Las Vegas

So, it's been a while. Let's try to see if I can do a little better.

A week before the wedding the guys, Sean and the Wick came down from Toronto to party in Vegas for a few days. None of us are degenerate gamblers, Sean being the closest, it was just a good place to gather for some fun. I started out picking up Brent at LAX and drove to Las Vegas. Brent and I had huge suite at the Venetian which planned as the gathering place for everybody. We arrived and grabbed what we could out of the car and headed to the check-in counter. There was a huge line so I sent Brent back to the car for the last bag and waited to check in. The last bag was awkward and weighed about 100 pounds - all booze. I was glad I wasn't carrying it. Brent was not.

The room was really swanky with 3 TV's a nice living room and a couple of beds. We sent up the bar and the TV apparatus I brought and made ourselves a couple of frozen margaritas - yes, I brought a frozen margarita maker. Sunday was pretty mellow. We all met up in the evening, went for dinner and played a little blackjack at Harrah's.



Monday was the gong show day. We went to the pool at the Venetian around noon, lounged and had a couple of drinks. The day wore on and the drinks flowed easily, we lost Iain and Brent but the rest of us were on cruise control. Thanks to the Wick for picking up the pool tab which included a couple of orange jump suits seen in the picture. Back to the suite for more drinks. Rocover Iain and Brent. Kerry, The Wick and I take off and visit a couple we meet earlier in the day. They had an even swankier suite 2000 sqft. Terry and the rest of the guys come to meet us an hour later but have the wrong room number. Most of them take off to another bar, Iain heads home. Kerry, The Wick and I head off to Nine Fine Irishmen in NY which was great. The band was great. I averted a brawl by buying a couple of a-holes a round. After the bar closed we realized we were starving so we went for a slice. It was 3AM we had started drinking 15 hours earlier and had only a snack at the pool since. It was time for bed.

Tuesday. I was a tired and hungry when i got up. Brent and I met up with Iain at his hotel and went for the buffet at Treasure Island. We muscled down as much food as we could (not very much for me) and headed over to the slots where we got the idea to walk the entire strip, stop at every casino, throw in $20 each into the slots - Wheel of Fortune only. It took us about 6 hours and we lost heavily. I was wiped by the end of it and didn't do a lot of partying that night.

Wednesday. Departure. More buffet and then off for Los Angeles. We stopped out the outlet at the Neveda border. Big mistake. What I thought might take 30 minutes took about 2 hours - what a bunch of girls. Everybody trickled out to the cars individually. First me, then Kerry, Terry, Brent and Iain. Ughh. We arrived in Los Angeles around 5pm raring to go, more or less.

California Fires

The city is ablaze. There is no danger living downtown but the fires are not that far off either. Our problem is the air quality which is absolutely awful. As well, sometimes the city smells like a campfire which sounds good until you remember what you're breathing in. The view of the fires is in reach as well. On my way home from work last week I could see a huge dark cloud of smoke coming from behind the mountains and what I think was an occasional flash of the fire. On Saturday Erin and I were in Pasadena for a little Pie N' Burger when we took this picture from the car. If you click and open the larger image in the very top left you can see the red of the fire. We had some better views but all while the car was moving so we didn't capture any. Today, downtown is an awful dark gray color.

Seamus 1996 - 2009

Seamus, our much loved family pet, died Saturday from cancer. He suffered little as the end came quickly. Seamus entered our lives as a hyperactive puppy in the winter of 1997. As a puppy, he chewed everything from sandals to baseball caps, an acivity exacerbated by the lack of a steady supply of chew toys. What made him unique was an extremely happy attitude, his boundless energy and his love for snow. He played well with people and dogs and would knock over children in his excitement over seeing someone his own size. He would greet all who arrived with forceful enthusiasm.

One summer weekend, Seamus made his way up to a cottage in Muskoka. I was called up from the water to see if he was alright. Once I got up there I witnessed him running laps, full speed, around the cottage. This lasted for about 20 minutes. He wasn't chasing anything and wasn't being coaxed by anybody. He just loved to run.

On an extremely hot Saturday in Toronto, I took him to a local dog park. It must have been more than 30 degrees. There were probably 20 dogs in the park and he ran to join the fun. Over the course of an hour the other dogs took refuge in the shade and went on home. New dogs arrived. Seamus continued. The new dogs would tire. Seamus continued. Another set of dogs. Seamus stops to throw up from the heat. Then starts to run again immediately. There was no quit in him. People would ask "How old is your puppy?" and I would reply "7 years".

Seamus also liked to wrestle. He was game against Brian or myself. He knew not to bite. Brian taught him that when wearing gloves it was ok to go all out. He would bite and fight as hard as he could but when the gloves came off he would immediately stop.

Seamus had a bit of genius in him too. Once Christmas morning the family was settling around the tree preparing to open the sea of gifts in front of us. All of sudden, Seamus jumped into the gift pile and knocking gifts around. He then jumped out towing a gift bag with his name on it. Who had taught him to read his own name? (Perhaps it was the fragrance of the bone in the bag. Perhaps.)

When I lived with my mother in Toronto I would walk him each morning before work. I would take him to the park and leave him run and sniff. It was exciting for him and very meditative for me. When I moved on, I missed those walks. Today, I miss them even more.

Goooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal

I went to the Canada v Jamaica soccer game at the Home Depot Center in LA last weekend. Canada won 1 - 0 with a nice goal midway through the second half. The stadium is a great place to watch a game. Smallish and open, great seats and good setup in the concession. If only the people working there had an IQ over 8. The game had a great atmosphere. There were about 50 Canadian fans and maybe 30 Jamaican fans at the game. Thank goodness for the Costa Rica / El Salvador game that was following ours. There were another 50 - 100 Costa Rican fans and about 25,000 El Salvadorian fans there who were ready to cheer for anything exciting while they waited for their match. Lots of tailgating in the parking lots. El Salvador won there game in a big upset too but we didn't stay to watch since I had the bird flu and was a bit cold.

Tragically Hip at the Troubadour

Just got back home from the Tragically Hip concert. Dynamite. The last time I saw them was a few years ago at Fork York with about 14,000 people. Tonight it was me, erin and about 500 more Canadians. The crowd was great. The band was awesome. Downie was on. Even the new stuff sounded good. Highlights were Fiddler's Green, Courage, Poets, Music at Work and Little Bones to finish. Here is a tiny video I shot at the start of the second set. Up later this year we've got Green Day and U2 tickets. We might also look to go to something at the Greek Theatre. Elvis Costello perhaps?

Breakfast in Los Angeles

With the potential that a few visitors from outside of Los Angeles will be descending upon the area to witness the fall nuptials, I thought it might be helpful to give a few recommendations

of interest to travelers. This is the first. Here are my three favorite breakfast places in Los Angeles. These are listed in order but it really depends on the mood or what I feel like and how long I feel like waiting. For example, today's mood is 'Morning Mist' and I skipped breakfast. I should also note that I prefer the traditional breakfast rather than getting too fancy.

1. The Pantry, downtown. This place is an LA instution. (It's old). There will be a line for breakfast and lunch during the week and brunch on weekends. Go for the counter service if you want to get a seat faster. Table wait can be between 10 minutes and an hour depending on how close to prime time you go and how lucky you get. You might get to the counter right away. Food service is fast once you sit down and your meal decision is easy because it's just the basics. The pancakes are a must. They come plain and are really fluffy. It is a full meal. For the hungry and/or hung over go for the eggs, pancakes, potatoes, bacon (always crispy) combo (I think it's #3).


2. The Griddle Cafe, West Hollywood. You go hear for an adventure and are not in a particular hurry to eat. The earlier the better on the wekend. by 11am the line is at least 30 minutes long. Order quickly and then wait as it will take about 40 minutes for them to get your food out if the place is full. They just don't have enough kitchen space so your order is going to be queued. The speciality to here are the crazy pancakes that are crazy big. They have about 20 different types. I've had the pumpkin style, rasperry style and another. I am also interested in trying the Cheesecake pancakes but I haven't had the nerve yet. Prepare to waddle home. The non pancake items are also good and also huge. 


3. The Alcove Cafe, Los Feliz. Ah, something a little different. You shouldn't have much of a problem finding a table here but there's a good crowd. Order at the counter, they give you a number and you find a table outside. The place has a nice laid back atmosphere with lots of foliage and it also has outdoor heaters for the cooler days. The breakfast items are the same traditional items but are prepared with a limit more flair. You will also find some Mexican breakfast plates. It's been a while so I forget what I've eaten here but's all been good. I also saw Ed Helms here - star of 'The Hangover'.

Rocky v. Fountain

New video post of Rocky playing in the fountains is here. It is a part of the 20 minutes he was in the fountain.  Link

Also, new pics of erin and in Central Park during and after our engagement. Link