Well, we are back in New York, having arrived in the wee hours of the morning.  The city that Orson is based out of is called Arcade.  It is a snall town about forty minutes outside of Buffalo, and I love it.  The aren't anny  massed produced subdivisions,and the only chain restaurant is a Mc Donalds.   But, as with any city, what sets this one apart is the people.

Last week when we were here, we went to a very cute restaurant called strawberry firlds for breakfast.  When I walked in with all three of mu children in tow, I steeled myself for the glares I usually get when I enter a restaurant populated by retirees and other people found in these types of establishments on a weekday morning.  To my surprise we were greeted with the same warmth as the patrons who had been bisiting the establishment for twenty years.

My children were treated like a welcome distraction, and they received the same caliber of service that is usually only found in a four star restaurant.  During that same weekend, we attended a local fourth of July festival.  It wasn't large by any standards, but but it was full of families.  Everyone was very friendly, and we finally were able to sample the local favorite.  Beef on wek.  Now to the casul observer it may look like a french dip.  But this no soggy roast beef sandwich.  What makes this sandwich special is the roll.  It is called a Kummelweck which is German for caraway seed (kummel) and roll (weck).  It is as much a part if Northwest New York culture as the almighty Buffalo wing.

Don't get me wrong there are some fabulous communities and traditions in Florida.  The Key Lime Pie with its sugarladen tartness must not be overlooked.  But the communities in so many cases feel so contrived.  I have been to the sweet city of Arcade twice now, and it feels so much like home to me.  There aren't any subdivisions or gated communities, you will see a 3,000 sq ft home on the same street as a 800 sq ft home.  Because not everyone feels like bigger is better.  But the best thing of all is that I haven't seen a house yet on less than 1/3 of an acre.  In florida property like that is so hard to come by.  I love the idea of opening the back door and letting the kids get lost in our own back yard.  But, and yes there is a big but and its not the one filling out my shorts;  the snowfall is measured in the feet here every year.  I don't know if after twenty years in Florida I can adjust to the cold weather as an adult.

I do know that at the least we will try to spend our summers there, and maybe in a few years . . . Well, we will just have to see.