#Itsjustfun My Ellicottville Day Trip!

This past Monday my friend, Annette and I took the day off and decided to make a day full of fun in Ellicottville. We knew we were going to grab brunch at Katy's before heading to Holiday Valley to try out the ski boards. As we got closer to the date, we decided on either doing cross country skiing or tubing to save a couple bucks {because I'm "living on a budget" more now a days}.

{I love these coffee mugs at Katy's}

When we arrived in Ellicottville it was a little later than planned {this was my fault because I arrived late to Annette's house}. Katy's only serves breakfast until noon {note to self if you plan on doing the same thing}. So we grabbed lunch which was pretty good {I had the Firecracker Panini and Annette had the Tannenbaum Panini} and then decided to go to tubing.

{Holiday Valley Tubing - Open Thursday thru Sunday}

We went down the street {because Holiday Valley tubing isn't located on the main resort that the skiing and snowboarding is on}. When we arrived, the parking lot was plowed, but no one {I mean NO ONE} was there. To our surprise they are closed Monday thru Wednesday. Yes, I say to our surprise because I assumed it was open the same hours as the main resort is {don't ever assume}. So we decided to head to the main lodge and get an adult beverage and then decide if we wanted to hit the slopes. When we arrived, the bar was closed {we literally laughed out loud at this point}. We then decided to just head back in to town and grab some drinks at EBC {Ellicottville Brewing Company}.

{Some of the slopes}

{The view was so pretty}

{Beer flights at EBC! I found some new beers I like beside my go to Blueberry Wheat}

While the day didn't go as we planned, we still made the best of it and had a fun day off { #itsjustfun - Holiday Valley's tagline}.

As much as I dislike and never really post anything negative about places I go on my blog, I am always honest with what I share and share my opinion, so here it goes... I love Holiday Valley, I think its a great place to go, but I do think that their website is a bit confusing and isn't as "straightforward" as it could be. I feel like it takes multiple clicks and pages to get to the information you are looking for.

I will also say, it seems {comparing to my last year's snowboarding experience} that weekends and nights are their busiest time, so instead of having coupons geared for more of the Canadian clientele or offering coupons for your peak hours, why not offer coupons or discounts for those "off peak" hours. There wasn't nearly as many people on a Monday afternoon as compared to a weekend.

I understand Holiday Valley is ranked in the top 10 for best resorts in the East, but for those people on a budget and not as experienced in skiing or snowboarding {like me}, it can be expensive and steer people away. While are plans for a adventure packed Monday didn't go as we had planned, we still made the best of it and have new memories we made.

Until next time.

-B

February To-Do

We are in the second month of the year and not to get to boring, but the beginning of 2015 hasn't gone exactly as I wanted {yes, I know that's how life goes}. While I focused so much on what I didn't do and what didn't go right for me, I need to think of what did. I met some amazing people and did some pretty cool things. I, {like I think most people are}, am my worst critic, I focus on always improving myself and the things that I didn't do, that I don't take the time to enjoy what I've accomplished.

February is about getting back to me - focusing on my goals and enjoying the things I do for me and not being so hard on myself {or at least trying to - this isn't going to be an overnight switch-a-roo}. So today I'm kicking it off by heading to Holiday Valley for the day. I took the day off and am looking forward to a day of Ellicottville fun with Annette.

A  couple other things  I have on the calendar that I'm looking forward to this month are trying some new fitness classes out {Barre at Catalyst, Pound at BikeorBar, incorporating a little yoga in my life - if you know of a good studio to go to let me know! and learning more TRX at Revolution Buffalo}, a Makers Buffalo Class is always fun!, a Niagara Wine Trail wine tour for a friend's birthday, the Polar Bites event benefiting the Buffalo Zoo and planning the finishing touches for my 30th birthday party next month. Who knows what else will come up, but sometimes its those "unplanned" adventures that make the best memories.

What are some fun things you are looking forward to this month. Leave them in the comments section below and I'll pick a random person to win a gift card to 716!

-B

#BuffaloLinks

A new addition to Hertel Ave. Queen City Shaken & Stirred offers everything you need for the special cocktail except the booze. Check them out!

With the holidays right before us, now is the time you see people donating. Second Chic not only sells great clothes, but also excepts clothing donations for you to sell. At the end of your contract you can pick up the clothes that didn't sell or donate them to Journey's End. For more info on the program click here.

Friday 716 Food and Sport opens down at the Harbor Center. I can bet this place will be packed before the Sabres game and in the upcoming weeks. Its great to see life back at Canalside!

Stop by Christmas in the Country at the Hamburg Fairgrounds this Thursday through Sunday to pick up great Artisan finds that make great gifts.

Who doesn't love a beer and wine festival {I know I do!} Holiday Valley is hosting theirs this Saturday at 3:30pm. For more info on the event click here.

Queen City Malting helps create malt for distillers and brewers here in Buffalo, NY. Working with local farmers, they help keep the beer made in Buffalo, NY truly local.

Oh the Places I will Go...To Ski High Adventure Park

Continuing on with facing my fears and taking more adventures, this past Saturday my friend Annette and I went to tackle the Sky High Adventure Park at Holiday Valley. While I am deathly afraid of heights I knew this would be a challenge, a BIG one! I didn't want to let my fear win though, so I sucked it up and focused on the task at hand, living a little and enjoying the moment.

While I only accomplished the yellow courses (which were the easiest ones) I was proud that I did that. Annette was a great friend to take with, encouraging me, motivating me and telling me not to give up {I definitely needed that a couple times}. For $48 you get to zip line and climb through the forest for 3 hours. For an additional $3 you can purchase a roller coaster ride that takes you up a hill on what I like to call a bob sled and you control the speed on the way down {it was actually pretty fun}.

The weather was beautiful and it made for a great Saturday activity. Once you have your harness on {trained staff make sure you are properly sung} you take what I would say was a 15 minute crash course with a staff member.  They go over all the instructions on how to use your carabiner clips and the do's and don'ts of the park. Along with staff being on the ground helping people through the courses you can also walk below and follow along to take pictures and check out the other courses before climbing your way through them.

There are so many courses to try at Sky High that you simply couldn't complete them all in 3 hours {unless you were a pro and no one else was in the park}. Each course typically takes about 30 minutes -45 minutes depending on how many people are on that course. Guests who don't want to take part in the courses have the opportunity to stay back at the lodge and play putt-putt, ping pong, corn hole or read a nice book on the patio.

While standing on one of the platforms, just about to walk across one of the ropes with my legs visibly shaking {literally, even ask Annette}, I couldn't let fear win. While there were moments I wanted to give up and just get back on the ground, I would have regretted that decision in the long run. I'm looking forward to going back next year and completing another level, a more difficult one and continuing to face my fears.

For more information {times, pricing, etc.} on Sky High Adventure Park click here.

-B

{ Thanks Annette for taking these photos of me during the course }

{ Pictures of various courses and the grounds around the park }

{ Facing fears and be adventurous! Post celebrations took place at Ellicottville Brewing Co. }