American Journey +1, 2012 (Niagara Falls and Canada)

 

 

 

 

 

In July of 2012 Chad and I took the bikes up to Niagara Falls.  We stopped at the U.S. and Canadian sides.  Once we got up in Northern N.Y. we took back roads through the Adirondack Park and into a lot of farm country.  If you followed this blog before you will know that the Adirondacks are one of the most scenic areas to ride and one of my favorite in the country. The falls are awesome as you can imagine.  It's well worth the trip. 
 

 

 

My YouTube video of Niagara Falls 7/2012

 

 

 

 Not a bad view at breakfast

On the Canadian side we saw an incredible performance by Jay Cochrane.  He walks a quarter mile on a tightrope over 50 stories up above the street. 

Jay Cochrane Tightrope Skywalk 2012 Niagara Falls

In an awe-inspiring event, Jay Cochrane, Canada’s Prince of the Air, continues the Summer of Skywalks in the Niagara region.

Beginning July 6th, Skywalk 2012 will cross a 400 m (quarter mile) distance over 50-stories in the sky as Jay Cochrane performs the greatest building-to-building skywalk in North American history for twelve weeks in Niagara Falls, Canada.

Cochrane will walk the wire daily at 7 p.m. (weather permitting), traveling a distance well over 20 miles (30 kilometers) between two structures in his 88 scheduled performances.

During the length of the performance schedule, Cochrane will pass several milestones for cumulative distance on a single wire, with celebrations to match. Niagara is your adventure vacation destination during the Summer of Skywalks.

 

 

 

  

http/jay-cochrane-tightrope-walk-niagara-falls.

 

 

Then it was off to Port Dover.  The town of Port Dover is on the north shore of Lake Erie in Ontario. On every Friday the 13th since 1981 the town turns into a bike rally.  From my understanding this is on EVERY Friday the 13^th, winter, summer, spring and fall.  We were there 7/13/12 and it was expected to be the biggest one to date. 

 

 

port-dover-friday-13th-biker-rally

 

 

 

 

Joe Lewis

 

Is known As The Father of American Kickboxing a

Martial arts legend and Pioneer.

 Joe Lewis lost a long fight with brain cancer at 10:45 AM on Friday, August 31st, 2012 in Virginia, surrounded by family and friends.

Dubbed the "Muhammad Ali" of Sport Karate & Kickboxing, Joe won more titles in his 17-year fighting career than any other tournament fighter.  Unsatisfied with the level of realism in karate, he went on to become the father of American kickboxing.
 

 

 

 

My condolences go out to Joe Lewis’s family and friends.  I was saddened by the news of his illness and by his passing. 

Joe Lewis was a great warrior and instructor.  I’ve been fortunate to have worked with Joe on several projects and to have trained with him on multiple occasions.  I took falls for him on the instructional videos “Ring Deadly/Street Lethal” and I appeared in the movie “The Cutoff” that Joe costarred in.  He was always fun to be around.  He enjoyed cracking jokes and lightening the atmosphere.  Yet he was very focused when it came down to business. 

I had my own “Mean Joe Green” moment with Joe.  After an intense workout Joe took off his sweaty tee shirt and threw it to me with a “this is for you kid” kind of comment.  I still have the shirt and I wear it all the time.

Ring Deadly/Street Lethal

http://www.depasqualejujitsu.com/store/store.htm

 

The Cutoff

http://www.thecutoffmovie.com/clips.htm



The 10th Anniversary of 9/11 Ceremony in Park Ridge, N.J.

Andrea and I had the honor and privilege to be asked to perform at the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 Ceremony in Park Ridge, N.J.  It was a very special event and it has been reported as being one of the largest 9/11/11 ceremonies in the Pascack Valley with 100’s of folks in attendance.  It was great to see the community come out and pay their respects.   

There are 4 videos here of songs we played at the event. 

They are; Amazing Grace, The National Anthem, America the Beautiful and God Bless America. 

Click on the names below.

Amazing Grace

The National Anthem

America the Beautiful

Gob Bless America

Fisher House

Andrea and I were able to make a sizable donation to the Fisher House thanks to all of you .  Thank you for your generous donations to our "Requests for Our Troops" program during our late summer shows.  Click on the link below to learn more about the Fisher House.

 Click here for the Fisher house: http://fisherhouse.org/donate/

The Fisher House program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America's military in their time of need. The program recognizes the special sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Our percussion section.

In the beginning of our busiest summer gigging season ever, we had our latest drummer quit the band.  He left without notice, leaving us with a full playing schedule and no drums.  Well, like many things, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  At nearly every show we had people coming up and playing an assortment of percussion with us.  Drums, congas, bongos, tambourine, spoons, maracas and more and it's been a blast!!!  Some of the best times we've had playing.

Thank you Steve, Billy, Charlie and everyone else who have been jamming with us!!! Good times!

Tonight, Sat. Aug. 13th., our last show for summer 2011. Come on out and have some fun!

This is our final scheduled show for the summer of 2011.  Come on out and have some fun with us!!!  This show is especially for everyone who has come to see us this summer.  Feel free to bring friends.  Let's get a fun crowed together and have a party! 

Community Life Artical.

The Pascack Valley Community Life did a very nice article on us.  Click here:http://www.northjersey.com/news/126305098_Life_s_a_journey__enjoy_the_ride.html

Come see us Tue. in Woodcliff Lake at the National Night Out and the last two shows of Summer 2011:

8/6/11 At Crossroads in Nanuet, N.Y.

8/13/11 Backstreets in Blauvelt, N.Y.