Hip Week - The Arrival

Three weeks ago today, the Hip arrived in Grand Cayman and this little island will never be the same. From start to finish, it was one amazing week.

Day 1 - The Arrival

Only in Cayman would the local rock station announce on which flight the Hip would be arriving. They also asked that fans come out to greet them at the airport. Although I was a little hesitant to meet them at the airport, Luella convinced me to seize this opportunity. So I did. We waited patiently on the observation deck of the airport. At last, their plane landed. Just as it was landing, the radio reps showed up and handed out Canadian flags for the Hip Welcoming Committee. Flag in hand, I had my camera ready & waiting to get a shot of Gord disembarking the plane. Unfortunately, they were unloading on the opposite side. Luella didn't know what Gord looked like, so I told her to look for the really tall, thin guy who would be wearing jeans and some sort of hat. Sure enough, that's exactly what he was wearing. As he walked by, we yelled "Welcome to Cayman! Have a great show tomorrow night!" I got a few shots of the band walking toward the airport... The pictures would have been better had my hands not been shaking!! The excitement got the better of me!

I was quite content to leave with my few pics of the band, but Luella would not settle for that. Despite my protests, she insisted (I'm not kidding, she wouldn't leave) that I have my picture taken with the band. So, down to the arrivals we went to wait for them to exit. I felt sorry for the random passengers that arrived on that flight because the fans waiting out front (there were only about 15 or so) heaved a collective sigh of disappointment every time someone non-Hip walked out. Paul Langlois was first to exit. I like Paul, but Gord was the one I really wanted to see. He came out the other exit. I spotted him walk out and then sit down on one of the benches. I had given my camera to Lizi so that my shaking hands wouldn't ruin any further pics, so she dashed over to where he was. Next thing I know, I look over & she's having her picture taken with him!!! Then, she comes over & says he wants to have his picture taken with me... No doubt at Lizi's request, but she didn't have to ask me twice!!! A young guy was asking Gord for his autograph, saying "Weird man, I didn't even know you guys were going to be here", as he pulled out a t-shirt, concert ticket and CD for Gord to sign... I was bursting inside. When he was done signing, I walked up to him and introduced myself. As Lizi was preparing to take the picture (even her hand was shaking & she barely heard of the band), Gord scrunched down so that he was closer to my height... Isn't he sweet?? I asked him how the flight was & he said it was fine, but it had been a long day. While I was waiting to have my pic taken with Gord, Johnny Fay walked up beside me. I said "Hi, welcome to Cayman"... Lame, but that's all I could come up with at the time.

While we were standing there in the afterglow of our photo op, Luella started talking to Paul Langlois and told him that I was one of their biggest fans. I had another picture taken and we chatted with him for a while. He asked us where we were from, how long we had been here & what there was to do here. Then, he said, " You should really meet Robby" and introduced us to Robby Baker. Another photo op. We talked to Robby for a few minutes. Then it was time to go. We told Paul & Robby to have a good show & that we hoped they enjoyed their time on the island.

Unfortunately, after our super exciting lunchtime, we had to return to work. As I was walking toward my office, I noticed something in the window (I work in a fish bowl, with an internal window)... While I was off on my Hip greeting, someone had "decorated" my office with signs that said "I'm not crazy, I'm just a Hip groupie" and had scattered song titles around the floor. Clearly, I could not contain my excitement and the entire office had picked up on my love of all things Hip. Needless to say, not a lot of work was done that afternoon...