"What's for dinner," Brad wondered on Saturday as I dragged dusty pans out of the bottom cupboards. "I found this recipe on Facebook..." I started to say but he'd already shot out of the room, the unfortunate victim of some previous Facebook recipe failures. But soon, the smell of my Balsamic Roasted Chicken with Rosemary Potatoes had my family emerging from their hiding places to demand when dinner would be done. We had a winner!
"What do you think about heading over to Letchworth to watch the sunrise tomorrow," I asked Brad and Sydney. They've been emotionally steadying themselves for this request for over a month...ever since I showed them someone's Facebook post of the gorge bathed in dawn's early light. "It's like a river of sunshine rippling through the valley," I told them excitedly. "We had to wait twenty minutes to even get past the ticket gate today," Brad reminded me, "What if there is someone in your spot tomorrow?" I scoffed. "Who's going to be stupid enough to sit in the dark at 6:45 on a Sunday morning," I laughed.
So the alarm went off and I sprang out of bed to make cinnamon rolls (from a convenient tube). I packed up cider, glasses, and a cozy blanket before shepherded my yawning family out the door. The dogs were thrilled to go. "Is this what you guys do every morning after you leave us," they thought (with just a hint of betrayal) when we arrived at the park...just as another car pulled up...ruining my serenity. Okay...maybe my hushed string of profanity also contributed to this interrupted peace. We nodded to the strangers as we unfurled our blanket and they set up expensive-looking camera equipment. Another vehicle approached. "Are you kidding me," I hissed. We were going to sing as dawn approached. I'd been brainstorming theme-appropriate choices. "Here Comes the Sun," "Walking on Sunshine," "Sunshine On My Shoulder," or "I'm Going to Soak Up the Sun." I finally settled on the ever-popular "You Are My Sunshine" because we knew all the words. A lyric sheet might ruin the mood. Along with the tour bus full of park visitors. I was devastated. "I was never actually going to sing," Brad remarked, trying to console me.
So...surrounded by paparazzi, the sun rose. Turns out that the squirrels and chipmunks were as annoyed as me by this invasion of sun-spotters and spent their time chucking acorns at our heads. "Are we done yet," Brad asked, dodging a tree torpedo. "Do you think we missed it," I mused. "The valley is supposed to be bathed in a heavenly glow." "That's just the filter that the photographer put on his camera, Mom," Sydney said, tugging me back to the van. "That was fun," she said, "Let's go home."
But, no...not yet. I had also seen (on Facebook) that, with the severe reduction of water flowing over the Middle Falls, an Indian head rock formation could be viewed. Well...we HAD to see that! However, Facebook had failed to tell us that, in order to view this mystical wonder, you had to be standing at EXACTLY the right spot. Don't worry...we painted a giant "X" to mark the spot for you. And because we are such reverential people, we naturally had to take immature pictures of ourselves kissing the Indian and tickling him under the chin. "Oops...Sydney was picking his nose in that one," Brad noticed before quickly deleting it. We wouldn't want to be disrespectful.
My Fall Facebook Fun-Filled Week-End was a glorious success. How did I ever manage to have fun before the days of social media?
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