Little Red Dog visits Chicago

Just trying to get caught up a little.
In July we took our little red dog to Chicago. What a wonderful city!! There is a lot to do and see. One of the reasons that we went was to see the mighty Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox. Little Red Dog really enjoyed the game as well.

We took a couple of tours ate lots of food, and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Chicago. One afternoon we rented bicycles and rode part of the 29 mile path along the lake shore to see historical Wrigley Field, the second oldest stadium in major league baseball behind Boston's Fenway Park Unfortunately, the Cubs were out of town so we were not able to enjoy a game in the Friendly Confines.

While we were in Chicago, there was a huge "Taste of Chicago" festival. They closed down a major street through a downtown park and had a ton of local food vendors selling their wares. There was also lots of entertainment. Jennifer Hudson put on a free concert on the main stage. The seats were $25.00, but the lawn seating beyond the fence was free.

See her? The little dot in the middle of the stage.

We asked many people where to go to listen to some blues music. Nearly everyone suggested Sweet Home Blue Chicago. As it turns out, this little bar was right around the corner from our hotel. So we visited twice and had a great experience both times. LRD seemed to have fun as well.

On the way home we stopped in Lansing Michigan, home of the Toronto Blue Jays "A" ball team - the Lansing Lugnuts. It was cool watching a game in a smaller minor league stadium. There was a constant buzz going on. And some sort of contest or promotion between every half inning. Since it was a Friday night, the evening ended with fireworks. Unfortunately, LRD was under the weather so could not attend with us. But we saw this wonderful character selling hotdogs in the stands.

50th Wedding Anniversary

Recently, we celebrated my wife's Aunt Jo & Uncle Ed's 50th wedding anniversary. We had an open house party in Maryhill Ontario for family and friends. We told them that the party was for my sister-in-law's 60th birthday. So they were really surprised.
Because they were the king and queen for the day,  made them crowns to wear.

And, of course I had to make some balloons for the kids as well.

Another Wedding

On August 31, my niece, Alexis, married a nice young man named Jeff in a beautiful ceremony in Ottawa, Ontario.
Jeff is a huge Toronto Blue Jays fan and his favorite player is Jose Bautista. Alexis is a teacher. So I made them a couple of balloon Lootles. My talented daughter, Sarah, did the art work on the balloons.
I think that the bride and groom were pleased.

My epic Ride to Conquer Cancer

This year I decided to go on "The Ride to Conquer Cancer" It is a 200 km bicycle ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls Ont to raise money to support the work of The Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute at The Princess Margaret, one of the top 5 cancer research centres in the world, and a leader in the discovery and delivery of personalized cancer medicine.
The ride was June 9 & 10. What an amazing journey!!! 4,852 people helped raise $18.1 for cancer research. On Saturday we rode through rain most of the day. But it didn't dampen the spirits of the riders. The rain cleared up late in the afternoon. The evening at the camp in Hamilton was a beautiful summer evening.
Sunday was hot and sunny all day. We rode through farm country and villages to Niagara Falls. It was wonderful seeing all the people along the way standing beside the road with signs of support cheering us on.
And at the end there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of people to see us cross the finish line.
I can't say enough about the support we received for the weekend. All the volunteers and crew were terrific. The police and motorcycle club members that blocked traffic and provided directions. The people who manned the pit stops to provide Gatorade, fruit, energy bars etc to keep our bodies fueled.
I was very proud to be able to help raise much needed funds for cancer research.
For more information about the ride go to:  conquercancer.ca

The Enbridge team

Getting ready to start the ride - only 200 km to go!!!

My personal support team - wife Maryann & daughter Sarah

On the road

I made it!! And didn't have to call for the Medic's even once.

Last hockey game

Last night was the last hockey game of the season for me. I was on the Sharks (San Jose Sharks logo).
So I made a shark to give us inspiration to win. And win we did. Unfortunately, it was to determine who ended up in last place. So with the win we were 2nd last. Woo Hoo!!!

After the game I took the shark to the bar for some liquid refreshments. He was a real hit with the ladies. I forgot to take my camera though.
By the way that's a hockey stick in his mouth, like on the logo. (People kept asking me. No imagination!!)

My vacation

A couple of weeks ago my wife & I went on vacation to a lovely small resort in Dominican Republic near Porta Plata. We had a wonderful time escaping the "harsh" Canadian winter. And of course, I had to take my balloons with me. The 1st night we met some newlyweds in the bar:

She was pleased with her hitch hiker balloon.
We went on an excursion to "Monkey Jungle and Zip Line Adventure" My little red dog thought the zip line was a hoot!!

And I made a monkey for the owner of "Monkey Jungle". He is a philanthropist who provides free dental work to the people of DR. There is a dental clinic on site. It is paid for by the admission fees to the "Monkey Jungle" & "Zip Line Adventure"

Our waiter asked for some balloons for his 3 kids. After I made them I asked how old the kids were. I expected he had young children, but he told me they were 17, 15 & 11 years old. Funny how people of all ages enjoy balloons.

We had a very relaxing week in the sun. Good fun, good food & good service. But finally it was time for my little red dog to say good bye to the wait staff.
Until next time....