Blackhawk was playing the Bear's Den in the Seneca Niagara Casino so we booked a room and headed north early Friday morning (Friday the 13th, my lucky day!). It was a beautiful ride and we found the hotel/casino -- which was gorgeous -- without a hitch. Our room was way up on the 19th floor with a view that overlooked the Canadian side of the falls and amped up our anticipation.



We had time to relax so we wandered the casino, played some slots for sport, met up with drummer Monte Yoho (of Blackhawk and the Outlaws) and chatted a bit, then went to a great buffet restaurant in the hotel.

And then it was concert time, and I got to give Henry a quick hug and say hi before showtime. The night was spectacular. The Bear's Den is an intimate venue and we had front row center tickets which put us about four feet from the stage and maybe six from Henry Paul's mikestand.



 Billy Crain

Blackhawk's line-up is the same as The Outlaws except for Dave Robbins, who was one of the original founding members of the band.  It was a blast.



Henry Paul, Monte Yoho (drums), Chris Anderson and Randy Threet.



Chris threw my boyfriend a guitar pick, which was cool, and while Henry was singing, he grinned and said, "Help me out here, Stew," which cracked us up. These guys rocked.



They do a Meet and Greet out in the lobby after the show, hang around and talk which I think is absolutely charming


Billy Crain, Laura Wiess, Randy Threet



And makes the night shine



I'm feeling really short here.



The soul of graciousness, truly.

Afterward, we met Henry out at the bar for a drink (this one was mine, a berry margarita)

 and hung out talking and laughing. He introduced us to Bev and Barb, two longtime fans who were lovely and funny and we had a great time. Thanks so much, guys.



The night and morning rainbow view from the room.



Saturday we had a great agenda. First, to Niagara Falls and the Maid of the Mist.




Thrilling. Spectacular.



I love Niagara Falls.

It was really hot so getting sprayed by the falls felt great.





After the Falls we headed over into Ontario because several people -- including my sister -- had told us about The Butterfly Conservatory, a giant indoor dome filled with tropical plants and streams and thousands of free-flying butterflies, and there was no way I was missing that.

 And yeah, it was worth it.



It was like being in a beautiful dream.



Astonishing. Thousands of butterflies.



I have decided I would like to live in a butterfly conservatory.



After the conservatory and gardens, we got frozen yogurts and headed back into New York because we had tickets to see Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers that night at Darien Center Amusement Park.

The crowd was massive -- I'd never been to this venue before and was taken by surprise -- and so we got something to eat and hung out watching the thousands of drunk people until CSN came on. They were really good, and I loved hearing Our House live.



We had decent seats under the giant tent.



And it was David Crosby's birthday so everyone sang to him.



I really enjoyed the music but the drunks were irritating and in some cases, worrisome, especially the teen girls -- and there were many -- blasted out of their minds, crying, moaning, staggering, looking totally lost in a crowd of what looked like half a million. I got my foot smashed by a drunk, bulky kid careening through the crowd with his buddies, shoved 13 times and hit in the head with a full beer can. (No blood or lasting damage but really. Get ahold of yourselves, people.)

The beer was $10 a glass and $11 a can, and despite those bizarre prices, was flowing free with apparently, based on what I saw, little if no carding. Interesting. Or maybe most of the extreme partying was done pre-concert, tail-gating. All I know was that being surrounded by sloppy-drunk 15-17 year-olds made me wonder how many of them were driving themselves home, if they ever found their cars in the vast parking lots again. You guys worry me. I hope you made it safely.

Tom Petty was great and the crowd loved him.







Good weekend. Now back to work.