Christmas Consumer Chaos and The Keg. In Canada.

Dec 9th, 2009- Day 3

I woke up at 10 AM, very groggy and in a haze.

Looking outside, there was none of the predicted snow to be seen, just a dreary, rainy day.

I hadn’t seen my cousin, Mark, in about five years. He lives near Toronto, so we were planning to meet up that day. Mom called him to see what was going on- that was when we found out where all the snow went. He was completely snowed in and unable to get to Toronto.
That was a bummer. Hopefully we’ll be able to get together another time soon.

We decided to head over to the Eaton Centre again and spend some time actually looking around.

To avoid the rain, we headed back down to the PATH, this time successfully passing the elevator roadblock by removing my leg rests.

It is...chaotic in the PATH. The fast-paced hustle and bustle of the people combined with the somewhat confusing layout can get you turned around pretty fast.

Luckily, we found our way to the Eaton Centre relatively quickly. The chaos continued inside, where three floors of Christmas shoppers frantically darted in every direction.

We wandered around for a while and stopped in the food court for some ice cream. As we finished, I heard a voice from behind asking “Are you Jacob?” It turned out to be Angela, a MySpace friend of mine who was also at the concert the night before. We didn’t get much time to talk, but it was still a cool, unexpected meeting.

The top of the giant Christmas tree

The star at the top

Back to shopping mode, I set out to find a replacement iPod adaptor for the drive home. The best looking one I could find was pricier than I had hoped, but Mom and I went halfsies on it, which lessened the sting a bit. (Of course, I later found out it was three times the price I would’ve spent if I had waited and bought it on Amazon. Ugh.)

Before leaving the Eaton Centre, I bought one of Dala’s CDs and saw the DVD of Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog for a good price, so I grabbed that too.

We headed back to the hotel for a bit, only to see severe weather warnings plastered all over the news. Apparently, the majority of our road home was set to be hammered by lake effect snow throughout the next few days.
This raised the question of whether we should still leave the next day, as planned, or stay in Toronto and wait it out.
We agreed to play it by ear.

Having only eaten that ice cream at the food court, it was time to get some dinner. We loved The Keg in Niagara Falls, so we went down to the front desk to ask if there happened to be one near the hotel. They gave us directions and we were on our way.

It was only about a ten, maybe fifteen minute long walk, but the constant icy winds made it feel much, much longer. My driving hand was frozen by the time we arrived.

The place was packed. They had a table pretty quickly, but it was a pretty cramped path, everyone would have had to stand up and push their chairs in for me to get my wheelchair through, so we ended up wait waiting 45 minutes. I snagged a spot near the fireplace, so I didn’t mind the wait. Thawing is nice.

Dinner was great, I got the teryaki chicken and three cheese baked potato with Jackson-Triggs chardonnay. Totally worth the long, cold trek to get there.

The walk back seemed much quicker and warmer, most likely thanks to the wine. We even paused to snap a couple pictures of the awesome Christmas window displays at The Bay.

We got back to the room at 10:30 and just decompressed for a while. Flipping around on TV, we managed to catch the day’s installment of ET Canada’s feature on Chantal and Raine’s vow renewal, so that was cool.

I was in bed by 12:30.

"You Make Me Feel Like I've Gone Halfway Around the World..."

Dec 8th, 2009- Day 2

I woke up to that Toronto Tuesday morning at 10 AM with sore eyes from the dry hotel air.

Getting in gear for the day was slow going. We didn’t actually leave the hotel room until after 2. Mom and I were looking forward to avoiding the chilly weather, so we made our way down to the PATH. Right off the bat, I was met with a handicap accessible elevator...that my wheelchair could not access. My chair was too long to fit inside.

I turned around and up to the cold, windy surface we went.

We hurried over to the Eaton Centre in search of a cheap replacement prepaid cell phone. Mine had finally turned back on, but I didn’t really trust it (plus the roaming rates are outrageous). After checking 3 different cell phone stores, the cheapest phone I could find was $50, as opposed to $15 back at home. No sale.

The Eaton Centre's giant Christmas tree

My store!

Next stop? Massey Hall.

The main point of this whole trip was to see Chantal Kreviazuk at Massey Hall. As a bonus, it was the only show of Chantal’s tour that Raine Maida would be joining her.

We got out of the cold and into the historic building only to be met by another tiny wheelchair elevator, just like the one in the PATH. This time, though, we had the presence of mind to remove my leg rests, which let me fit inside.

Shortly after 3, we were inside for sound check. A few minutes later, Chantal & Raine arrived. Chantal came over and chatted with us for a little while. We mostly exchanged tales of how hectic things have been for both of us.

First up during sound check was Canadian duo Dala. I was aware of them, but had never really listened to them before. I was pleasantly surprised and really loved what I heard. I made a mental note to look into getting any CDs they have available.

Next up, Raine started his sound check.

A few songs in, the cavalry arrived. Chantal’s parents arrived with Raine & Chantal’s kids in tow, as well as Chantal’s cousin and her kids. It was a big ol’ family reunion and Mom and I were smack in the middle of it, watching and laughing as the kids took over the stage while Mommy and Daddy played their songs.

After sound check, we had about three hours until show time, so we headed back to make a quick stop at the hotel and then to find somewhere to eat.

We tried Baton Rouge, a restaurant in the Eaton Centre. Unfortunately, the doors were too narrow for my wheelchair to fit through, plus it was extremely crowded inside. So, we settled for McDonald’s in the food court.

We left the food court around 7:20 to start the walk back to Massey Hall. Just before exiting the Eaton Centre, Kathy & Sandy spotted us, so we caught up a little and walked to the venue with them.

Not long after getting to our seats, Dala took the stage to start the show. They only played a few songs, including a ukelele-centric rendition of Moon River. My personal favorite song of their set was Horses.

Raine took the stage for his set, which consisted mostly of songs from The Hunters Lullaby. He did include one new song, which I don’t know the name of, but it sounded amazing. He also slipped Innocent in, which is always great.

During the intermission between acts, I got to meet Michelle, a friend from the internet and fellow Chantal/Our Lady Peace fan. It was brief, but it was great to meet her.

I look like I'm smashed

After intermission, it was time for Chantal.
She filled the night with an excellent mix of her classic stuff and newer songs from Plain Jane. She even snuck in a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s My Hometown.

At one point, Dala came back out and joined Chantal for God Made Me, which was the first song of Chantal’s I ever heard all those years ago.

There was also the inclusion of a new song, Not One Drop, a song inspired by the tragic passing of a friend’s young daughter, Sylvie.

I think the highlight for me was Chantal’s performance of 5000 Days, which featured some great home videos of their kids projected on a giant screen at the back of the stage.

Randy Cooke rocks the Santa hat. And the drums.

Later in the set, Karen and Kevin each got their turn to take center stage. Kevin sang a rendition of Joni Mitchell’s River. Karen sang Isobel, a song she wrote for her band, The Done Me Wrongs. Both performances were big change-ups from the rest of the night, yet they somehow fit perfectly.

Kevin has crazy cello skills. And wicked posture.

After “wrapping up” with All I Can Do, Chantal left the stage before coming back for a two song encore.

Just after Plain Jane was over, 5 year old Rowan (who earlier appeared on stage to ask his mom when she’d be done) returned to introduce his brother, four year old Lucca. Lucca marched up to the mic and proceeded to adorably sing a verse of Invincible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldP8uraTpFw
(Video courtesy of Angela)

Chantal followed that tough act by playing the song herself, bringing the nearly two and a half hour show to an excellent close.

That show made this crazy trip totally worth it.

We headed back to the elevator and through a couple corridors to the after party. I chatted a bit more with Raine and Chantal as Rowan and Lucca ran around. Before taking off, I got a quick photo with both of them.

We said our see-you-laters and left the party.

Mom and I bundled up and hurried back to hotel as a light snow began to fall. There was a big snow storm predicted to hit Toronto the next day. Luckily, we wouldn’t be hitting the road until Thursday.

W got back to the room at 1 AM and hit the leftovers as we sat and processed everything.

I was in bed and conked out by 3:30.

September 3rd, 2007 - My Day in Toronto

I woke up around 10:30ish to a bright glow. That sounds like such a pleasant way to wake up, except for the fact that the glow wasn't coming from the morning sun, but from my arms.

Looking like a lobster. Call me Zoidberg.

It looks worse than it felt. Unless someone touched it, then it lit me up good.

I used my wake up time to sit on the bed for a while and catch up on some MuchMusic. It doesn't take much viewing time to remind me how limited mainstream music is in the States. First off, Canada's music channel plays music videos. Second, the videos they play have variety in both visual and music style. The artists aren't all cookie cutter versions of each other. In just a few minutes of watching, I saw performers of all shapes and sizes, even one wheelchair-bound singer. Sure, they still showed the big names, Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson, but they were mixed in with tons of different stuff. It was refreshing to be exposed to some new music.

Shifting to my chair, I was surprised when I looked out from our 30th floor window and saw someone across the street. And higher. It made me wonder how one becomes a skyscraper window washer and if you ever get used to hanging on that little wire so high above the ground.

Washing windows


Up above


Sarrrrsgaarrrrrd!

We eventually headed for the sidewalks to roam around and see Toronto. Yonge Street was the road we stuck to for most of the day. The buildings blocked out the midday sun (thankfully) as I cruised through the city. Somewhere near, a church bell chimed 1:00.

Rollin' along


Freddie Mercury statue outside the Canon Theatre


Gwen wanted a picture

We stopped at the Eaton Centre and explored for a while. A four story mall, hundreds of stores, each floor with its own food court with everything from Arby's to sushi. It made our mall look like the corner store.

Inside the Eaton Centre


The Wii Smart Car

Being Labor Day, the last day before the school year starts, the mall was extra crowded and the shoppers actually resembled the traffic on the street. I eventually found the flow and I was set.

While heading to the big HMV store on the next block, the streets were filled with music as there looked to be some sort of festival going on. There was even one of those silver-skinned street performers doing his thing for a bunch of onlookers. There was so much to take in, it was great.

Wandering the HMV store was a music lover's dream. Three floors of music and movies. I could have gotten lost in there for hours and easily spend a fortune. Though I don't have a fortune, I still ended up buying more than I should have.

Back on the street, I was getting a handle on sidewalk strategy. Learning when to pass crowds, the best way to hop the streetcar rails in my chair, I was into it. By the end of our stay, I was loving the crosswalk experience.

I'm easily amused.

We stopped back at the room to take a little breather and drop off my haul.

Jacob's Haul

CDs

• Help! A Day in the Life
• Peace Songs
• Hayley Sales Sunseed

DVDs

• TMNT
• Serenity: Collector's Edition

Next destination? The CN Tower.

With dusk approaching, we moved briskly in hopes of arriving before dark. Our walk took us to a major memory spot as we passed the Air Canada Centre, where I met The Corrs in 2004.

We ended up arriving along with the dark after missing the street we needed.

Monkey

Looking up from the base of the CN Tower was definitely a "wow" moment where you suddenly feel very, very small.

Staring out the elevator's window as we ascended was incredible. Within seconds, the buildings you were just staring up at, you're now staring down at.

I approached one of the many windows in the observation area and had the ultimate "wow" moment. Toronto was now a massive sea of twinkling lights, literally stretching out farther than the eye could see. It was breathtaking.

Imagine my surprise when I looked down and saw a helicopter fly past.

The outdoor observation area was insane because of the force of the wind at that altitude. For an Ohio boy who spends most of his time looking up at everyone, it was quite a sensation to feel the winds at the top of the world.

Back inside was a section of glass floor where you could stand and look down at the street and the Rogers Centre a thousand feet below.

Possibly the most amazing part of it all was that Mom actually came up there. She did great and I hope she enjoyed it.

As we lowered back to street level, the elevator operator told us that we were descending at roughly fifteen miles per hour, the same speed as an open military parachute. For some reason, it was much more bizarre to see the buildings coming up at us than it was to see them shrink below.

Once back on terra firma, we marched back to Yonge Street and stopped in a McDonald's for dinner. The day was fantastic, but non-stop, I found myself in need of some down time and quiet, so I ended up bagging the remainder of my burger and finishing it back in the room.

I unwound by checking email while looking out at the city lights spread out before me. At midnight, Mom snuck up from behind to surprise me with a little foil balloon as it was now my birthday.

We finished up the bottle from Jackson-Triggs and crashed, bringing an end to our last night in Toronto.