Hard to believe that the Summer of 2011 is almost upon us. Just a few short months ago I was out clearing about a foot of fresh snow from my driveway.
It's been a while since I last posted so I'll bring you up to date on what's been going on.
Firstly lets talk about hockey. I know I know summer weather is here why would I want to talk about something that takes place on ice. Well four words can describe that: Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup. Need I say more? The holly grail of hockey and most difficult trophy in professional sports to win that has eluded Canada since my Montreal Canadien's won it in 1993 could be coming home as early as tonight. It's fitting that it comes home to a Canadian team that has never won it (and the last time they were in this position was in 1994, the year after the Habs won). So Go Canucks Go, whether it's tonight in Boston or in nail-biting style on Wednesday night in Vancouver for Game 7 I wish them the best of luck.
Since I last posted an update I happily scratched another concert off of my must see Bucket List as Dawn and I, finally, got to see Bon Jovi. I swear Jon has been purposely avoiding me or something because he kept coming around when I was either busy or out of town so this time there was no way I was going to miss it. Although it wasn't exactly easy getting to the show. I've been to countless shows or hockey events at Scotiabank Place and never had any issues getting there. But I go for Bon Jovi and it takes me two hours from Barrhaven to get to the show forcing us to miss almost the full first hour (by the looks of the traffic in the parking lot we weren't the only ones). The show was amazing, and that's an understatement. I went with my traditional 100 level seats directly behind the stage. Ok I'll explain why I go with behind the stage seating. First of all it's much cheaper than anywhere else in the arena and usually you get the best view. Bon Jovi was unique, although the seats didn't always offer the best view of him the screens were a show on their own. I've talked to people who had seats at the 300 level in front of the stage who paid double what I paid and my "cheap" seats were better than theirs. It sucked missing the first hour of the show but the 90 minutes that we did see were well worth it!!
Of course for me most summers are filled with summer festivals and events and I was hoping that this summer would be no different. Especially with the Capital Hoedown having such a stellar line-up this year. Of course last year we were lucky enough to win tickets for the three day event but so far this year no such luck. We considered buying tickets but unfortunately vehicle repairs and other emergency household expenses this spring have made that impossible.
Another event that I was hoping to get on my attendance list again this year was the New Liskeard Bikers Reunion, for those of you not familiar with this event it's a huge event that is celebrating 19 years this year. It's a fundraiser to fight cancer in memory of Terry Phippen, the organizer's brother who passed away of cancer several years ago. This event gets bigger every year with about 20,000 bikes expected this year. One of the key highlights of this event is the Terry Phippen Memorial Freedom Ride, which is a 120 km (70 mile) ride through Northern Ontario communities with highway's lined with supporters watching about 12 miles of bikes pass through. The entire ride is escorted by the OPP giving the bikers priority. We won't be in attendance for this years reunion, summer vacation schedules just didn't lineup for that weekend.
Luck did strike again this year and I managed to score tickets to another hot concert a little closer to home. INXS in only their second of two stops in Ontario live at Brockville Riverfest. Having grown up listening to the band and then watching the televised search for their new lead singer several years ago INXS has always been on my list of bands to see and I can't think of a better setting than Blockhouse Island in Brockville right on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Other highlights of that weekend are Julian Austin on July 1 along with a fly by of a Canadian Forces Hercules aircraft and then Heroes day on July 2 where any member of the Canadian Forces who comes in uniform will get free admission for the day (and night for the concert).
The final week of July will be spent in Northern Ontario on a small lake deep in the woods getting some much needed family time and R&R.
A bit closer to home an exciting event that's coming up on June 18 and 19 in Athens is the Firefighters competition. Athens is hosting the 99th Annual Eastern Ontario Firemen’s Games this year which should make for an exciting weekend coming up. Local country star Craig Curtis will take to the stage on the Saturday evening which should be an entertaining event.
The rest of the summer is still in the planning stages with an expected trip to the Metro Toronto Zoo with the kids at some point before the end of July (that's when our free passes expire). Who knows what else will come up over the next few weeks. Maybe my luck will continue and I'll find a way to win our way into the Capital Hoedown once again. I also hope that this year I manage to take in a race or two at the Brockville Ontario Speedway, kept meaning to go last year but never ended up going so it's on my list this year.
So that's what's been going on and what's coming up. Stay tuned, it should be an exciting summer!!
