I had a very interesting woman from Vancouver surf with me over the holiday weekend. Nicole is a rigging grip with the film/TV industry in Vancouver. She had a horrific accident in the fall of 2010 while working on the movie "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," falling 35 feet and shattering many bones in her body. She spent 3.5 months in the hospital, and still is unable to work or function at full capacity.
This tragedy didn't take away her spirit or love of travel; however. Nicole had never been to Chicago and is an avid sports enthusiast, so she planned to go to a couple of baseball games. Another purpose for her trip was to attend the Dave Matthews Band Caravan concert.
I had also invited five people from Toronto to come out with us, because I was intrigued by the post they left on the CS message board ( 1 Canadian, 1 Dutch, 1 Brazilian, 1 Colombian and 1 Costa Rican coming to Chicago for the long weekend). I couldn't pass up meeting such a culturally diverse group of people. It was also Canada Day, so how exciting for me to celebrate with SIX Canadians here in Chicago!
We all met at Sura Thai in Lakeview for dinner, and went to F. O'Mahony's for some drinks after. The group was very fun and friendly with great accents! The Toronto peeps had to go to a party with their CS host, so Nicole and I parted ways with them and hit the Uptown Lounge for a couple of drinks. At 1:00 am, we sauntered across the street to go to the Green Mill for the quartet jam session. She was beyond impressed, as is everyone I take there.
The following day, Nicole and I went for some veggie food at the Chicago Diner, and then we were off to Navy Pier's beer garden to see Lynne Jordan and the Shivers perform. I was so excited, as they are one of my favorite local bands. I felt like I was at the airport trying to fly out on a holiday, as the crowds were ridiculous and the police department was in full force, even doing random bag checks.
Seeing Isiah Mitchell perform and hearing him sing was well worth the hassle of getting back to the beer garden. He is such an amazing performer and can sound like any artist he is covering. He knows how to get the crowd moving and everybody dancing. We left there exhausted and ready to crash for the night.
I have never been to Vancouver and now I have a good reason to visit. Nicole already gave me a list of places that she will take me to when I come. Hopefully, I can visit Toronto as well. Does Ryanair fly in Canada??
