Last Bit of Summer Fun

Summer is coming to an end.  I'm so happy I got to spend some time with my friends, family and my little Topaz!

Me & Topaz at Hell's Hollow.

Topaz and his favorite toy!

Me, cousin Ben and Aunt Rose!

My super cute nephew and niece, Aaron and Kaitlyn.

At the park.

Covered bridge in Olmstead Falls, Ohio

Creepy bats slithering out of the neighbor's attic.

Jammin' in Cleveland

My good friend and bass player Dave Warner, asked if I was available to do a fill-in gig with a band that he actually fill in for.  The band is Jukebox Heroes, and yes they play 80's music.  It turns out that their usual singer, Jason Kelty, and their usual guitar and bass player had accidentally double booked a gig.  Jason, whom I've known for 20 years, plays in a Journey tribute band called Escape.  So, the only original member of the band playing that night would be the drummer, Rich Strah, whom I have never met.  With me so far?  On guitar, would be the incomparable Tony Martin.  I've only done a few gigs with Tony, and in the 13 years that I have known Dave, we have never actually played a gig together.

I had about 30 songs to learn that week.  I asked Dave if we were getting together at least once to run through a few songs.  Nope.  We don't need no stinking practice!  Ok fair enough.  I've known these guys long enough to know that they are professionals and I wasn't too worried about the show.

Me & my buddy Dave setting up for the show.

Here is an old scan of Dave & I jamming way back in 2003.

Here's the band with Tony Martin on the right.

Here, Tony & I are playing in a band called Streetlife in 2000.

My favorite shot of the night!

Tony is one of these guys that can play anything on guitar.  Oh, there is a sax solo in the song but no sax?  No problem, Tony can play it on guitar.  Piano?  No problem, Tony can play it on guitar.  He's pretty amazing.

Brother's Lounge is a nice place to play in.  We had a great crowd that was there for their 30th class reunion party: Westlake High School Class of '82.

It was all great fun.  We are planning on doing another show when I come home to visit next summer!  See ya!

Mission Accomplished!

This morning we decided to make one more last ditch effort to SAIL that boat.  I met up with my friends early in the morning at Fairport Harbor boat launch beach.  As we were setting the boat up, I spied a sea gull dragging itself over to the edge of the lake, and he would lap up the water as the waves would com in.  So sad!  He looked like maybe he had  a broken wing.  I couldn't just leave him there to die, but I wanted to go sailing too.  I was able to call the Penitentiary Glen Wildlife Rescue Center, but you have to bring in the animal yourself.  I found a cardboard box and we put the little guy in it, and then I put him in the shade.  

Poor little sea gull couldn't even hold his head up.

My friends couldn't get a proper truck with a hitch.  No problem!  Just get a U-Haul and take the boat apart!

As we finished setting everything up, this silly goose walked over and was demanding some food.  I gave him some Cheez-its and he just hung out with us intensely watching our every move.  One we got the boat launched, he even followed us for a bit in the lake!

Success!  The sail is up today!

Silly goose still hanging out!

Woo hoo! Sailing around the harbor.  I could hear the 5 foot waves crashing against the rocks of the harbor, so we stayed inside.  This photo was taken by some nice people named:

Doris & Michael Wright
Century 21 Home Star (Northeast Ohio)
440-231-0977 Doris  440-231-0974 Mike  440-449-9105 fax
www.becauselifechanges.net

Gimme more food!

My new best friend.

Time for my friends to head back to Texas.

The gang's all here!  This photo was taken by some nice people named:

Doris & Michael Wright (Northeast Ohio)
Century 21 Home Star
440-231-0977 Doris  440-231-0974 Mike  440-449-9105 fax
www.becauselifechanges.net

We were very happy to have a successful day of sailing.  I drove the sea gull to the wildlife center where I discovered he did not actually have a broken wing after all.  It was BOTULISM!  I had no idea that birds can get it.  It causes paralysis which explains why he was flopping around and eventually paralyzes their neck muscles, which explains why he couldn't hold his head up.  A week after I left him there, he was still alive getting treatment.

UPDATE 10/3/2012:  My parents received this letter from the wildlife center that I took the seagull to:

Dear Friend,

This postcard is to inform you that the Ringbilled Gull brought in for rehabilitation has been released. The time taken to bring this animal to the Wildlife Center was the first step to its return to the wild. Thank you for contributing to the mission of the Wildlife Center.

Sincerely,
Wildlife Care Specialists

Yay!  It took 6 weeks, but I am so happy he recovered and is flying free!

Niagara Falls

Amy's husband is from Argentina and had never been to Canada before or seen Niagara Falls.  We decided to take a quick 3 1/2 hour drive in my rented convertible Sebring out to New York and then over to the Canadian side of the falls. 

Driving down I-90.

Niagara Falls, the Canadian side with the Horseshoe Falls in the background.  Me, my childhood friend, Amy, and her husband from Argentina, Claudio.

Niagara Falls in all its glory with the American Falls on the left.

The one thing I really wanted to do was go visit the Daredevil Museum I remembered from when I was a kid.  Inside, it had the various contraptions that daredevils had used over the years to take a plunge of the falls seeking fame and fortune.  I also remembered you could get your picture taken in a fake barrel looking like you are going over the falls yourself. It had a great display of the various contraptions that people have gone over the falls in.  Some survived; some didn't.

We walked around looking for it, but then I found out they closed it!  Oh no!  Someone at the tourist office suggested that the Wax Museum up on the touristy Clifton Hill has a Niagara photo op there.  By then the rain was really coming down and Amy was hobbling on a broken foot.  Claudio and I decided to search for it together.  We easily found the wax museum, but didn't see any such barrel.  The woman at the admissions counter informed us it was inside the museum.  Only $13.00 admission to go inside.  Curses!  Well, I hadn't come all that way for nothing!  I paid the admission for the two of us and off we went on our quest.  We stopped for some other photos on our way through the museum:

Well, Oprah...

Oh my darling Prince Charles!

On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams.  L to R:  Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart??, James Dean

Why not stop and do some Thriller moves with MJ?

This wasn't quite what I had in mind...but it will have to do.  Success!  Sort of.  Thanks to Amy for letting me borrow her husband!

THIS was more what I was looking for.  Here is my great-uncle Joe circa 1970 at Niagara Falls in the barrel I was looking for.

The weather was pretty horrendous and it was time to go anyway.  We found an awesome ice cream shop on the way back.

Wow!  And that was only two scoops!

Deer and her baby

Almost Sailing!

My childhood friend, Amy, was in town from Texas with her husband who is from  Argentina.  When we were kids, her dad had a boat, a "Hobie Cat," which is a small catamaran.  It was Amy's mission to take her dad and the boat sailing on Lake Erie...for the first time in more than 15 years!!!

They managed to get the licenses, new rope, cleaned and ready to go.  They borrowed a neighbor's truck with a hitch to tow it to the lake.  It was getting really late and we could not get the brake lights to work on the trailer.  We finally said, "Screw it," and I followed along in my car with the emergency lights flashing.

We're taking the freeway? Oookkk!

As Amy's brother Jac said to some lady that asked, "Yes, it runs in the family."

What's with this rope?

"Uh oh."

The pin that holds the mast in place was missing.  They found a makeshift pin to use to hold it in place.  I didn't feel good about it and backed away as far as possible.  Sure enough, seconds later it came crashing down.  Our friend Chris managed to put it off to the right to avoid crushing the borrowed truck.

The sun was almost down.  We didn't do all this work for nothing!  We don't need no stinking sail!  We can just paddle!

Amy's husband, Claudio. 

Mission accomplished....sort of.

Chris found himself a nice souvenir in the water.

Back, just as the sun went down.

Mommy duck and her babies napping on the beach.  We will have to try again!