Apparently, New York had cold rainy weather until I showed
up. Well, maybe I should dial it back
somewhat as temperatures were in the high 90’s for several days. Note to self:
bring better weather next time. Tracy
and Scott arrived and Bill fired up the grill.
Another note to self: no need for
a magnum and a regular bottle of wine for 4 people. Great dinner and conversation: worth the trip
already.
Off the arrowhead for 9 holes golf the next morning. Scott can really crush the ball. AND it goes straight most of the time. The rest of us mere mortals tried to keep up.
The evening was spent in the Syracuse armory area. Still warm, we walked around then got a table
at the Dinosaur. We ordered WAY TOO much
food but managed to work our way through it.
Regrets later. We ended up at
Awful Al’s for an after-dinner drink. Glad
that’s no longer a cigar bar. We played Penganga
a few times then a bachelorette party came in.
They got Scott to give the bride a piggyback ride thru the bar.
Saturday, 7/13, up and hit the road to Toronto. Scott and Tracy could leave whenever. In Toronto, we used old school printed
directions to get to the Strathcona hotel.
We were lost; I got out of the car to look around then Bill noticed the
hotel up the street. Hot temp (still!) in
Toronto. We walked about to understand
travel options to the Molson Amphitheatre.
Too far to walk. We found a metro
solution. That being settled, we stopped
in the Loose Moose for sliders and Pepsi’s.
Needed light food and a sugary drink.
Back to the hotel freshen up and head out to the venue early. The venue was not opened when we got
there. We noticed a short line for
American Express Priority members. I
asked one of the women working there what were the criteria: just show an AE card. Easy. Score! Much shorter line. The person in front of us also said there is an
AE members-only pavilion with upgraded food and drink. Once inside, we were disappointed in the
food/drink selections until Bill remembered the AE member’s only area. Another Score! The Bombay and Tonics were pricy but the
sushi/Kobe beef frank were reasonable. I
knew the tickets were in the front section probably off to the side. Imagine our surprise when we were shown to SECOND
ROW DEAD CENTER. Another score!
The Waterboys took the stage on time.
 |
| View from second-row dead center |
Mike Scott and the band were excellent. Mike had wild clothes and a hat (more later
on this).
 |
| Yeah, we don't mind you blocking our view. Security took care of her. |
We tried to get drinks at
intermission at the AE member’s only area but not enough time. The women next to Bill knew about Carbon Leaf
and followed them. The teenage girls
next to me have seen GBS and were on a Newfoundland flight with the band. GBS took the stage and delivered.
 |
| View from the really great seats. |
What a great show. What can I say? The pic of Bill, Tracy, and me was shown
during Good People song. I snagged the
setlist.
We had difficulty finding the shuttle entry point after the
concert. And once found, walkers were
passing us due to a DUI checkpoint far ahead.
7/14 another hot Toronto day. We walked to the waterfront and found a a dog-friendly place for breakfast. A considerable number of beautiful women walking around. We checked out of the hotel and continued our
walking tour of Toronto inland to the University and Yonge street. I became dehydrated/needing an iced coffee
then needed food. The head cold was also
taking its toll. We were a bit
disappointed with this part of the walking tour. Eventually, we found a grocery store/food
counter in an air-conditioned area. Life
got better then. Mike Scott walked by
while we were continuing on back to the parked car. It was 1:15 in the afternoon and Mike was
still wearing the same wild clothes he wore on stage. Just getting back to your hotel Mike? We decided to get to the car and travel
home. I made an executive decision to
skip The Big Drip (AKA Niagara Falls) due to fatigue. The border crossed seemed longer than the 25
minutes.
7/15 still not feeling well, I postponed the Donle Dinner to
later.
7/16 we met Gordon and Wendy at Brewster Inn for
dinner. Their place did not have A/C and
it was still hot. Great dinner and
conversation. Tentative plans are for
the Stephens to come to my place in September.
We went to their place to see the $2M new porch/veranda attached to a
200K home.
7/17 travel to Clayton after Bill got home from work. I had prepared sandwiches for the road. We checked in then I walked to the venue to
see if I can get tickets early.
Nope. I did get in and talked
with the venue manager. Back to the
hotel to beers and the food spread. Did
not get to the sandwiches – wasted. I
quickly went to get the tickets when I noticed the upcoming rain. I distributed the tickets and Bill and I got
to the venue just before the rain. Seats
were again SECOND ROW DEAD CENTER. Score!
Bill had a typical NY woman next to him spilling
over into his seat. Another great GBS
show with 2 sets.
We went to the closest Clayton bar for drinks after the show. Later, Bill and I walked to bar #2 and left
after hearing a terrible band playing there.
We walked back to the hotel past bar #3, where we found out later that
GBS, Chantal, Steve, Cathy, and Vance were there. Thanks for the texts people!
7/18 back to Syracuse.
Regroup and off to Rochester.
Still hot. We found trendy Park
Avenue which was the spot when I lived in Rochester 1987-1989. Still trendy but I remembered it being more
commercial. We drove to the venue's
recommended packing garage and walked over to what looked like a library. Nope, a business. Next, we found the Rochester Dinosaur place
for a pint and A/C. Ahhh.
I was expecting a bigger outdoor venue rather than the
parking lot. Still very hot. The “VIP” seating area was at the other end
of the asphalt area away from the stage.
Huh??? Bill and I split a
sandwich just as Carbon Leaf took the stage.
 |
| Carbon Leaf in 90+F heat. |
The band was immediately soaked in sweat. I remember Terry Scott as the lead guitarist
but he was more the backup. What’s up w/
that? GBS took the stage and played 1
set and again were awesome.
7/19 we had a pint at Coleman’s due to not having anything
else to do. Thinking that hot rods would
be at Liverpool, we started driving there and noticed tents for the Irish
festival. 3 old guys were playing Mary
Mac when we walked up. Not the same as
hearing GBS. Later we walked through the
gambling tent.
 |
| Soooo confusing after a few beers. |
A man was taking his teen
daughter thru the tent to all the betting tables. Is this really the father/daughter moment you
want to be remembered? A younger band
took the ‘stage’ and played.
 |
| Must have Drum and Bagpipes if in Syracuse. |
Later, the Irish
dancing girl’s school took the stage.
Cuteness overload. Usually when
the littlest dancer if featured it’s really so that everyone (especially
parents) can say ‘what a cute kid’. Only
this time the littlest dancer brought talent. They were all talented.
7/20 Bill and I traveled to Utica to the Andy Warhol exhibit
at Munson-Williams Art Institute.
 |
| Jackson Pollock |
7/21 Tina called asking if we wanted to stop over earlier
than planned so we could visit with Laura before she went to work. Of course!
The Donle kids are growing up. Laura
is excitedly looking forward to college and Adam built a gaming PC from
scratch. Tina now has an overactive
dog. Tina had to make a pizza appetizer
at her home (why???), and then dinner plans shifted to going to Smokey Bones so
we can watch Laura at work (Hostess Perfecto) and benefit from the employee
discount. I made the wise decision to order the empty
plate and sponged off of Tina and Bill’s order.
7/22 wrapped up the trip with yet another walk in the
park. We noticed Park Maintenance
personnel blocking the road and putting in poles in anticipation of a chain link
fence. Yes, in the middle of summer, the
park bike path will be torn up and replaced effectively shutting down the park. At least they waited until I was leaving.
The Syracuse to Newark flight was late taking off. Not an issue since I had a 3-hour
layover. However, that last flight was 2
hours late from leaving the terminal and we sat on the tarmac for 45
minutes. Nothing could be done about it;
there were a LaGuardia incident and bad weather in our path. Arrival was 11:20. Thanks Jon for the pickup. We need to work out a better system so late
arrivals default is getting a shuttle and not burdening the pickup driver.
