The Rewindables - Sports and Movie Rewind

Huey Lewis & the News rocks the 403

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Huey Lewis turned a regular Tuesday night into a fantastic blast back to the 80’s. Mary and I have seen an array of “classic” artists at various facilities around Calgary and we usually go into these events with tempered expectations. Every once in a while, we realize that father time has not latched onto someone the way it’s supposed to. Tonight’s shocker was that Huey Lewis and the News can still bring it, in their late 60’s.

Pre-concert, Mary and I shared some stories around our favorite songs of the News. We hoped that we would see some of the hits and that he wouldn’t get too cute playing his new stuff (they all have new stuff don’t you know…). They didn’t disappoint us and hammered the hits for 2 hours.

Mary’s top 3:

If This is It

Stuck with You

Doin it all for my Baby

 

Marco’s top 3:

Jacob’s Ladder

The Power of Love

Walking on a Thin Line

To our surprise, they started off the show with an energy and gusto that we didn’t see coming. Heart of Rock and Roll, I Want a New Drug, Hip to Be Square and a crushing rendition of Heart and Soul brought the place to their feet early. He is an affable guy who played to the crowd in Calgary by reminding everyone of the previous concerts he was here for, right back to his first run in ’85. He mixed in some new music to, as he described, “make the band happy” while playing a couple of acapella songs, just to prove he had the range left. He may have slipped a bit but the band was fantastic and his showmanship was top notch.

When the encore cheer went on for 4-5 minutes, the band returned to crank their only Billboard #1 hit, The Power of Love to which he noted, “when we wrote this song we had no idea that……we would have to play it every day of the rest of our lives!” This was met with a raucous cheer and they didn’t disappoint. Mary got her wish with the love ballad, Stuck with You and the night was complete.

The Grey Eagle Casino is a great venue to watch a concert, with virtually no bad seats in the house. We continue to find reasons to attend these concerts from yore and always come away with an appreciation that we went to see these guys live, one more time. Foreigner is next up in October.

Find a way to be there if you can before these guys are gone. You won’t regret the experience.

 

 

 

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Where the hell did the last 6 months go?

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It’s the age old question. Where did the time go? Last I was here, it was mid-February and I was in a good rhythm with blogging and things were cruising towards summer. Then all of a sudden, my life ran into the time vortex that we all desperately try and avoid. It ran into spring/summer.

Most of us are busier than usual in the summertime. You emerge from the activity slumber of the Alberta winter and you hit the ground running. Spring gardening, patio furniture organizing, trailer set up, and maybe the odd BBQ with friends. All of that plus more filled my last 6 months:

  1. We found time to fit a wedding in! Ours!

It was in the works for the past year but the date kept sneaking up on us. At Christmas-time, we discussed a spring wedding. By March, we had decided that June made sense as it fit into a soft spot in our crazy spring schedule. By May, we were putting plans together for a June wedding and had rented a great facility. The toughest part of the planing was the discussion that we only had room for 50 people at the Glenmore Sailing Club, making it impossible to invite all of our friends and family. It became clear that we would be able to invite only our immediate family and a few of our closest friends. We proceeded to scramble together a spectacular venue with some great guests and enough food and entertainment to have a great day. Before you could blink, June 17 was upon us.

I’m proud to say that we really didn’t have to panic much going into that day. Dinner, drinks, dancing was in place and as the weather turned into a beautiful afternoon, it was time to get hitched. I had not seen Mary’s dress until that day and she looked amazing.  The dress was perfect for her and we had decided that we would meet together at the club prior to everyone getting there and have a glass of prosecco. We planned to greet all of the guests with wine and appreciation for making the day special for us. The party was on.

Our boys looked great in suits and dress clothes. We made sure that they were an active part of the ceremony, after all, that is supposed to be one of the big benefits of a second marriage. The sun at 6:30pm was spectacular and we stood with our friends and family and had a beautiful moment that will carry us forever. Mary did a great job reading her vows to me and I tried to add a bit of humour to the moment. I will always remember her laughing out loud at my stupid jokes and the smile on her face! I love her with all I have and wanted her to know it. It could not have been a better ceremony in our eyes. The rest of the night was a majestic sunset wrapped around a hell of a party. The loving and comedic moments that went on into the night, will be captured forever in our hearts and we are truly grateful for everyone who could be there and those who were there in thoughts only.

I am so lucky to have a wife who loves me as much as I love her. I look so forward to the journey that life will take us on.

2. I survived another year of coaching club basketball.

The joy of my spring season has been coaching my boys in club basketball. I have enjoyed this for the past 10 seasons and with this year, it was the completion of Nic’s experience. The emotional highs and lows of the game taught me so much during my youth and I always hoped that my boys would learn the same virtues. Cameron made me very proud throughout his career. He always worked hard and was a great teammate to those boys who he played with for years. He has kept those relationships to this day. He was a talented shooter who always did things during the game that amazed me. I was sad to see his career end a few years back.

Nic started earlier than Cam, and had the privaledge of getting pounded on by his older brother. This made Nic a tremendous player who always played bigger than his size. This final year was a real tribute to Nic’s gift and he ability to make the people around him better. He was one of a few seniors on the Elite travel team and really took the younger guys under his wing. He has had the pleasure of some tremendous coaching over the years (certainly not my doing!) and he has taken something from them all.

We had discussed taking these boys on a journey across Canada West Universities throughout the spring. Saskatoon, Edmonton, Victoria and Calgary made this a season like none other for me. It was great to showcase these boys throught the west in front of CIS coaches and schools. They had a chance to see what it would take to compete at the next level, in some of the finest Canadian facilities there is. Capping it off was a trip to Las Vegas in July (hardly warm…) to play the best talent in the USA. Throughout it all, Nic played tremendous. He did everything you would expect of a senior point guard, to make these boys better. We won a “Karate Kid” sized trophy in vegas which I was proud to tell the Customs officer that we had stolen from some kids in Vegas! A great end to a great run.

Now I get the pleasure of playing men’s league with Cameron on our newly minted team named “Blue Balls”. We will tear up the Senior mens league and I will do my best to keep up to “white lightning” as we have dubbed him. Nic will play grade 12 and he has a legit shot to play for one of these universities after high school. I am hoping he will get his chance. I am also working on Rian and Liam to play basketball after hockey season is completed. I may not quite be done coaching with those two coming down the pipe.

There are so many other things that have filled our lives the past few months. Mary has taken her boys camping a few times while getting her Hockey School company rolling. She makes me so proud the way she deveotes herself to this company and to the families she has involved. The kids love her camps and if they only knew that she took her first skating class only last year! She loves it more, thuth be told. She is so pleased when parents and especially kids, tell her that this is their favorite camp of the summer. She is a wonderful ambassador for her brand and she will be very successful with this in the coming years. If you are looking for a camp for your kids, Edge Hockey Schools will celebrate it’s 25th year in 2018.

As Labour Day approaches, we will try and take some time to reflect on the busy spring/summer we have had. We are so lucky to be happy and healthy in what we are passionate about. We work very hard everyday but do take a few moments to remind ourselves of why we do all of this. There is nothing we love more than to get together will friends and family and be regaled in your stories of your summer fun. We look forward to catching up soon.

Happy fall!
Marco

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The best things about the beach

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There is no place better than a warm beach, in some tropical zone warmer than Calgary. It’s a real privilege for anyone who gets a chance to get away from winter and enjoy the rays of the sun. There are so many wonderful things that you can spend time doing on your trip, but I have some very specific goals when I head south. In this blog, here are my Mount Rushmore of things that are half to do’s when on a beach holiday:

  1. Collect a beer bottle of sand

My good friend Murray put me onto this many years ago and I am so thankful. He put me onto the idea that you should drink a local bottle of beer, on the beach of your choice, fill it with sand and cherish it forever. I have been lucky enough to drink some beers on beaches around the world with him and I now have over 20+ bottles from around the world. If you haven’t done it, do it. You will look back on those bottles one day and remember the good times.

2. Do something you have never done before

Another beach staple is to find something you have never tried and embrace it. At least for a day. Put para-sailing, scuba diving, wake boarding, paddle boarding and surfing into the grouping. One of the best beach days I have ever spent was riding a boogie board on 10 ft high waves in Maui. I couldn’t get enough of the challenge to get on top of those waves and to save myself from crashing into the surf from 10 ft above. Find your thing of the week and try to master it.

3. Try local drinks and find one you will remember

Oh those damn drinks They are always so tempting and unbelievably tasty on a 30+ day. They never quite taste the same when you try to wow your friends with your culture, the following week. You can’t ever quite find the right ingredients to replicate and they always taste better in the warm sun. They aren’t always slushy but they can be equally sweet. Count the dark and stormy, goombay smash, bulldog and your run of the mill rum punch as drinks that have taken over my life for a week. Look them up and make them yours.

4. Explore the local culture

We always take our sense of adventure and turn it into something local. You could be amazed what you can find in some of these countries. Mountains like the Pitons, Volcanoes like Haleakala, Bob Marley’s actual house and visiting Gilligans island off the coast of the Bahamas have been some of the best days of my travels. We all go into it saying we should “keep it simple” and stick to the beach or the pool. You will be missing so much in this world if you do.

There are so many other things that make a sunny holiday special but the biggest reason is enjoying it with the person/people you hang with. Spending some valuable time with Mary simply holding hands while lying in a beach chair ranks right up there along with all the debauchery that I have lived and seen. Ultimately, it’s those you came with or chose to embrace that bring you back to these moments. Thank them for the good times.

Ahola

Marco

 

 

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The magic of the winter sun holiday

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It’s coming. I can feel it off in the distance. It’s the fun and sun winter holiday that takes the edge off the season known as snow in Alberta. It has been a particularly cold winter for this part of the country and nothing can cure the cold like some 30 degree weather and some cold beers. For sure, there are some aspects to the holiday that thrust themselves into your holiday and put a charge into the week. We have all been know to indulge in a few too many slushy drinks or get a bad sunburn from not respecting the power of the sun. The interesting thing about the winter holiday is not the fact that it’s warm but instead the unique things that seem like things you should repeat when you are home, but you never do. Here is my Mount Rushmore of things that we do on holidays that we really SHOULD repeat when we get home but never do…

  1. Exercise

I know this seems like an oxymoron to the thought of a relaxing holiday but this seems to be a staple of the winter holiday. Call it guilt for the exotic foods and high sugar drinks we all consume but we really enjoy the exercise. There is nothing that gets your day off to the right start but a brisk walk/run/exercise routine in the morning, before the temperatures hit 30 degrees.

Our strategy, do something that can get the entire group involved and make it something that you are going to be hating life over, the next day. If your location is anything like ours, walking provides the elixir for the previous day. The hills, heat and scenery provide a great backdrop for some heart pumping activity. More aggressive days include crossfire or running or a major hike. Make a commitment to doing something everyday. Your liver will thank you for it.

2. Reading

For some, reading is a daily occurrence. I know we all read as part of our jobs but when is the last time you read a fiction or non-fiction piece and truly enjoyed it. That’s right, your last holiday.

I have this pocket sized Kobo that seems to get heavy use 2 weeks a year and otherwise never holds a charge and never flicks a page. But somehow, Mary and I really enjoy sitting on the pool deck or the beach and reading. I am a non-fiction fan while Mary dabbles in either faction or non. Nothing captures my interest like a true life biography about someone who has held my interest. I can lose myself for hours in that book and even catch the occasional sun filled nap, in between chapters. Why don’t I do it more when I return home? The daily grind of work, kids and other pressures puts me comfortably on my pillow nightly without a page turned.

3. Socializing

It doesn’t seem to matter whether we travel with close friends or without, we always seem to find like minded people to socialize with. Sure the allure of the pool bar always enhances the desire to chat with the person next to you but it’s more than that.

Every person has their own story and I have met some of the most interesting people over my years of saddling up to the bar. There is always some form of exaggeration involved in those stories and a value put on one-upmanship but I can’t get enough of hearing the stories and their tales of how they arrived at this beach. If friends are along for the ride, the level of fun and games only rises from there. Some of the funniest moments of my life occurred on an obscure beach somewhere in the tropics. Mary and I even tend to communicate better without the pressures of home impairing us. You remember why we were put on this Earth to communicate when you are on holidays. Why don’t we do it more often? Blame it on fatigue but I cherish the time spent with everyone during these weeks.

4. Sexy time

Come on admit it. Everyone is in some form of rut in our daily lives that gets in the way of hibbidy dibbidy night at home. Whether it’s the warm weather, the cocktails or the lazy mornings in bed, all of them collectively lead to a rekindling of sorts. Take advantage of the time and enjoy the one you brought to the dance. It does continue when you get home but the frequency of times that she “just washed her hair” and he “needs to fix something in the garage” seems to creep back in before you know it. Cherish the moment, people.

I realize how fortunate we are to be able to take a week out of the winter and travel as not all couples can do it. The good news is that whether you travel south or stay at home, these same factors are available for you to reflect on in your lives. For those who will be joining us south in our travels this year, let’s make some memories and live to tell others about them the next year.

Happy sunshine.

Marco

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Losing with grace is a true gift

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I hate to lose. No I really mean it, I really hate to lose. You know the saying from the great Ricky Bobby. If you ain’t first, you’re last! Words to live by.

I know this is a common theme amongst competitive people roaming the Earth but I am a first class, sore loser. I’m not a total degenerate here as I will not do anything to win. I am not the person who will cheat against his kids on board games, peek during hide and seek and have the proverbial card up my sleeve. I will try and out work and out think any opponent, in my way between victory or defeat. Why? Because the sting of losing is unbelievably painful to me and I think it gets more painful for me as I get older.

It totally makes sense to me that I hate to lose in games where I am playing in. I still play sports to win and don’t lose well. (Here’s my footnote where I disclose that my men’s league basketball team has lost close to 80% of its games in the past 7 years and although it still sucks to lose, you get a little used to it) Here are my Mount Rushmore of things that still surprise me about how hard I take losing (of all kinds):

  1. Losing games my kids play in.

I am so invested in these games and ride the ups and downs more heavily than the boys certainly do. The car ride home is particularly bad for me where I am replaying the final moments of any game, trying to learn something that I can teach them from the defeat. The truth is I am only consoling myself as invariably the boys are already over it and are more adjusted to the loss than I am.

2. Losing games my favourite teams play in

God forbid the Steelers, Celtics or BlueJays are playing for a championship, as this only ramps up the pressure and emotions for me. I have zero control over what happens not matter how hard I cheer. That doesn’t stop me from riding the rollercoaster of emotions as the game turns on me. I know there are worse fans than I am (like the dude who punches his TV after a loss. TV’s don’t like that much) but I am no fun to be around after a loss.

3. Losing my mind in a situation

I love confrontation in any form. I really do love it and enjoy the moment but every once in a while it lose it. I love the art of sparring verbally with someone and arguing your point vs mine. My worst nightmare is someone who calmly just stares at you and won’t spar with you. They want you to lose your mind over the silence of it all. Those are the moments when I blow my stack and it makes for an ugly scene. I have lots to learn from those who can master the art of the negotiation without snapping.

4. Losing something that matters to me

We have all lost our keys at some point in life. Nothing pisses me off more when I lose something that I really should be mindful of. When it happens to me, I am overcome with a phenomenon I call “Panic blindness”. I can’t tell you how many times I have ranted over something that I think should be right in front of my nose, only to have Mary point out that it really is under my nose. She does it in such a gloriously calm way as if to say, “here it is dumbass!” Nothing brings you down to Earth faster than a humbling experience searching for your keys, wallet, phone, etc with my Mary.

Losing comes in various forms, all of which are painful and educational, if you chose to embrace the moment. If I didn’t love the thrill of the victory so much, I would run and hide from the losing and the kick in the nuts it represents.

Marco

 

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The greatest 11 games of the year

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With apologies to the World Series, NBA Championships and Stanley Cup Finals, the greatest 11 games of the year and coming up in the next 4 weeks. Correct, that represents the 11 games that encompass the NFL playoffs and the glory starts this weekend.

Sure, I am biased towards my teams and the games they play in. This weekend, I hope to enjoy my Pittsburgh Steelers whollup the Miami Dolphins  this Saturday night and hopefully make a run into the latter parts of the playoffs. This weekend and the following one are tremendous TV weekends. There are 4 games each weekend starting with wildcard weekend and following up with the divisional round next weekend. Eight games and a wonderful display of smash mouth football.

Each game is an event to itself. The media attention from the national media is intense and you could watch this content all day long. The games are staggered between Saturday and Sunday making the attention on each game so much greater. The fans are completely immersed in the event and the tailgating before and after the events is off the charts. Go to any bar in this city and they will have the games on AND the sound will be turned on in the establishment. It’s a big deal.

This is no guarantee that the games will be entertaining though. Often the games that look the best on paper (Giants vs Packers) turned out to be duds. The games that no one cares about (Raiders vs Texans) can become instant classics. This is not the CFL. This version of football is as brutal as it is graceful. They literally punch each other in the mouth and wow you on the same play with the speed and skill of the finest athlete you will find. This is football, American style, and I can’t get enough of it.

Of course, it will end up with the Superbowl on February 5th which to many is a national holiday and to others it represents a party to hang with friends and watch the TV commercials. The reason it crosses those borders and appeals to everyone is because it is the greatest sport spectacle there is with the media attention of the paparazzi. The 10 games that determine the combatants for that game are for the true NFL fan. Make some time to watch a bit this weekend and see whether you agree.

Go Steelers!

Marco

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NYC Day 5 – New Years Day

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This was supposed to be the day that we recouperated from NYE. A light morning with some sleep and food and real liquids was in the plans. We had a nice morning relaxing and made our way to the World Trade Center site for some somber reflection. I have been to the site many times and am always grounded from the experience. I was there a few years after the attack and have seen the site grow over the years. Finally in this visit the new WTC tower 1 is complete and the site, although still under construction, feels restored. 

Mary and I booked tickets to enter the WTC 9/11 museum. I had seen this museum in the past and never wanted to fight the crowds to get in. That was a mistake as this place is remarkable to behold. Let alone the salvaged portions of the WTC buildings and the artifacts from the NYPD and NYFD it was the personal artifacts that were donated from the victim families that made this so moving. So many of the 2,977 souls were represented with personal belongings and stories throughout the museum. You could spend days in this place to fully absorb the impact of that day. 


I found myself lost in the section of the hall where video and audio recollections of the day, minute by minute, were recounted. The flight plan of the hijacked planes, the voices of the pilots and terrorists, the terror on the streets had me gripped. Everyone knows where you were that day and this brought me back to that moment.  They even had the voice recordings of the victims calling their loved ones, from the planes, the towers and the ground. Some of those people made it and many did not. The horror in their voice chills you to hear what was going on at that moment. If you haven’t been to the WTC site, you need to go and give yourself time to fully immerse yourself in it.

The day was spectacular and we chose to take a long walk in Central Park for the afternoon. The park is beautiful in any time of the year and a worthy place to spend any day that you can afford the time. We enjoyed a great lunch on the Upper East side of the city and walked the Park to the Upper West side and back to the city. It was a warm day and we enjoyed the hours of solitude together in contrast to the frenzy of the night prior.


The highlight of the day came in the evening with tickets to the Rockettes Christmas spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. One of my colleagues from work has 3 daughters who have been in the Rockettes over the years and they too were in town for the weekend to see their daughter Allison perform that night. Clark and Lorrie met us at the show and we were captivated for the next 90 minutes. You would think that after doing this show since 1933 that it would get stale but the dancing and choreography is mind blowing. The consistency in which they perform and hit every mark is  still phenomenal today. Allison was kind enough to invite us all back stage after the show for a tour and look at how the show happens. We had a chance to ask questions to the cast and stand at centre stage for some pictures of the grand ole hall. Someone reminded me that Radio City hosts the NFL draft every year and I was standing on that same stage. Just the perfect capper on a great week.


Some late dinner allowed Mary and I to reflect on these few days and all that we have seen and done. New York is a grand old city with so much history and energy. The people make the city for me. They are crude, and passionate; forceful yet worldly; angry and kind in their own different ways. It all comes together to form this cauldron of fire which encompasses the American and national dream. Go once in your life and you will want to go again.

We are fortunate to be able to visit this city from time to time. It’s energy pulls me back whenever I reflect on it’s charms. Thanks for sharing it with us this week.


Marco

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NYC Day 4 – New Years Eve

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It was always on our bucket list and today was the day. This crazy idea that a couple of 40 somethings should tough it out and stand for a whole day waiting for a giant ball to drop from the sky seemed like it was never going to happen. We had spent 3 days getting ready for it and went to bed last night determined to do this right. We were ready mentally now whether we could persevere physically, we were on our way.
We discussed a strategy to try and get ourselves into the best possible position to ring in the year. I took a walk down from the hotel around 9 to see who was crazy enough to be positioned already for the day. I was blown away with the thousands who were already in place and hunkered down. I brought breakfast back and told Mary that our plan for a 3pm arrival wasn’t going to cut it. We ramped up for a 1pm plan and started to execute operation “Zero Pee”.

You see, this was the biggest hurdle of the day. There are no bathrooms and no way to exit if you needed one. The NYPD make the rules pretty clear to everyone. Once you are security checked into the secured area, you are in or you’re out. We had a strategy that we would get near the stage after trying to dehydrate ourselves for the day. It was going to be no fun being penned in 25 blocks from the action so off we went, bundled like we were climbing Everest and hoping our bladders wouldn’t sink us.


The throng of people was insane. Thousands of people had now flooded the streets of 7th and Broadway. The security process was holding up but was going to take hours to pat down everyone.They  were trying to force us back 6 blocks to control the group. This led to one of our better decisions of the day which was to ignore the NYPD. They were doing the right thing forcing us back to control the crowds but that wasn’t our plan. We turned around and forced ourselves into an area where we had a chance to get closer to the action. After some jostling, we were in and we ended up in a great spot, right in the centre of the stage area and in great view of the ball. Now could we sustain the 12 hours?


Fortunately, the weather was clear and We were dressed for the duration. It was 3 degrees but no rain or wind so that would help us. We hadn’t eaten or had much to drink either. We tried to watch some movies on our phones but soon decided that the right thing was to simply revel in the moment and get to know those of us who were as committed. We met some nice people from Florida and a couple from Cold Lake who formed the main source of entertainment for the night. We were all of the same age and similar bucket lists and therefor we needed to stay firm on the plan. 

Amazingly, we ended up only 100 yards from, the street that our hotel was on. Around 6 it was clear that 3 of the crew were not going to make it until midnight without taking a wizz. We started a plan to negotiate their ability to be escorted to the hotel and back and with the help of a joyful NYPD officer, we pulled it off. Mary and the 2 others got back in when many others were sent packing. It was like a Survivor scene where you are voted off.  We were back and into the back 6 hours of the night.


The entertainment started and it certainly moved the time by quickly. The acts kept getting bigger and bigger too. We even saw the dude with the one hit wonder song “the whip”. It suddenly became fun and alive and everything you came for. It was a party of epic proportions and we were in the middle of it. We didn’t have to pee, or eat (although we did have McDonald’s sell us some fries for $8) or sit. We partied our asses off without a drop of anything.

Crazy hats came out, balloon swords were swung and new friends were made for the night. Even a Mariah Carey on stage meltdown with lip syncing couldn’t derail us now. (By the way, her meltdown was 10x better as she left the stage in full diva mode!) The countdown was on. 59..58..57..56

I spent a lot of time reflecting in those 60 seconds. It was a great year for me. So much promise for the future all wrapped in the past 365 days. Family challenges but lots of upsides, our health and we are engaged. Mary stood next to me reflecting the same and we counted this down 5..4..3..2..1

Happy New Year!


Tons of hugs and kisses to strangers far and wide and the city exploded into a celebration that you can’t believe with your eyes. There were 2 million people in the streets that night and every one of us was cherishing the moment. We revelled for another 15 minutes and all headed off towards our parts of the cement jungle we owned for the night. In a flash we were in the room and watching the masses pour out of the area for the next hours all the while we celebrated our check off the bucket list. Happy New Year to all of you!

Oh yeah, and I had a glorious wizz the minute I opened the door to the room…

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NYC Day 3 – Downtown

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Another amazing day today with Mary on our NYC adventure. We spent the day Walking and touring the sites of lower Manhattan and the city was buzzing today. There is an incredible amount of foot traffic this week which is annoying to some, but really adds something to the day for me. People are genuinely thrilled to be here and although tours and events are packed, everything works out for all. Here are my highlights of today:


1. The Statue of Liberty is cool but Ellis Island is better

We spent the afternoon on both islands after navigating the throngs of people at Battery Park. Lady Liberty really is a “have to see”when 

I thought it was good enough to see her from shore in past trips. Wrongo! The sheer size of the statue is enough reason to pay your respects but the views of lower Manhattan are even better. The hidden gem of the trip is the ferry stop at Ellis Island where every immigrant entered the US though that building for 50 years. The exhibits are chilling and moving, especially if your family came through those gates. See it.


2. The 5th Avenue window displays are mind blowing

I have been up and down 5th Ave several times in the summer and it’s a retailers dream. Beautiful stores and unbelievable traffic make this a wonder I of the world to me. The amount of time and money put into the Christmas windows are over the top and make you stop for long stretches wondering “how?”Macy’s is really cool and the shops of Rockerfeller are amazing but Saks 5th ave is eye popping.


3. The security around Trump Tower was startling

Mary and I stumbled across the tower on the way to the Nike store. I have never had to be patted down and metal dectectored to buy shoes before. There were less Uzi machine guns in Rambo than I saw in front of the building. Security is at an all time high this weekend anyway, but wow. It was the most entertaining moment of the day watching these dudes guard this clown.


Tomorrow is the big night. There will be an incredible energy on the streets all day tomorrow and we will soak it up. We got a preview of the ball drop today and the whole scene is hard to process. Hang onto your hats 2016.


Marco

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NYC day 2 – Midtown

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Rough nite of drinks and and an early start to the day was not the optimal combo for a kick start this morning. Mary and I were dragging our asses this morning. We pulled it together by 10am and headed out to brave the suddenly rainy weather of the day.

The first challenge of the day was finding gluten free food that would work with Mary’s diet, We would have thought that NYC would be a progressive food network but we have struggled today to solve this puzzle. There are literally thousands of breakfast places in Manhattan, all of which have never heard of gluten free. It may become the mission of the week to answer this puzzle.

The second challenge was the rain. It certainly takes the fun out of a stroll around Midtown but it didn’t deter us from seeing the sites of the city. With dual umbrellas in hand, we forged our way through the crowds.

My best three observations of the day:

1. I was amazed at the sheer size of the Rockerfeller Christmas tree.

This tree is imported in to the city annually to be lit up in early November and stays lit until NYE. It’s presence and importance to the people here is significant. Even those New Yorkers who avoid the tourist areas like the plague will come here to celebrate the season. It really is a marvel to see it.


2. The Diamond district of the city is under appreciated.

We took a stroll through this area this morning and the jewellery in the windows is staggering. Ring after ring after ring at $40K and beyond. It is the jewellery capital of the country for a reason and you have to see it to believe it.

3. The Empire State Building is more amazing beside it than inside it.


It is an architectural masterpiece and has been for years. It hangs over the city (all lit in Chrsitmas colours to boot) and it’s visible as far as you want to see. We had a nice dinner in a sushi place underneath the tower and enjoyed the views to the sky.

On that note, The funniest thing we saw all day was the drinking games that groups of NYU students were playing in this sushi bar. These dudes were challenging another group of dudes to out drink them in Sake-bombs and these guys could pound booze. Mary and I laughed that this was likely what our university aged son does with his buddies but nonetheless these guys made us laugh with their frat house games. I’m sure the sushi bar staff were less pleased as they took over the place.


We have another jam packed day ahead, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street and my first visit to the ole girl herself, the Statue of Liberty. Hopefully the weather stays clear as it was tonight. Stay tuned.

Marco