Hotel Adventure

Kidlet Three's hockey team participated in a hockey tournament this past weekend in a Far-A-Way city.   The city was So-Far-Away I had to take a day of vacation from work and Kidlet Three had to get out of school early so we could start the travels.

When we travel, we always over pack. 

Always.

As we pulled out of town on Friday you would have found the following in the back of the van:

• 5 Deal or No Deal bags
• 4 bags of licorice
• 3 suitcases
• 2 hockey sticks
• and one overstuffed hockey bag

Plus the huge tub of snacks and food, the CPAP machine for The Husband and a 12-pack of pop oh, and the laptop and the PS3 and the Christmas cards and...you name it, we probably had it!

Arriving and checking in at the hotel, we were given the keys to our second floor room.  We grabbed the luggage carts from the front lobby and piled our bags onto it.  Wheeling it back into the hotel we started the search for the elevator. 

There was no elevator in the hotel! 

All of our stuff had to be carried up the stairs in a multitude of trips. I guess the luggage cart was for the people on the first floor to use...

In our room I began organizing.  I unpacked my suitcase and organized the other bags in the room.  Then it was time to leave for the first of five tournament hockey games. 

We arrived back to the hotel around 10:30 Friday night.  The boys were allowed to mingle in the hallways until 11 p.m. by the hotel management.  The Husband, Kidlet Three and I were tucked all snug in our beds by 11:30 p.m.

A short time later I was awakened with the words "OH NO...OH NO...OH NO" coming from the bathroom.  Flying from the bed I arrived outside of the bathroom door to find The Husband standing in water that was pouring out of the toilet in a steady stream.  The water was flowing toward the carpeted floor.  "Grab the towels" I yelled at The Husband and the ran to telephone the front desk. 

The front desk man brought a dozen towels and the toilet plunger.  But the toilet didn't want to stop running and the water had to be turned off to the toilet.  Thankfully, it was clean water!  The front desk man was not able to fix the toilet so offered us a different hotel room. 

At 12:45 a.m. we were all out of bed, grabbing the

• 5 Deal or No Deal bags
• 4 bags of licorice
• 3 suitcases
• 2 hockey sticks
• and one overstuffed hockey bag

 and all of the other stuff and we moved two rooms down the hallway.

I was amazed that none of us complained as we made the trips back and forth from the water-logged room to the new room.  And finally so thankful to snuggle back into bed for an uneventful night's sleep.

It was definitely an AMAZING adventure to find a hotel with no elevator, to have a toilet overflow and to move rooms in the middle of the night. 

Hockey 101 - Getting To The Game

Packing the bag
Loading the van
Getting to the arena
Finding the locker room
Watching the zamboni clean the ice
And lining up "on the bench"...
An amazing process.

Hockey 101 - Equipment

Both of my boys are hockey players.  For those of you that have never had a hockey player in your home, let me give you an overview of the sport.  We'll start with the equipment:

Starting at the top, is the helmet.  Complete with face cage.  The mandatory mouth guard is attached to the face cage unless the player has chewed on it enough and it is no longer attached.  In this case, the light blue at the bottom of the face cage is Kidlet Three's mouth guard.

Shoulder pads are next.  We have a wooden frame to hang the equipment on after they are sweat-soaked.  It really helps dry everything out.

Elbow pads.  I have to laugh at the brand name...Vapor.  Believe me, they do emit a vapor.

No this is not part of a Star Wars outfit.  These are hockey gloves. 

Laying the breezers, or shorts, on the floor makes them look really small.  They probably weigh 3 to 5 pounds and are very padded. 

 Shin pads.  They protect the lower leg and knee.

Hockey socks are pulled up and over the shin pads.  They are attached to the "jock" that is worn under the breezers.  You don't want your socks falling down in the game.  Hockey skates are next.

A hockey player needs a primary hockey stick and then a good back up.  Sticks can break during practice or a game so the backup stick is carried along at all times.

The blade of the stick is wrapped in tape.  Tape comes in a variety of colors but Kidlet Three tends to wrap in black or sometimes in white tape.

 And all of this equipment, minus the sticks, is packed into a hockey bag that must weigh at least 20 pounds.  Kidlet Three's bag has wheels so he can pull it.  Some kids have straps that allow them to carry the bag on their backs.

The shirts are called a "jersey".  There is a practice jersey, a "home game" jersey and an "away game" jersey.  In our house, the fireplace mantel becomes the closet for the jerseys.

The most important piece of equipment for a hockey player is this:

 Gloves stink.

Shoulder pads stink.

Breezers stink.

Elbow and shin pads stink.

The socks and jerseys can be washed.

Everything else....stinks.

Airing it all out helps.

Febreze saves the day.

I love hockey.

To skate so gracefully and fast holding a stick and passing a puck takes skill.

It is definitely something I can't do and I'm amazed watching each and every game.