Both A and N are playing in the
state tournament, which is really just a year-end playoff between all the
teams. N’s division is a bit bigger, so they had to weed out some of the teams
the week before, but A’s division is tiny, so all the teams will go. Two
weekends ago N’s team did very well, so they went into this past weekend the
top seed in their division.
The bit complication with this
weekend was that A games were up in Morrisville, which is past Stowe, and N’s
games were in Middlebury. The distance between the two was about 130 miles, so
we had to come up with a plan. With A’s team it was every man, or girl, for
themselves. People had a number of different plans, some stayed in Stowe, some
commuted. We were one of three families that had players on both teams, and we
could not find a mutually beneficial plan, so we had to come up with our own.
In terms of cohesion, I’ve never
seen a team like N’s, whose coach is really big on team unity. He is keen on
team dinners, team parties, etc. He wanted the team to stay in the same motel,
so he arranged for one in Shelburne, which is basically S. Burlington. The
rooms were cheap, around $59/night. That immediately sent out a red flag, and
when we looked at the TripAdvisor reviews, R said, “We will not be staying at
this place.” The usual negative attributes, dirty sheets, mold in the bathroom,
sleazy managers gawking at young girls.
We got a room further north,
closer to our other destination, though not that much further. We were going to
take N with us to his sister’s game, but Mr. Hockey indicated that he really
wanted the team to eat supper together and hang out as much as possible. Enough
said, we arranged for him to go up with his buddies, and we headed up to
Morrisville with A. It worked out well because N got to bond, and I got to see
A’s game.
After A’s game, we did the hour
drive to Shelburne to get N, giving us a firsthand look at the Roach Motel,
which sure enough was a dive. The other parents were joking that they slept
with their hats on and refused to use the shower. I have to confess, the place
was a bit of a dump, you really notice the difference between a cheap motel and
a moderately priced one. The Roach Motel did have a complimentary breakfast,
which was a bit of a joke, but more on that later.
The got N home and hit the sack
immediately, then woke up around 5:30 the next day. Not much time for breakfast,
though I did try to get N to eat something. The motel we were staying at was
pretty nice, definitely nicer than the Roach Motel, though it did wreak of
cigarettes in the stairwell. R dropped us off with N’s team, and we hitched a
ride with TG and family. From the Roach Motel it was about a 45 minute drive. R
went back and took A to her morning game in Stowe, which was at 9:30. Can you
see what we had to go through?
The plan was for me to hang with
N’s team until his afternoon game (1:30PM), and then A would hang with her team
until her evening game (5:00PM). For me, it was a brutally long day, because I
was not at our motel, so I had to squat in other people’s rooms. They were of
course nice enough to welcome me in, but they probably wanted some quiet down
time, as well. Oh well, what are you going to do?
The funny thing was after N’s
game, DF wanted everyone back at the Roach Motel for the breakfast, which was
pretty unimpressive, even as far as motel breakfast’s go. Usually at cheap
motels they give you the standard fare, but this one was pared down to the
minimum: waffles and toast. Nothing else. They had one guy manning the waffle
iron, and some toast. It took forever to get a waffle because they only had one
machine, not that we were that hungry.
I thought the team should have
gone to Denny’s or some restaurant and got breakfast, but that wasn’t the plan.
I figured N would just hang out, have some juice, and then we’d got to a
friends room and relax. He did, however, manage to wolf down a waffle, for
which I have mixed feelings. Those waffles are ubiquitous whenever you travel
in the US, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the batter is
manufactured somewhere in Cleveland with all sorts of artificial garbage. I’d
prefer our kids not to eat them, but they’re tasty, especially with a ton of
high fructose corn syrup.
Anyway, we hung out and relaxed,
and after a couple of hours, we piled back into the car and headed back to
Middlebury for N’s second game. After that, we headed back to the Roach Motel
for the team supper. I was planning on hanging with the team, but then I talked
to R, who was at the motel, and realized we would make it back in time for me
to catch a ride to A’s game. So I left N with his team, met with R, and we did
the hour drive to Stowe to watch A’s game.
Then we drove back with A and her
buddy SP, dropped her off (their room smelled like an ashtray), picked up N,
and then went to sleep. N had a game Sunday morning, but that’s a story for
another time. It’s time to end this entry.
Until the next time, thanks for
reading, and thanks to Mozul and plate of the day for the pics.
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