What a weekend

So much fun!

A lot of driving and a lot of walking but SO. MUCH. FUN.

I departed Nova Scotia on Friday morning bound for Moncton for a weekend with gracious hosts Nancy and her hubby.  Landed in Moncton (well, Dieppe technically) around 2:30 then made our way to ButterflyWorld.  What an odd and strangely amusing place that was.   Its basically this white dome filled with plants, flowers and butterflies.  Add in some mystical fairy music and it was quite the experience.   We quickly decided the blue butterflies were the prettiest.  We also learned they are quite modest and don't show their colors unless they're in motion.  And when they're in motion they're quick so are pretty hard to photograph.  But, patience perservered and we finally got a photo of one at rest with its wings open.  That would be Nancy, the blue butterfly whisperer's hand.

After Butterfly World we were off for a sushi feast.  So yummy!  We also took in an after dinner movie which turned out to be not so bad, and even kinda funny.  Which is saying something, as I rarely find comedies to actually be funny.

The next day we slept in, rolled out of bed, managed to get ourselves ready and out the door to head for some eats and to make our way to Magnetic Hill for the U2 concert. After standing in a long line for not that much time, we boarded our bus and were on our way.  If you ever wondered what cattle felt like as they were being herded stand in a line with a few thousand other people and you'll get a pretty good idea.

Naturally it rained all day so everything was good and soggy.  Yup, you guessed it, the concert was outdoors in a grass field.  Well, said grass field turned into a slippery muddy mess pretty quickly.  But that wasn't enough to stop us.

We made it in time to see Arcade Fire play.  I've always kinda liked them, but seeing them play live:  wow.  They're not just a band.  They're not just singers.  They're like a musical movement.  Every song is sung with passion, and every song is like an event.  They're pretty fantastic.  If you ever get the chance to see them, definitely go for it.

After about an hour wait, a few rounds of the wave later, and a couple of impressive flyovers from the Canadian Air Force, U2 finally hit the stage.

Speaking of the stage, what a crazy set up!  It was pretty impressive.  Someone (that'd be me) managed to remember to bring her camera but not her memory card.  Ooppss....thankfully someone's cell has a camera so someone managed to get a few OK pictures of the night.

Now let me just say I had never been to a concert before.  Ever.  I have seen bands play in pubs and the like but I've never been to a 75000-strong, full fledged concert.  So I don't have anything to base this on but I'm pretty sure U2 has set the bar awfully high for any subsequent concerts I may be lucky enough to take in. 

They played a lot of the "old" favorites:  Beautiful Day, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Pride (In the Name of Love), Where The Streets Have No Name....

It really was an awesome experience.  Totally worth standing in mud up to my ankles for 5+hours!

When the concert let out so began the trek back to meet the buses.  75000 people trying to leave the same place all at the same time makes for some slow going.   Add in waiting in a line up of a few thousand people trying to board buses back to their cars, it felt like it was never going to end.  We were all tired, and had various body parts that had gone numb from standing and just wanted to go home.  After a run through the McD's drive thru we made it home by 3:30am, I was in bed by 4:00 certain when I woke up I still wasn't going to be able to feel my feet.

The next morning, er, afternoon I woke to find my feet were still in fact attached to my legs.  BONUS!  We were all a little slow moving due to the copious amounts of walking and the late night.  We made it to take in some lunch and another movie before I began my journey back to Hali.

565kms and a lot of walking later I'm home from a fantastic weekend!