On one of the usual Friday evenings, I stopped by my favorite cafe in the Jersey City to beat the heat with a chilled and refreshing cafe frappe. On the counter I met my friend – Samuel. He is a party animal, quite unlike me. On seeing me hanging around all by myself, he asked in his usual amiable tone, “Buddy, why are you roaming alone on a cheerful Friday evening.” I stretched my arms a little and tittered, “It’s one of the lazy weekends when I want to just relax.”
With a witty smile on his face, he chortled, “Well! After relaxing on this weekend, how about a retreat with the Rolling Stones on 30th July at Toronto.” It seemed the guy had some extra tickets. Of course, it sounded great to me!! I smiled at him while nodding my head in yes. “That too in just twenty bucks,” he added. I wondered, what better than this could  one ask for.
 

The largest ticketed show

I rushed home to find more details about the event online. Well! This was going to be an exciting concert with a gathering of over half a million people. After the deadly SARS outbreak, the Canadian government in association with Molson Canadian was hosting an outdoor concert at the old air force base in Downsview Park to raise grant for SARS. It’s going to be the largest ticketed show ever held in this country. Participation had been thrown open to one and all residents, whether natural or adopted. So, though the show had been publicised for the gala performance of the Rolling Stones, it had much more to offer. Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi would be hosts for this melodious evening. I was also looking forward to enjoy the Rush, the Guess Who, Sass Jordan, Blue Rodeo, AC/DC, the Flaming Lips, Kathleen Edwards, Justin Timber lake, Sam Roberts, the Isley Brothers and La Chicane besides the Rolling Stones.

Staying at Niagara Falls

Samuel had already made the arrangement for our stay. After a four-hour drive, we were to stay overnight at a hotel near the Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side. I had always been keen on visiting the Niagara Falls, specially in fall. Of course, the romantic locales has famous for the scenic beauty. It has been one of my favorite hide away spots. You usually find honey couples enjoying the cascading waterfall while drenched in the new found marital bliss. With the coming up of the Casino Niagara, especially from western Pennsylvania, people also delight in a gambling trip to Niagara.

Journey to Toronto
With frequent bus service for groups of local tour companies, commuting was not a problem from Pittsburgh to Niagara. We took Route 79 North to Erie via 90 North to Buffalo NY. Here we stepped into the Canadian Territory, instead of the popular borders of Peace Bridge or Whirlpool.

Hotels at Toronto

With Toronto hosting such an great event, it was sure to witness a huge rush of tourists. I couldn’t even imagine searching for a decent hotel room at that point of time. Before leaving for Toronto, I did try for advance hotel reservations but in vain. The lousy arrangements for tourists made it evident that the city was not just ready for it! Somehow, we managed to get a room at Howard Johnson's just for $80 CA. The location was just perfect with restaurants and casino round the corner, though the room was shabbily decked with old furniture.
While crossing the hotel lobby, I could hear people raving about the concert. The air was filled with fun and fervor. However, many doubted if the event will help Toronto to come out of the SARS havoc. Some even expected Paul McCartney as a special invitee to this SARS-stock.

Getting lucky at casino

After getting fresh, we both tried our luck at the casino. The plush ambience was pretty entertaining like the casinos in Vegas but they were not generous with drinks at the slots. With luck on our side we made some quick bucks. However, when the bill came for drinks, we had spent more on tonic than gained on slots. However, we didn’t mind paying it as US dollar is higher than the Canadian.