Kingston Cup

According to Mapquest, it takes 3 hrs 15 mins to get to Kingston from here. We left home at 6:00 Thursday night and arrived in Limestone City, Friday at 2:30 p.m. Our non-stop trip included stops at Habitant Arena for a league game, a lay-over at Summers' End followed by the tournament opener in Napanee and then K-town.

Kathy called about 1/2 hr. before the first game to find out if the games were starting on-time. I had no idea: I was sitting in the car running meds. I'd seen people loading and unloading players and equipment, but hadn't a clue as to what was happening inside the building. Turned out they were running early, but we saw almost all of the game.

After lunch and checking in at the hotel, we made a run for Hot Tamales and JuJubes. Jessica entertained in her loft. The players roved downtown Kingston looking for a late dinner and returned before curfew.

Early game back in Napanee the next morning. Kathy was challenged by an obnoxious fan from the other team over a penalty. The father yelled at her,"Get your head out of your ass and go back to Toronto." Kathy asked me quietly, "Does this happen a lot in the stands?" She wanted to clarify with him that her head was atop her shoulders and that she lived nearby, thank you very much, but exercised restraint. Besides, we couldn't take him. The team did lunch then some shopping. Jess caught a ride to the restaurant and to the mall. I didn't mean to, but ended up falling asleep.

And awoke with the "what time is it?" panic. I had to get the equipment to the arena on time...and I didn't have a lot of time. But I made it. The players wore tutus, Groucho-glasses and hummed into kazoos. I do not like this much activity when I wake up, so I found a quiet corner. The Dolphins were beaten up by the team from Russell and suffered their first loss. The players hurt from the many physical injuries. Only 4 players felt strong enough to hit the cinema. No curfew required.

Cup Runneth Over

Another game on Sunday morning. Funny things, tournaments:
1. They're not about what happens on the ice, and all about the off-ice events and
2. You travel half-way across the province to play the team from next-door.

Another intense game, but the girls had reached hockey saturation level.

Jessica and I went for lunch with Kathy, loaded up the car and headed west. The battery on my pump had died running meds prior to the morning game. That, coupled with a few days in a modified routine, and what else, maybe the alignment of the planets, made the drive seem interminable.

We approached the exit to Roni's house. It would be a shame to be so close and not see R,W,K and Z, so we stopped. We had only planned on a 20-30 minute side-trip, but it was lengthened because of our 3:00 family phone call.

Back on the road, we craved the diverse music selections available in the GTA. At the top of hills, we caught a station out of Syracuse, the valleys we picked up AT40. We discovered in Belleville that the MP3 adapter couldn't be repaired.

After dinner in Oshawa, we had spent time with 2/3 of our family on this day. Always nice, but we were ready to go home.