Road Trip To The Big Apple For Clapton Show At The Garden
9/18/2022 - New York, New York - The day started early, with my brother Mike picking me up for the six hour drive to the Big Apple, New York City, to see the legendary Mr. Slowhand himself, Eric Clapton, perform at Madison Square Garden. It was a nice day and we arrived in New York City early but were held up due to a parade that caught us in a traffic jam for almost two hours. We finally made it to our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn New York / Midtown Park Ave and checked in. Although late, we were able to change our dinner reservation at Smith & Wollensky and were able to walk there for a delicious steak and lobster dinner. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and then onto Madison Square Garden for the show. We picked up some shirts and headed to our seats which were excellent seventh row left center stage on the floor. The opener was Jimmie Vaughan who came out promptly at 8 PM and played a good set. Vaughan and his band played some classic tunes that included D/FW, Texas Flood and closing the short set with The Crawl. After a short intermission, Clapton and his band hit the stage and did a great hour and forty minute set. Clapton started the show with God Save The Queen, honoring the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth, and then went directly into jamming Tearing Us Apart. He played a typical set of classics including Key To The Highway, River Of Tears and a nice jam on I Shot The Sheriff. Doyle Bramhall II assisted with lead and rhythm guitar as usual. Clapton went into the acoustic set playing a nice cover of Muddy Water's Honey Bee and JJ Cale's After Midnight along with the standards Layla and Tears In Heaven. The second electric set included a good jam on Badge and closed the set with Cocaine. Eric's voice sounded strong and his guitar work was good, the band was pretty tight. They closed the show with one encore of Joe Cocker's High Time We Went with Paul Carrack on the vocals and also included Clapton being joined by Jimmie Vaughan who jammed a nice solo and Doyle Bramhall II also joining in the jam. Post show we headed down for the late night views of Times Square to close out and excellent day in the Big Apple.Slideshow[]
Day Trip From Vegas To Explore Bryce Canyon National Park
Can't Get Enough Bad Company At Artpark Tuesday In The Park
9/2/2021 - Bryce, Utah - Today, we decided to take a break from the Las Vegas action and take another day trip far from the strip, today's destination was the glorious Bryce Canyon National Park located in Bryce, Utah. We were up semi reluctantly early at the villa at Marriott's Grand Chateau Resort and checked the weather for Bryce Canyon and there was a slight chance of rain but we hit the road on our just over four hour drive. It was nice day for most of the drive and we drove thru the scenic Red Cliffs National Conservation area cruising down I-15 North thru Utah. The route took us from UT-20 to US-89 to UT-12 and finally UT-83 into the fabulous Bryce Canyon. The rain started as soon as we entered the park and we decided to drive to the end of the park and work our way back. Our plan worked as the rains ended and we enjoyed a great day. The park was amazing and we hit all the best spots including Rainbow Point, Black Birch Canyon, Ponderosa Point, the amazing Natural Bridge and finally the spectacular Inspiration Point. We amusingly encountered the maybe Russian picture guy who made sure Dom got his shoes in the shot and everybody else who took his picture for him. This park was recommended by several people as one of the best and I must say it was awesome, well worth the trip. We made it back to Vegas for some late last night gambling along the Vegas Strip. An excellent day.Slideshow[]
8/20/2019 - Lewiston, New York - Today, I took another trip West down NY Route 18 on a Tuesday to see the classic rock of Bad Company at Artpark's Tuesday In The Park Concert series in Lewiston, New York. It was gorgeous day and I arrived early securing a great spot. The show appeared to be sold out. This was the bands first appearance back at Artpark in over six years. The opener for Bad Company tonight was Paul Rodger's son Steve Rodgers. He did an okay solo set. Bad Company came out soon after and played a great set minus guitarist Mick Ralphs. They opened the set with Run With The Pack and played other classics like Feel Like Makin' Love, Seagull, Shooting Star and Bad Company. Paul Rodgers still has the pipes and they closed the set with the Free cover All Right Now. They closed the show with an encore of Rock N' Roll Fantasy. A great show hope they can come back sooner next time.Slideshow[]
Dead & Company Truckin Up To Darien Lake PAC
6/19/2018 - Corfu, New York - In a last minute decision, I headed West down NY Route 33 then onto Route 77 today to catch one of my favorite guitarists John Mayer with his buddy Bob Weir and their band Dead & Company perform at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in lovely Corfu, New York. I picked up an excellent ticket at the last minute in first fifteen rows. They jammed an excellent set including nice jams on Iko Iko, Here Comes Sunshine and Truckin. They finished the show with a single encore cover of Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London.Slideshow[]
Mayer Brings Search For Everything To Lakeview Amphitheater
8/22/2017 - Syracuse, New York - This Tuesday instead of heading west to Artpark for the usual show, I headed east to Syracuse's Lakeview Amphitheater to see one of my favorite newer guitarists John Mayer on his The Search for Everything tour. I left work early in the pouring rain and missed my exit on the thruway but made it to the venue a couple hours before the show start. The show start time was delayed by an hour due to heavy rains and flooding near the venue. I parked at the State Fair grounds and was bussed to the venue. The band Dawes opened the show and were just okay. Soon after John Mayer came out and did a good set. He opened with the full band playing Helpless, Queen of California and Why Georgia to name a few. He then came out for an acoustic set that included Your Body Is A Wonderland. After the acoustic set, he was joined by drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Pino Palladino better known as the John Mayer Trio for the next set. They rocked a nice set that included Who Did You Think I Was and Cross Road Blues the definite highlight of the show. He finished the set with the full band playing classics like Slow Dancing In A Burning Room and Waiting On The World To Change. He came out for an encore of Gravity. He finished at the piano with You're Gonna Live Forever In Me. A good show that almost did not happen due to the severe weather.Slideshow[]
Streisand Delights Fans In Final Show At Air Canada Centre
8/23/2016 - Toronto, Canada - Today we headed north of the border to have an early anniversary celebration in Canada and to see the legendary Barbra Streisand perform at Toronto's Air Canada Centre. We left early heading into Niagara Falls checking in early at the Best Western Fallsview for an almost freebie thanks to Deb the contest queen. We headed to Fallsview Casino and did a little gambling and then hopped in the new Impala and headed to Toronto for the ahow. We drove to Kipling and picked up the TTC to take us right to the Air Canada Centre. We stopped for a quick dinner at Hoops Sport Bar in Toronto and then headed into the show. Barbra came out promptly and played two great sets. She opened saying , 'I guess I saved the best song for first', and then belted out a great version of The Way We Were. The sellout crowd loved it. She went on to sing many classics including songs like Pure Imagination, Evergreen and closed the set with People. She came and sang two encores of The Happy Days Are Here Again and closing with By The Way. Streisand was great and this was the last show of her tour, possibly ever for the seventy-four year old. It was definitely worth the trip.Slideshow[]
Road Trip To Hamilton For One On One With Paul McCartney
Barry Manilow Brings His One More Time Tour To Turning Stone
7/21/2016 - Hamilton, Ontario - We headed north of the border into Canada for a short road trip to Hamilton, Ontario. We were here to see Sir Paul McCartney perform during his One On One Tour at the FirstOntario Centre. We left early to insure we had no issue getting across the border and we encountered no waits. We arrived early afternoon into downtown Hamilton to check in at our nice hotel the Crowne Plaza Hamilton Hotel and Conference Center. We had a nice penthouse room with a decent view of Lake Ontario. We stopped for dinner at Deb's favorite Canadian staple restaurant Swiss Chalet. We walked the streets of downtown Hamilton to get down to FirstOntario Centre. We ran into our concert friends from Lewiston who were waiting in line for the show. The doors opened on time and we went to our seats which were on opposite sides of the arena in essentially the same location. McCartney and his band started the show a little late but played the usual three hour plus set of a little bit of everything. Paul opened with Eights Day A Week and went into his set that included tons of Beatles and Wings with a few covers thrown in. He played My Valentine a song his wrote for his wife Nancy who was in the crowd. He did a nice tribute to George Harrison playing the ukulele on Something. He finished the ridiculous set with Let It Be, an explosive Live And Let Die and crowd sing along end with Hey Jude. The usual encore of six songs including Yesterday and an additional bonus song Mull of Kintrye with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders pipe band joining in. The show closed with the grand finale of Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End. Another excellent performance by the seventy-four year old. It will never get old for me thanks Paul.Slideshow[]
3/18/2016 - Verona, New York - Today we headed east down the NYS Thruway back to Turning Stone Casino to catch Barry Manilow performing on his One More Time tour. We picked up some good tickets the day they went on sale from the Turning Stone box office by accident when checking the availability of Robert Cray tickets who we saw a couple weeks ago. We arrived a few hours early to large crowds at the Casino for the concert and March Madness. We barely got into the Emerald Restaurant in time to eat before the show. It was a sellout elderly crowd and the venue holds about five thousand. The opening act was a sax player David Koz. He played a half hour set of mostly instrumental covers and was okay. After a short intermission Barry hit the stage and put on a really good show. His set included many of his hits opening with It's A Miracle. He played classics like Looks Like We Made It, Weekend In New England, Even Now,Could It Be Magic and closing the set with a Medley of Hits ending with I Write The Songs. The crowd absolutely loved it and was very loud for an older crowd. He came out for a couple encores of Copacabana and It's A Miracle Reprise. A very good show.
Road Trip To Capital For Sites & Fourth Of July Festivities
Just Chillin On The Gorgeous Beaches Of Maui - Part III
7/2/2015 - Washington, DC - We hit the road today and headed to are nation's capital, Washington DC, for some site seeing and the Fourth of July festivities. It was nice weather for a drive and we arrived mid afternoon. First stop was the Arlington National Cemetery to see some famous monuments like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We watched the changing of the guard and saw the Eternal Flame at JFK's burial site. We had a decent dinner at Jukebox Diner. The next day we headed into downtown DC to our hotel the Renaissance Washington, DC Dupont Circle Hotel. The hotel was a little pricy and the rooms just okay but it's location was excellent within walking distance to all the sites and DC Metro. We started the tour with a walk to see the White House up close. We then headed to the National Mall to take in the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Korean War Memorial. We then headed down and saw other monuments such as Jefferson, FDR and Martin Luther King Memorials. We headed back to the hotel and had a nice dinner at the M Street Grill. After dinner we hopped on the Metro and headed to the Capital and took in some of the rehearsal for the July 4th concert that included Barry Manilow and KC & the Sunshine Band. We headed back to the hotel grabbed some Krispy Kremes for breakfast. The Fourth called for rain and it did but he headed to the National Archives and saw the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. We then headed to the Hard Rock Café for an early dinner that was pretty good. We headed back to the hotel and the heavy rains came, we waited and the rains stopped. We then headed to Lincoln Memorial and sat on the steps and watched a nice fireworks show over the National Mall. After the show a late night pizza snack at Dominoes. A nice a little get away.Slideshow[]
4/4/2013 - Maui, Hawaii - Just another gorgeous Maui day starting with the sunrise beach walks on Kaanapali Beach. We started adventuring around the island starting with a stop in Lahaina at our favorite local breakfast spot, Moose McGillycuddy's for a good breakfast. We then got in the car and headed east to Wailea down to Makena Big Beach. This beach was excellent with golden sands, clear waters, and large waves to body surf in. We hung out here for a while and then journeyed to Little Beach and checked out the nude sunbathers. We headed back to the condo for drinks, swimming and sunning at the ocean front pool at Kaanapali Shores. We took in another excellent Maui sunset and were treated to several humpback whales playing not to far from shore. After the sunset, we headed back to Lahaina for a fun dinner at Bubba Gumps with beautiful open air views of the Pacific and Molakai. We impressed our server with our knowledge of Forrest Gump trivia and learned some new things from him, excellent crab legs and fish. We walked the shops and galleries in Lahaina doing some shopping. Next day we headed to Snorkel Bob's and rented some snorkel stuff as Deb wanted to try it. We headed west to Kapalua Bay a nice little beach and a good snorkel spot. Dom and Deb did some snorkeling here with Dom getting some good shots with the underwater camera. After a light fast food dinner of subs at Subway and pizza at Pizza Hut we headed back down to Lahaina to walk the strip and enjoy our favorite ice cream dessert concoctions at Coldstone Creamery. Just more typical relaxing Maui days. 1245Slideshow[]
Another Free Day At Darien Lake Starts Off Summer
Nicoles First Plane Trip To Explore Orlando Amusement Parks
7/6/2008 - Corfu, New York - Deb came thru again winnning four season passes to Darien Lake Amusement Park and winning four additional free passes making this an annual free event. We grabbed pals Michelle and Marrisa and jaunted off to Darien Lake for the day. It was a nice hot day and we spent most of it in the water park, hitting the wave pool and water slides. The crowds were small and the kids hit plenty of rides including some coasters, the bumber cars, paddle boats, gokarts and many more. An excellent freebie start off to the summer.Slideshow[]
2/21/1997 - Orlando, Florida - We headed south to Orlando, Florida for a little rest and relaxation thanks to Deb winning free air. This was Nicole's first time on a plane and she did tremendously. We were going to hit as many parks as we could fit in the time we were there. The first stop on the parks tour was Sea World to watch the Shamu and his Crew. It featured some tremendous acrobatic whales, dolphins and comical sea lions. The next stop on the park tour was none other than Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom was celebrating the 25th Anniversary with the castle decked out as a huge birthday cake. We started early with an awesome character breakfast with Tiger, Eyore and Pooh. We hit alot of rides and I think Nicole met every character in the Park. We finished the day with the Electric Parade, an excellent but tiring day. The last park on the tour was Universal Studios. Nicole got to dance with Barney the Dinosaur, hit a few rides and met a bunch of characters. A great first plane trip for Nicole.Slideshow[]
