Afternoon with Ana continued...

Okay so after lunch we divided to conquer a few errands and then met back up to get in our last bit of sunshine.  We grabbed the essential equipment and headed to our friend Mac's house to do have some classic American fun- pigeon shooting!

This is only my second time, so I am not afraid to admit that I am not that good.  And as I learned this day- a 12 gauge is most definitely too big for me.  I will be sticking to the 20 gauge next time.  Personally, I'm just glad I didn't end up looking like one of these women (for the record- I don't agree with their political stance) because my friends actually taught me a little bit about gun safety and how to properly hold and shoot a weapon.

our shooting range 

It's hard to imagine going to a shooting range to shoot at paper targets when you can be out in this gorgeous weather.  We're lucky to have a friend with both the open land and all the gear.  And while I'm thinking about it, why is a pigeon shooter called a trap?  It makes no sense.

 Ana prepping the trap

Ana shooting her dad's 12 gauge 

Afternoon with Ana

While in New York I was fortunate enough to catch up with some old friends- including my very oldest friend, Ana.  Ana and I became friends in the fifth grade when we both were cheerleaders together.  We've been friends through every embarrassing childhood phase imaginable. We started a band together in middle school (we even made music videos and signed photos- it doesn't matter if you can't sing or play instruments), built stuff in her dad's garage while blasting Nelly, and then made the harsh transition to black band t-shirts and a Slipknot/Slayer concert.  We even have a shocking number of exes in common (the perks of a small town). Despite our mutual inability to stay in contact from a distance, we always manage to pick up right where we left off.

the beautiful Ana!

Given the absolutely beautiful weather we were having, we were determined to spend the maximum amount of time outside possible.  At my dad's suggestion, we went to Aladdin's Natural Eatery for lunch.  It's right on the Erie Canal in Pittsford, and they have two stories of outdoor seating, so it's basically perfect for that one-in-a-million sunny day in Rochester.