| GBS Rocks Molson 2006 |
| This concert was a milestone for me. It was my 50th GBS show. Wow! 50 in 7 years. The first time I saw GBS was at the Pontiac Grille in downtown Philadelphia - packed solid with 100 people. I had no idea, really, what I was getting into. My kids were astonished, though, because I was going to a bar to see a band. I had not been in a bar in quite a long time, decades even! Not a big drinker, I had arranged for my 17 year old daughter to pick us up at 11:30 PM so we could have some alcoholic beverages. Not only was it my first GBS show, it was also my first hard cider, but not my last! It was my first foray into "Celtic folk/rock" music. I fell hard and deep into the abyss, loving every minute. GBS rocked the house that night and they surely rocked the Molson on Saturday, July 8th, seven years later! I drove up to New York to pick up Columbine who had taken the bus from Boston. I had no trouble finding her and we ended up in Toronto at about 10: 30 PM. No big traffic problem, just a slow down on the QEW. I did get a little turned around when we got off the Gardiner, but Toronto is easy to navigate and I got back on track quickly. Twelve hours driving is really pushing my limits though. We had no problem checking into the hostel on Church Street but walked around for a bit trying to find a place to eat at 11 PM. Thank God for Pizza Pizza! We finally sacked out at about 1 AM. I slept all night but Columbine was a little bothered by the noises of the traffic outside. During the early morning hours we had also gained two more roomies! Morning arrived for me at 8 AM and we went down to the "cavern" for breakfast. Quick and cheap! Met a woman on holiday from Israel who recommended the market nearby and then we went for a walkabout. |
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| It seemed like a nice neighborhood for a stroll. There were several parks in the immediate area and we happened upon a bird washing in the fountain. He fluffed himself up, dipped in his wing, moved a little forward...and didn't even acknowledge that Columbine and I were there! |
| The pigeons thought we had donuts and hung around near us the whole time we sat on the bench in the park. There were so many pigeons in the trees! This is going to sound weird but it was the first time I had seen a pigeon sitting on a branch in a tree. One male pigeon followed every female around the park. He'd approach her running, turn in a counterclockwise cirle and fluff out his chest and his tail. Then he'd bob his head up and down. He only had success with one female while we were there. Most just ran away. Poor fellow! |
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| We then went in search of Tim Horton's because Columbine had never been! We found one a block from the bird bath fountain and came out with two coffees, one black and one double double. |
| As we left the park, we were surprised to see what looked like a drape on the buildiing at the corner. Upon closer inspection, we realized it was painted/sculpted on the side of the building. The darker windows on the photo below are the real ones - the others are painted. |
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| On our way back to the hostel, we strolled over to the St. Lawrence Market to get goodies for the Great Big Picnic at Ontario Place. A young man was busking in the square, playing both classical pieces and Celtic fiddle tunes on his violin/fiddle. We stayed and listened for a while and contributed to his fiddle case. The raspberries and blueberries were calling us as well as bread and cheese. Danielle (Guelph Gal) called on the cell to tell us she had arrived and would meet us at the hostel. I was reacing my walking limits at that point anyhow, so it was perfect timing. The hostel felt great (it was air conditioned) and it was nice meeting yet another OKPer. What a surprise to hear my name being called as I was conversing with Danielle in the game room. It turned out to be Stephanie, who I had met in Somerville and who lent me her photos for my review! What a surprise! She had brought Mom (Suzie) along this time instead of her son. It was Mom's first GBS show! |