Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my 57th birthday. Wow, just like everyone else I know, I find it hard to believe that so many years have flown by. There are few complaints about the first 57th because I believe that we learn from mistakes and mishaps. I will continue to work at being the best that I can be and to try and pack in as much as possible in each moment the good Lord grants me. I appreciate all the good wishes and happy thoughts sent my way today.

The Music Cafe - February 23, 2010

I was honored to be asked back to the Music Cafe at the Fitton Center in Hamilton. The volunteers and the audience are warm, inviting and generous. I actually sold four CD's!!! Jim joined me on percussion and we were requested to do The Mirror which is a Music Cafe favorite. I attempted Anathea for the first time and it went over just fine. We can tweak it and with Peg's fiddle and Tim's harmonica it could be a great Sweeney song.

I was surprised that Always Thinking of You was the most commented song last night and it was the reason we sold four CD's. Thanks to our grandkids for inspiring that song!

Montreal Extras #1

A few more photos from Montreal

Nick and me at the steak house

Montreal - Part Four

Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine’s Day

Our final day in Montreal began with one last breakfast of oatmeal and raisin toast and then packing and loading bags and instruments on the bus. We picked up an interesting young man named Ronald who gave us a guided tour of Montreal including Saint Catherine’s Street, Mount Royal, St. Joseph’s Oratroy, The Old Port and Jacque Cartier Place. He explained not just what we were seeing but what we were experiencing during our trip. It was great to learn that the long, long dinners were custom and not slow service. We learned that Montreal had an extremely low crime rate, has more festivals than any other north American city and that you can move through most of the downtown without coming up from the underground. The underground is a series of subways, shopping malls and travel corridors built below the streets. We shopped and had lunch just under St. Catherine Street which is the main shopping area in Montreal. I was surprised that there was so much going on underground given that the street level sidewalks were packed, as well, when we were there.
After lunch we were invited to an Open Dress Rehearsal with West Island Youth Symphony. Their symphony orchestra consisted of not just strings but also horns, woodwinds and percussion. Wow, they were phenomenal, performing both the Butterfly Lovers and the Firebird while we listened and watched in awe. We had a brief social gathering in which our kids didn't really talk to their kids but sadly stayed in their normal little cliches. The kids from both orchestras posed for a group photo and then we boarded the bus for the long ride to Niagara Falls.

Monday, February 15, 2010

We had spent the night on the American side of the Falls but in the morning we passed back into Canada for a performance at the Visitor's Grand Hall beside Table Rock above the Falls. The kids played better than ever and the sound was amazing in spite of the fact they were surrounded by glass and marble. Visitors from all over the globe listened, took photos and recorded the Mariemont High School Orchestra. I got chills thinking that they would now be seen all over the world. Thus we decided they need a banner indicating who they are and where they are from. We chaperones plan to work on that project this Spring.

After lunch and a tour behind Horseshoe Falls, we were back on our bus for what we had hoped would be an 8 hour drive home. Due to the heavy snowfall in southern Ohio, our trip instead took more than 12 hours. We stopped in Mansfield, Ohio for dinner and were informed that I-71 was shut down near Columbus due to a large pileup of cars. John headed back north to a route he knew and we reached Lima, Ohio then headed south on I-75 instead. The roads weren't too bad until we reached Dayton, Ohio where the roads were covered with snow. John reassured us that the weight of our bus would help us get through and sleepy parents were called to pick up the kids and cargo at 3:00 a.m.

It was a wonderful adventure!

Montreal - Part Three

With a busy day planned we met in the hotel dining room for an early breakfast before driving two hours to Mont-Tremblant for a day of fun in the snow. It took longer than expected to get rental gear but the kids still had time to hit the slopes. Nick decided to snowboard, thinking that it would be more like skateboarding. After all the kids had boarded ski lifts, we chaperones took to the shops. We also found a warm and inviting pizza restaurant and had a lovely lunch.

Unfortunately, there was trauma before the afternoon was over when three of our students didn't make it back to the bus on time. Two chaperones stayed behind to wait for them, learning that two of the three had just taken a trail that went to the wrong side of the mountain. However, the other missing student had been injured and was taken to the hospital to be checked out. Thankfully, his mother, who was born in Montreal, was one of the chaperones and also spoke french. Her son was a bit shaken and hurt pretty much all over but his tests turned out fine.

Another two hour drive and we were back at the hotel to dress up for our evening at the dinner theater. John the Bus Driver got us as close to the Le Festin Du Gouverneur Dinner Theater in downtown Montreal as possible but we still had an icy, cold walk down a long city block to the warm restaurant. The wind chill must have been about -20 degrees. It was worth the walk becuase the dinner theater recreated a 17th century banquet and once again the kids were included in the show.

We were happy to receive an update on the student at the hospital when we returned to the hotel. His tests all came out clear and he and his mother were on their way back to the hotel.

Montreal - Part Two

Friday, February 12, 2010

After a quick breakfast at our hotel, the orchestra loaded their instruments on the bus and attended an orchestral clinic with Alexis Hauser, Director of the McGill Symphony Orchestra. After the clinic, a young student named Matt gave the kids a tour of McGill University. He made it sound very desirable and more than a few are now considering school in Canada.

Driver John got us safely through the tight streets of old Montreal and the instruments were unloaded at the Basilique for safe keeping while we lunched at the famous restaurant, McDonalds. We finished our yummy lunch (yes, it was better than at home) and spent a moment or two of souvenir shopping and then headed back to the Basilique for a concert in the breathtaking cathedral. After tuning there was no time for the planned guided tour so the docent stood with the orchestra and pointed out the many marvels of the grand basilica.

Just before their performance at 3:00 pm, Chris Davis and I were escorted to the closed, second balcony so we could photograph and videotape the concert. All of the parents and grandparents shed a few tears of joy and pride as the Mariemont High School filled the grand sanctuary with Mozart and other well played pieces.

In preparation of our next adventure, we arrived back at the hotel to change into warm clothes for our one hour bus ride to the Sugar Shack. The bus was greeted by a team of draft horses pulling a large, red sleigh. At the Sucrerie de la Montage we were talked through the steps of sugaring, given a tour of the bread cabin where 90 loaves a day are made from scratch by a gentleman in his 80’s, which was followed by a feast in the largest cabin. We learned during our tour of Montreal that dinner out is a social event in itself. The courses are individual and spaced so there is time to take pleasure in the food, the company and the conversation. Nothing was rushed as we spent over two hours just enjoying the many courses which included the freshly baked bread, pea soup, mashed potatoes, sausages, quiche, meat pies and, of course, for dessert, pancakes with fresh syrup.

Music was provided by a very entertaining French speaking host who actually had the kids singing, dancing and marching through the room. Fun was had by all!

Montreal - Part One

Wednesday, February 10th

School was closed for a snow day so we gathered at Mariemont High School at 1:45 p.m. to give the orchestra time to run through their Mozart once more. As the kids arrived we collected their information and passports and were ready to board the motor coach when it arrived. We left the school grounds just a bit after 4:00 p.m. and headed for Erie, PA where we made our first driver switch at 11:00 pm before heading east to Syracuse, New York, then north into Canada.

Thursday Morning, February 11th

We made it to the Canadian border at 3 a.m. and everyone was asked to wake up and sit with passport in hand as the customs agent came through the bus. She asked a few questions and then sent us on our way. We made our last driver change in Brockton. The kids loved John, the driver who would be with us for the rest of trip. As he got out of his car, the kids noted his pony tail, his boots and his cowboy hat and for some reason he was dubbed "Chuck Norris". He fit the bill with his long rider coat and his deep voice. As the trip progressed, he definitely lived up to the name as he maneuvered us through some mighty tight streets and highways.

We picked up our tour guide, Gary Mandel (yes, he is related to Howie), who first took us to breakfast at Brisket Montreal just a bit after 9:00 a.m. The restaurant was ready for us and served up plates of steaming french toast and fruit.

After the museum we were dropped off for some free time in Old Town Montreal where we strolled the cobbled streets and checked out the many shops. Even though we had just eaten, the kids decided to stop in at Crepe Suzette, a little restaurant with mouth watering crepes and soups.

We met up with our bus and drove to the Hotel du Fort to change for dinner at the a LeBifteque Butchershop for a marvelous steak dinner.

Last but not least for our first day in Canada, we were treated to a concert by the Arion Baroque Orchestra at Redpath Hall at McGill University. The musicians were so precise it could have been a recording but not only did they play beautifully, the stories with the songs sounded much more intriguing due to their heavy, but lovely, accents.

Finally, back to the hotel for some much needed rest.