New York Hospitality

 

In an annual ranking, from a global travel site, the state of New York was voted the least friendly state in America. Whoever collected data for that particular poll, must have bypassed the areas of New York we’ve been visiting.

While camping at Lake Erie State Park, our campground neighbors were a group of friends from Buffalo, NY who visit the park every year together. They went out of their way to be welcoming and inclusive, even inviting us to share a meal of smoked pulled pork on Costanzo buns; the buns are a Buffalo specialty and the best I’ve ever had!

We thought that level of hospitality was perhaps a fluke until we settled in at Lakeside Beach State Park, on Lake Ontario. Our first morning here, we got up early to play disc golf and met a local guy, named Harvey, walking his dog. Harvey was friendly and personable and suggested we meet up later that evening for ice cream, at a fruit market, right outside the park. We enjoyed getting to know Harvey, learning a bit about the local history of the area and meeting his wife Lauren, and friend, Heidi. As an added perk, not only was the ice cream delicious but the shop gave us a free doggie sundae for Starbaby!