Moncton and Beyond

This is what happened on my trip east to New Brunswick

Got up Tuesday at 430 and took Jay’s truck into the airport without incident….last time I had the keys in the plane just before I left and had to get them sent to the desk….this time I only had the stub for the parking lot so I had to phone Jay from the airport in Calgary…because that was where the plane was going before going to Toronto…..unbeknownst to me was that the plane to Toronto also stopped over in Saskatoon…not big deal but the 4 hour layover in Toronto was a bit long…

Arrived in Moncton, New Brunswick, for the big concert, John McCaustlin was there to greet me at about 1100 pm….. Tim Thomas whose daughter Jennifer was arriving from Vancouver on the flight with Air Canada, so had a bit of a reunion…John informed me that his wife thought I was coming in on Friday 3 days later so she was in a panic getting something ready for me…..I said I would make up some story about sending her emails (which I think I had) telling her about my arrival…I had phoned John earlier from Toronto…

Got in and Susan promptly asked if I needed a snack….after a sandwich, it was off to bed.

I slept late and soundly after about 20 minutes….woke at about 1000 the next day…my morning breakfast Vitamin C and a glass of milk when I am on the road….met Reg at about 1530 to get my ticket to the concert…he had started out for Moncton from Fredericton and about ½ hour in had to go back…..his expression “stunned arse that I am, I had forgotten the ticket”…laughed about that….had met earlier to give back a ring….yes, Jennifer it sucks

We had phoned Al Norman, the fellow who used to recruit for the Chinese school and he was going to put his sailboat in the water. So, in the afternoon we went out for a good 4 hours sailing just into the harbour and around…it was overcast and we did not get wet…except that we finished off a few beer and Smirnoff Twisted as we sailed the waterways...Al has just retired and was looking forward to doing a lot more of this…..it was Wing night at a couple of places here so we tested both of them…a club downtown and then the Fox and Hounds in Albert County….I stopped drinking beer at about 1100 so I was the sober one to drive home…..did that and then proceeded to solve the world’s problems until about 3 in the morning….

Tada…got up a little late 1100 the next day…so had a decent rest…golf was at 1218…actually was able to borrow left hand golf clubs from Gordo a winner of the 2 by 4 skins cup…an annual golf tournament contested by some very good golfers who just happen to drink a little….a drinking group with a golfing problem…the clubs were a mixed bag of many….but I was on fire shooting a legitimate 45 on the front nine…I had told John the story of my 71 on the front 9 in Beijing and of course the word SANDBAGGER came out a few times…Then reality kicked in and I shot a 55 on the back nine….do I was on par…we had a few beers after that and went out to a restaurant with Pam and Mike Sullivan who were friends from China….then off to a pub for a few more…I met Bonnie Collins, Scott Hamer and Grace Estie there…stayed until about 2 and caught a cab ride home….John commented the next morning when are you going home because I don’t think my liver can take more of this and I repeated it too!!!

Saturday…concert day…really wanted to be there for the Mosh pit but we got away at 230 and the concert was supposed to start at 300 but it was delayed for 1 hour so we didn't miss much…Got my disposable camera confiscated and they almost took away the candy that I wanted to bring in….no food allowed…so I told them I was diabetic and they let me in….John and Susan have a daughter who worked at a bottling plant so they got some caps and put rum in a water bottle and smuggled it in with no problem The Sam Roberts band was first and I did not know them so did not miss much…connected with Reg Bonnell he found me in the merchandise line ( T shirts $40)….Noreen ( his wife) was 6 rows behind…had he not phoned, I would probably never have found him….1 chance in 55,000. Headed down to the Mosh pit to the sound of The Big Black Horse and the Cherry Tree ……..WOOOOOOHOOOOO..

To all the folks from BCCSC…see how important that song was…

And then after that we were about 20 rows back and the sounds of John Fogerty resounded through the land…..All the goodies…Looking Out my Back Door, Green River, Proud Mary, Down on the Corner, and my all time favourite ( and only best favourite) Who’ll Stop the Rain….that was a highlight moment for me…he did many more and it was amazing to see him perform….his drummer was awesome…he banged on them (green in color) and he rocked the place…I got a newspaper the next day and it really gave a good review of that performance

Eagles were equally as good and they really had the crowd in the palm of their hands….the best songs were for me were Lyin Eyes and Desperado which Don Henley did as a solo….better than the Stones for me as I got to tick off another thing to do before the grim reaper…. I knew three of the acts and CCR was my favourite band back in the good old days….what a hell of a concert…got home late and had a burger with the McCaustlins and went to bed….took a while to come down from the high… no pictures because of camera…but will get some from Reg….hopefully will be able to put them here…..

Went up to Reg Bonnell’s on the Sunday morning…they have a GPS in the car …what a neat apparatus…tells you when and where to turn …how the hell could you ever get lost…what would be the fun in that….they have a terrific place and showed some good old fashioned maritime and Newfoundland hospitality…we chatted the whole night….well until about 10 ….

Woke up and had breakfast and met with Fred Savoy…he is looking good and improving with each day….he is going to have some tests and then some rehab..….from then until about 100 it was all chat and remembering good times…finally had the three Amigos pictures taken AND also our green Tommy Bahamas….said my goodbyes to Noreen…..good old Sask hug and Reg ( who I will see again in 2 weeks or so) and then Fred and I traveled to Moncton to pick up Martha his daughter who had been tenting (in the pouring rain) in Fundy Park……had a great time chatting and solving problems…..

Got into Moncton and even found my way to the Tim Horton’s where we were to meet without GPS…..imagine that….then went over to McCaustlin’s for a few minutes to meet with Fred before he headed back…spent the rest of the day there and went to bed to do this…the blog…so I will try to get some pictures and then I will post…actually using the time on the airplane to do this…hope to head out to Mark’s today to see the new baby…

Yea, that is the BIG news….Mark and Tammy had an addition on August 3rd at 12:12in the morning…significant…again…can’t believe how that appears time and time again…actually saw a mailbox in Moncton as we were going to Reg’s that said the exact same number….her name is Jourdyn Lyn and she was 7 pounds 8 ounces and was about 3 weeks early….Mark said she had enough hair to actually have braids…he is a funny dad…baby and mom are doing good…grandpa is fine too…great to see the second name ….carries some family ties to the next generation….am I a hopeless romantic or what????….will include a picture of that too….

Ok now I can post this…the next installment will be with J and the Olympics in Beijing….stay tuned....a cute shot of Kenzie in her chair

Summer of 2008 a couple of pictures

The summer of 2008

Have a picture of the four old farts in their lookalike Tommy Bahamas...

......Finally found out how to get the pictures off my Chinese Camera/cellphone but not how to rotate them....then did find out but it was too late so turn your head sideways...had to use Bluetooth technology but will be adding some to the collection and trying to put them on...so here comes the summer of 2008

Jennifer and the Olympics..part 1

Ok the adventure with J begins

We had a good start…missed our 600 wakeup and got to the airport at 645…..I checked in my two overweight bags with no problem and all the tickets were done….Easy flight to Vancouver and a good flight to Beijing…met a few people from US and a guy from university of Brandon…a volleyball referee….talked for a few hours with others on the flight….heard of some price gouging 100 -150 dollars for a normal 80 rmb ($15) taxi from the airport …along with the hotels who as we know would do the same thing….

Heard of parents of the US vball coach being killed by a Chinese man….the US lady was a little concerned…told her how I felt unthreatened when I was there….

The new airport…very functional….waited a long time for my pe equipment…got checked at the door, asked what was in the big bag and I told them only balls as I am a PE teacher….they didn’t even check the bag…a few tense moments waiting for the driver…J’s was blown away by the way that the taxi driver swerved in and out of traffic and the horns blowing and all the other stuff that goes on here….just as I was initially

Phone calls to Henry Sophia , Rosamund, and Ron…to check out all the times for meeting and getting my stuff checked in and making sure our rooms was available

Was welcomed back by the staff…even the guards…. wrestling team getting ready for their matches and some practice with the mat at our school……checked in the pe stuff in at the room and got it our of the room…mailed a letter for a wrestler who had no idea how to do it …so I took the bike and headed over to the post office…J took the time to get to sleep


Had to get us some groceries....tried to take the 3 wheeler but had to go down stinky alley to get the tires pumped up.....no charge from the ladies who I first went to to get tires fixed the first time...

Rosamund came over and introduced herself to Jennifer.

Saw Francis and Charles and a meeting already planned for the interactive playground…Sophia and Bei Lu so Jennifer was getting to know some of the people who I deal with....

I was able to get about 3 hours sleep.....did not seem tired though

Monday August 10
WEnt to meet Ron about the accommodations and to check in to see if he wanted to go to wrestling...also to pick up the extra bedding that we would need when the Americans came to meet Henry....

Took J down Stinky Alley...to see what poor Beijing looks like and to show some of the shadier side of the city...a lot of poor houses and businesses.....including hookers in very small places...barbers, dry cleaners, garages, restaurants, convenience stores, etc

Met Henry to get our tickets to Xi'an and to make sure he understood what was happening with the accommodations and he told me this....he had tickets and did not go the opening ceremonies.....apparently he and his friend were going to get in to the Bird's Nest by his friend's dad who was a General but the General got word that it was "very dangerous" to go so Henry did not go with his friend and did not use his ticket to get into the Opening Ceremony..so I told him that he should hold on to the ticket as it will be worth MILLIONS in the future...an unused ticket to the Opening Ceremonies to the Beijing Olympics!!!!!! We laughed a lot about that

Went over and picked up our tickets for Track and Field.....several people were there...had been told to bring passport and their confirmation of tickets....did not and were wondering why they could not get the tickets...people are strange

Jennifer had her first attempt at the Silk Market…and she did not like the bargaining ...she did buy a purse and a pair of jeans…saw John re clubs and a couple of stalls re jewelry and making some clothes

Decided to take the subway and had a really good ride....but lots of people and had to get off the subway.....we made it to the train with 1 minute to spare...walked from the front of the train to the back where our berths were...I took the upper and she the lower.....we shared it with another Chinese person who was going to Xi'an as well...Jennifer said she slept with her passport under her pillow...there was no bar car on the train so we bought from the person who was bringing the stuff around...also had a coffee and tea ordered for us for the morning...slept with a little help from a Lorazepam...saw some local scenery as we travelled into rural China...poor lnad....farming practices....terraces...there were some hole in the mountainous areas where it is presumed people lived from time to time with actual doors into the hillside..very poor housing and farming is still the major activity...it is not overpopulated here....or is it....

After just the first two days, I realized that Bette would have had a hard time keeping up with us and may have been very distraught over the holidays....maybe it was a good idea for her not to come here...things happen for a reason......Jay and I
talked for a bit before sleep....father daughter chat.....my life...hers... others....Christmas's...the standard Christmas vacation!!!

Tuesday August 11

Hotel was good…we had some trouble communicating even for something as simple as getting a taxi to the hotel.....it was raining there...most of the time it hot but this seems to be an aberration....

Got trip to Terracotta warriors….lack of communication….thought it was a tour…no just a taxi ride out and back and we did our own booking….Jennifer and I got an audio guide instead of the guides who were offering their services… there is lots of stuff to see…J had her picture taken as a terracotta warrior…..then we had a picture with the chariot in dressed up garb…..it is an amazing place.....we did not go out to the water musical as it was raining hard so we stayed at the hotel and they made dumpling especially for us....night time and to bed….middle of night pees because of the beer…..also went on computer as woke up early….

Wednesday 12
Got up early and went out for a walk…nope ...no Tim Horton’s ..into an alleyway and bough some doughy kind of material...it actually tasted good….saw two butchered pigs on the mantle of some place it must be some sort of meat market and this was the days stuff.

We took a cab to the airport… Flew Chinese Eastern and it was a good flight…..bought a revello at airport 4 times the cost of what I get it for near the school….We took the subway back for a cost of 25 rmb but fast and it takes us to Liangmaqiao..it is about a 70 rmb cost by taxi…over to the store bartered for 3 t shirts and 2 jackets….650….thought it was and ok deal….paid bill for internet 410 rmb for 2 months…I thought that was high and gave the bill to Michael in IT. Chloe and J met….We had supper at Texas Roadhouse… when I ordered Sex on the Beach the waitress was a little taken aback and we had a good laugh about that incident….Henry met us late so he ate with us. We went back to CIS getting ready for his boss to come back to building Jennifer and I moved to Reg’s apt for 4 days …..We met boss Michael and son Sam….Will try to get a good sleep tonight and will be going to look for tickets tomorrow for Beach volleyball.

Thursday August 13
Got up early and went for a run then took a trip on my three wheeler and waited outside the front of the beach vball venue….got vball tickets for about 4 times what they were worth (400 rmb..or about 56 dollars for 2 tickets) but it was ok as Jay really wanted to see some... J missed seeing her favourite beach player by 10 minutes….took Henry and his boss and son to the gate to do the same thing..they got theirs as well and we sat together..the place was supposedly sold out but is wasn't as were many venues....told Henry's opening ceremony to his boss on video so that all the world can find out.…. it was pouring rain for a few games but we had a blast....pouring even had a few beers..they handed out free rain coats and we put them on but they eventually let in a lot of rain...Henry and Sam loved the beach girls (cheerleaders)...some people were fascinated with my Canadian umbrella hat and wanted souvenir pictures..... funny...Henry and Michael were a little wet...Michael didn't even bother take off his hat ...looked like drowned rats....Henry looked like ET..

A fun day ended with us getting on a bus...going past our school for about a 10 minute taxi ride back...gunny...the bus was steamed up too and paced with people getting away from the vball venue....Jennifer met Rosamund and we had a Korean hot pot with a spicy and a regular side....well no one had the spicy side hot pot..it was anew experience for Jennifer as we put stuff in and et it cook and then took it out to eat...we had a lot of food to eat and it was fairly inexpensive

Will add a few more pics and then give you the 2nd half so that this is not too big