Here I sit in Vancouver on my last day in the Pacific North-west typing and puffing away on a Cuban as I try to imagine what will be revealed in this week-end’s Canadian Country Music week in Edmonton, Alberta, the host city for this year’s Canadian Country Music awards Show on Sunday night.  I love attending this event and as years go by I see a ton of familiar faces, hear some great late-night jam sessions with Canada’s premier players and smoke beautiful Cuban cigars with more and more friends that I’m trying to convert into full-on wild eyed cigar smokers.

The weather in Edmonton will be rather OK for cigar smoking outside some of that city’s country music venues so I’m not afraid to load up my humidor with some of my better Cubans as I know I’m going to have a lot of opportunities to smoke, listen, drink in almost perfect conditions that just may NOT require long johns and down filled jackets. The city has some very well stocked stores but before I leave I’ll probably drop down to “The Vancouver Cigar Company” and see what Cuban favorites I can take to Alberta.

The country music industry has contributed some very big participants, through the years, in North America’s country music scene and this year I know I’ll be seeing and listening to some of Canada’s singers, home from their new neighborhoods in Nashville to entertain, compete and talk to the rest of us who support this industry.  Names like Shania ( only one name needed ), Anne Murray, Hank Snow, Terry Clark, Derick Ruttan have represented our country very proudly and contribute loads to the genre of music that more and more people listen to these days..  Hey, let’s face it, country music these days is nothing more to Def Leopard with fiddles.  Something huge happened to country music when rap came out, people switched their radio stations over to Country music stations and the industry adjusted to these new listeners.

Now lets get back to the cigars for a moment…… There are still a ton of cigarette smokers out there who are very open minded about having smoke in their systems but still don’t have a clue as to how great Cuban cigars taste.  My passion here is to mill around the different smoking areas at this annual event and stick the odd cigar in someone’s face that really need it.  This is something that we should all do to improve the health, enjoyment and well being of our friends out there.  I will probably take my supply of Cohiba Robustos, Esplendidos and Silgo I’s ( for those short windows of opportunity for smoking ) and enjoy them with some of Canada’s movers and shakers, VJ’s, promoters, agents and general yahoos…….

Wish me ( and my liver) luck!

Today the weather is cool in the Pacific Northwest and I’m looking out the window at the light rain and thinking of all the great Cuban cigars I’ve smoked this past summer..  OK OK, it isn’t officially Autumn yet but when I start to see the leaves turning colors in our front yard I automatically start thinking about raking leaves, making sure I have my waterproof golf shoes in good condition and readily available and I start thinking about smoking Cohiba cigars in cooler weather.

I have a covered deck, gas heater and comfortable chairs beside a table where friends gather in the winter months and puff on stogies as we talk about the winter golf conditions, which fish are coming up the rivers in our area and our plans for next year’s summer vacations.  Maybe I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here but the first few cool winds that blow across the yard always give me a bit of a shiver and I’m reminded that cigars just don’t seem to be as enjoyable…. Then I tell myself to GET OVER IT !!!!!!

Autumn also brings great moments by the river, golf in my home town when almost all other golfers are shoveling snow and the ability to still light up a Cohiba out on the back deck without getting hypothermia.  I have a lot to be grateful for.

Although my visit to Halifax, in Nova Scotia, one of Canada’s most eastern provinces, was a short visit I was able to catch a few events that were a lot of fun.. I saw some very good street performers taking part in a busker’s festival and it really gave me a glimpse into the kind of lives we used to live when there was no TV, movies, youtube, or radio.  These people were society’s only entertainment and they went from village to village and performed in town squares, giving the audience their take on politics, current affairs, views on religion ( if it was safe) and dazzled the people with acrobatics and music.  The city streets of Halifax were alive with many of these performers and it was a total gas!

One night I went down to the water and ate a beautiful dinner of oysters, Mussels and lobster at a restaurant called “the five fishermen”.  An elegant old character restaurant playing soft jazz and serving some of the best food on the east coast.

I met a great guy called Paul Stulac who owned a cigar shop called “Smoke on the Water”.  This shop in Bishop’s Landing, a small area of downtown Halifax, is pleasant, well stocked and caters to tourists from all over the world who are looking for a taste of fine Cuban cigars on their travels.

Yesterday Halifax had a country and western music festival, ” Country Rockfest 2010 ” featuring Alan Jackson, Billy Currington, George Canyon and Lonestar.  This event was held in a downtown park called Halifax Commons, last year the same park featured Sir Paul McCartney playing to tens of thousands of people from all over the eastern parts of Canada!!!!!!

When all of the fun was over and it was time to return to Vancouver, I extinguished all smoking materials, boarded a plane and read a good book on the flights home…. We have a Wide wide country and I’m always amazed at how little time it takes to go from one coast to the other!

My job allows me to do a fair bit of traveling and in the summer months I spend far too much time at the Vancouver airport than I ‘d like but, what can you do??

I have one question for any Canadian readers.  I’d love to visit a cigar shop in Halifas, NS that has a good supply of Cuban cigars and am wondering if anyone can help me in this department.  In particular I’m looking to pick up any of the Cohiba Behike line.  These cigars are difficult to find and yesterday I was able to get my hands on a 52 but its the 54 I’m looking for.

I’m a big fan of Nova Scotia, the Annapolis Valley and lobster.  I’ve been to the east coast of Canada many times and I’m always thrilled to see the “other” side of the country but this time I want to be able to drink wine, eat lobster and smoke a great Cohiba, if I can.

I don’t think I can say enough about the people from Saskatchewan.  These are very friendly and accommodating folks who would give you the shirt off their backs if you needed it.  I think it may have something to do with the fact that it is one of the more sparsely populated provinces in our country and the people are made up with a lot of rural workers who don’t live in the fear of the big cities.  I guess fear brings out the worst in us.

I smoked a fair number of cigars on my trip, mostly Cohibas, Upmanns, Partagas and Cuabas.  From time to time I would visit different cigar shops and I guess the best were the ones in Edmonton.  There is certainly no shortage of money in Alberta and the people in Edmonton have great cigar shops to choose from.  The only problem Iran into was a shop in a downtown mall that had Punch Royal Coronations ( in tubes ) that were peppered with holes in the wrapper…Hmmmm…. Bugs…… The best advise I can give to those shopping for cigars would be to make sure you see the cigars you are planning on buying.  Just because they come in tubes doesn’t always mean that you’ll be getting a quality product.  I picked up a Punch of the same family from the same shop that had no problems at all.. Still beware though !!!

Music was in the air in the Prairies because of different summer festivals.  Artists I saw that really impressed me were, on the country side of things, One more Girl, Victoria Banks and Derick Ruttan.  On the R&B side I’d have to say that John Lee Sanders was the real deal!!!  Wow, this guy can write beautiful songs, has a great band, plays piano, sax and guitar and a terrific voice.  Try to do a bit of looking around the internet for him.. You won’t be disappointed !!!!!

Well, beck to the drudgery of golf and fishing back home in B.C.  The Spring salmon are running in the Fraser river and 12 more sleeps until we go out to the Okanagan for 5 days of golf in the Penticton Oliver areas.  Life is tough!!!!!!

Tomorrow morning I’ll be jumping on a plane bright and early for a trip to the prairies of Saskatchewan to visit my parents, friends and relatives.  I have my travel humidor all planned out and will be taking along a few Cohiba Piramides Limited Edition cigars for some very special friends who love to taste the best cigars in the world.  Saskatchewan has limited opportunities for buying Cuban cigars, not much in Regina but Saskatoon, which is farther north than I’m going, has a bit better selection to choose from.

I plan on catching a few musical acts when I’m in Southern Saskatchewan.  Bengough, a small town in the south of the province, has a rock and country music festival featuring bands like Victoria Banks, Derek Ruttan and my favorite, “One More Girl”.  I went to the festival last year and it was hot hot hot weather but the cold beer was flowing and the great music made up for any discomfort, weather wise.

I’ll have the folding chair, my Cohibas and good friends to keep me company…….

Sometimes I get very worked up about getting reports from different friends about their golf scores!!!!  OK OK, I know that this is a cigar blog but I have to go on a bit of a rant here!!!!!!

I have this friend, Al, who I golf with quite a bit.. He is a bit deaf and when riding in a golf cart with him I find that I’m always repeating myself, louder and louder, so he can hear what I’m saying… But….. Most of the time I’m not convinced that he’s even listening….. I give him the odd cigar but he just ends up inhaling the smoke and then telling me how much he doesn’t like cigars… But he still asks for them……

Good grief!!!!!!

This morning I heard all about his round yesterday where he shot an 80 and, well, I’ve never seen him break 90 whenever I golf with him…… It drove me nuts!!!!!!

So here is what I did after I got off the phone!!!!

I went to my humidor and picked a lovely Siglo I, sat on the back deck and enjoyed one of those beauties as I cooled off…… There is something about smoking a great Cuban cigar that settles you down.  You search for all of the subtle flavors that a cigar of that quality will give you and it never ceases to amaze you in that it will deliver the goods each and every time…… We are very fortunate to be able to buy Cubans and smoke them without any repercussions from anyone and Cohiba does it for me each and every time!!!!

Today at the Resort course at Swan-E-Set was a great day for good weather, average golf and a beautiful Cohiba Esplendidos on the back nine.  A bit of wind required me to even out the burn from time to time but the taste was out of this world. A few of my drives went out of this world as well, well maybe they went out of bounds but I didn’t let any of that bother me in the least.

The golf course has two courses, a links course and a resort course ( which we visited today) and the greens were as fast as lightning.  This course started out being a private course but due to the distance from Vancouver it changed it’s policy to accommodate everyone who wants to golf there and their bottom line improved dramatically after that.

This course is by a river and water plays on many holes.. Keep the drives straight !!!!  Another thing that we saw was a lot of wildlife today.  Many deer were walking around the fairways and it makes for a more beautiful experience all in all..

I spent the afternoon in my camping chair at a baseball diamond, a drink in one hand and a Cohiba Siglo II in the other.  Those little Marevas are the perfect companion on a warm afternoon when the wind is almost non-existent and your friends are playing ball, getting too serious with the game and arguing with each other so much that you wonder if their friendship is on it’s last legs.

This little Cohiba was a few years old and the creaminess was through the roof.  The burn was exceptional throughout and required no re-lighting or correcting at all.  Wow, it makes you wonder how they do it. I mean, its only a bunch of rolled up leaves but a steady draw, earthy flavor and the exquisite distinguished cigar band make the whole event as perfect as you could imagine.

I decided that I wasn’t going to play ball at all, too many injuries occur when someone of my age gets a few drinks in him and then decides to prove himself to a bunch of jacked up wild eyed weirdos.. It just isn’t worth it…… Plus…… Tomorrow is a golf day and I’m going to a rather pricey course.. I want to hit the ball straight and have my wits about me// The last thing I want is to have aches and pains when I have my driver in my hand………..

On July 1st I found myself in Dauphin Manitoba at a country music festival and having the time of my life.  I had spent a day or two visiting relatives and decided to take in the festival.  Hey, I own a cowboy hat, why not !!!!

Thursday was a hot hot and humid day that featured a lot of talent on the main stage. The highlight of my night was a set by a group called, “One More Girl”.  2 young women, Britt and Carly McKillip with an awesome band played a highly charged set that consisted of their hits on radio and video that had the crowd on it’s feet.  I waited patiently for aaron Pritchett to come on when we noticed the sky getting darker.  Canada’s prairies seem to have different weather patterns every few minutes so I don’t think that anyone cared, everyone was waiting to hear Aaron sing, “Hold My Beer”!

He started his set with a song called, “Let’s Get Rowdy” which got the crowd in the mood and we all felt that the rest of the night was going to go without a hitch…. Not so fast!

3 or 4 songs into Aaron’s set and the music stops and we were told that for safety reasons the show was going to be put on hold.  I went to the car and lit up a Siglo I and stared at the sky in disbelief.. I had never seen swirling clouds like that and had never felt a shift in temperature as extreme as we were feeling at the festival site that night.  Lucky for everyone that nothing happened Tornado wise but we heard that Saskatchewan, one province over,  got hit….

I finished my cigar and then went back to see the rest of the show but I kept thinking that with us burning the fossil fuels at the rate that we burn them we have to be changing our weather patterns and my experience that night cemented that theory for me..

The music and the Siglo were a real treat…….