongst all the thousands, I read there were 100,000 there, this picnic table was open. The wind howled and the tree above us blew its buds into the food and beers. We were freezing. Sean ate quickly and we got out of there. We carried our drinks around as the band played and we people watched.
The sun was going down, but I was determined to see some of these famous lilacs. We left the main crowd and went to the tree area. The sidewalk went up and down by a reservoir. It was very beautiful. The purples and the whites were everywhere. You could smell them without sticking your nose in them, but I wanted the full effect. I think there is a good picture of me doing that.
We walked for a while and the shade forced us out of the grove. We went back to the bands, where I got a shaved London broil sandwich. Tasty and messy. The food was done. The sun was almost set. Cold overtook us and we made our way back to the car.
I give the Lilac Festival a thumbs up. It runs through next weekend. Hopefully I can get back earlier the day when it is warmer. Sean said the blooms would be better this weekend.
I’m not sure if I’ll make it with my sister’s graduation/engagement party on Saturday. My brother, sister in law, and nieces will be in town too.