Valentine's/Birthday Getaway

A couple weeks ago Wyatt asked if I could take off a day before or after Valentine's weekend so we could go on a little trip for Valentine's Day and my birthday. I cleared my vacation time with my work but Wyatt wouldn't tell me anything about what he had planned. He did tell me that I should pack my boots and lots of layers. I can't believe that he even actually told me to over pack! Thursday he texted me while at work and told me to pick one and follow the directions when I got home on my lunch break. When I arrived home, I found this waiting on me.

I punched my ticket to go east. Much to my dismay, Wyatt still didn't tell me where we were going. We already had plans to go to breakfast with Wyatt's Pa for his birthday on Friday morning. After breakfast, Wyatt finally told me where we would be heading for the weekend. I had assumed we'd be going to Bloomington or somewhere close, but I found out he was taking me to Cleveland and Buffalo. For the girl with constant wanderlust, he found the perfect gift. He gave me a letter that outlined all of our plans including our dinner reservations in each city about 20 minutes before we hit the road. We made our way to Cleveland and had dinner at the Greenhouse Tavern. We ordered the crispy chicken wings confit with roasted jalapeno, lemon juice, scallion, and garlic. They were amazing! I got a burger and Wyatt had fish. It was a cute little place with excellent food.

The next day we got up and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I had a blast there and could easily go back and spend several more hours there. My favorite part of the museum was the Herb Ritts photography exhibit. We had lunch at the cafe there and then made out way further east to Buffalo, NY that afternoon.

Artsy has a page dedicated to Herb Ritts. If you are interested in finding more out about him or to find other similar artists go have a look. You won't be disappointed.

For dinner in Buffalo, Wyatt made us reservations at Coco Bistro. It was so cute and we felt like the menu was similar to our favorite place here in Lafayette (the Black Sparrow). I got the penne arrabbiata and Wyatt the Italian pizza. Both were delicious. We both also got a Montmartre drink which a play on an Old Fashioned with pear.

After dinner we drove up to Niagra Falls. I wasn't dressed appropriately to get out for any length of time, but Wyatt did venture from the parking to catch a glimpse of the Falls at night. We spent the night in a B &B in Buffalo. After having breakfast the next day, we drove back up to Niagra Falls. This time I was prepared with plenty of layers to keep me warm. After Niagra Falls, we hit the long road back to Lafayette. It was a long day in the car with mostly good weather until we were almost back to Indiana. Even with snow, the roads were luckily not too bad. It was a fun and unexpected weekend trip. Wyatt did such a good job at surprising me, planning the trip, and driving!