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February 19:  Toronto, ON
Ottawa Senators vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Air Canada Centre

"It is always a happy day when YYZ appears on our luggage tags."

Neil Peart wrote the quote above in the Tour Book for Moving Pictures thirty years ago.  I bought it at the first concert I ever attended, on June 18th 1981.  I was 14 years old.  It was the beginning of a life long "friendship".  It's super geeky, I know, but I can't overstate the impact these three Officers of the Order of Canada have had on me.

I still have that Tour Book.  I still have my worn vinyl copy of that record.  I still go to The Camera Eye when I need to escape.   Poor Ben.  There are going to be a lot of "Dad?  Did you embarrass yourself again?" moments here.

There were two other tourists taking photos at the Ontario Legislative Building.  When I approached them to take a photo for us and asked "are you guys Rush fans?", they looked completely confused.  But Ben muttered "Ah...I get it...I recognize this place now....". 

Toronto beamed on a clear cold February day.  This is the largest city in Canada and the fifth largest in North America.  It has never seemed that way to me.  The feel of this city is very European.  They know what they're doing in Canada.

Early on the tour we saw The Battle of Alberta.  We're here in YYZ to see The Battle of Ontario.  What we saw was the game of the tour.  Scoreless through regulation and overtime, the Sens won 1-0 in a shootout.

When we were in Colorado, the game "item" we bought was a bobblehead of Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson.  Anderson was since traded to Ottawa and we saw his Senators debut.  He stopped all 47 shots taken on him, and then all three penalty shots in the shooutout.  He was perfect.  The best individual performance we've seen.

"And now to sing our national enthem, all of you!"  We were broadcast across the country for "Hockey Night in Canada", on Canadian Armed Forces Night.  That was really cool..

Wonderful to see my friend Richard, and introduce Ben to him.  Richard and I met at a Tragically Hip show in New York several years ago.  He is a professional photographer with a history documenting The Hip (and many others) in spectacular images.  The J-Boys home features many "Belands". 

Artist, entrepreneur, husband, father, hockey player, adventurer, friend.  You would like Richard.  Our best to he and Kim as they have their second child on Tuesday.

Next up, the Hockey Hall of Fame on Yonge Street.  A hockey fan's walk through a dream and the perfect addition to a J-Boys tour leg.

 

It's fun to walk through a museum where you're interested in everything.  (Hasn't happened to me since I visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.)

We touched the Stanley Cup!  Ben found his favorite player, Ryan Miller, on the Vezina Trophy (for NHL best goaltender), and got to tend some goal of his own in the interactive exhibits.

We also found a statue commemorating Ken Danby's iconic "At The Crease", a print central to our own hockey hall of fame at home.

Speaking of Ryan Miller, we need to hit the road and drive south, we're late for our next game.  Until next time YYZ!