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