1.30.2006
weekend recap: Vegas!
thursday
was going to sleep in since i wasn't heading to work in the morning, but couldn't sleep, so i spent the morning cleaning the house up a bit. got all packed and headed out to casa de Murrita (y Liz y Andrea) where they graciously let me leave my car and we headed off to the airport. for those of you traveling out of Mineta airport and want to shuttle from remote parking: i highly recommend DeLaCruz parking. they were efficient, friendly, and on time. woo!
met many Burninators at the gate and enjoyed the "party flight" to Vegas. aside from the moments where i thought i was going to have only a few minutes to call my family and friends to tell them i love them because i thought the plane was going to crash (we circled the airport a few times and hey, i'm easily frightened), the trip was uneventful. got our rental car and checked into the Tuscany, weekend home of many other tournament folk. we Burninated the Alladin buffet as a team and it was eh, okay. i mean to say, the company was awesome, the food was eh, okay.
friday
had our first game at 8:30 (yes, in the morning!) so we rose early and arrived at the rink before the time i usually wake up each day. we played a very fast team, the LA Dragons. they looked like they had played and/or practiced together for a while. did i mention they were fast? i played on a line with Sharon and Lindsay and wow, are they fun to play with! great communication from those two - i sort of felt like the awkward 3rd wheel because they were so much faster than me, but it was a blast playing with them. Christy took a bad spill agains the boards and literally had to be dragged back to our bench. yikes. despite Cara standing on her head the whole game, we lost 4-1. our lone goal came from a sweet Viv breakaway. thanks for not letting us get shutout, Viv!
game 2 of the day was at 3:30. we had a mellow lunch/late breakfast, rested up, then headed back to the rink to face the Phoenix Strange Brew. let me just start by saying that this team was so much fun to play against - especially #23, "St. Pauli Girl". the refs were late for our game, so we just started chatting on the ice. super friendly folks, fun to joke with and talk to during the game. Christy was a superstar and skated the whole game. i was on a line with Sharon and Lindsay again and it was Lindsay who put us on the scoreboard. we were up 1-0 until the Strange Brew tied it up with less than 2 minutes left, i think. i was so mad when that tying goal went in. there was a big scrum in front of the net and i keep thinking i should have left my point to help clear the zone, but i stayed up high. oh well. we finished up 1-1 after a 5 min. OT period but thoroughly enjoyed the game and the other team.
Viv had me laughing all night because of her buzz from a Miller Lite. i think it was Miller Lite. we ate at the MGM buffet which absolutely rocked, then saw Cirque de Soleil's "KA". the show itself was a bit of a disappointment to me, but our usher made it worth my while. he talked in a Strong Bad - esque voice all night, and Liz repeatedly addressed him as Strong Bad but he didn't respond to it. when we were leaving the show, he was thanking everyone for coming, and Liz addressed him as Strong Bad again. he shouted down "it was the Cheat!" awesome.
saturday
didn't have our 3rd game until 4:30 so we slept in and i actually have no idea where we ate. we played the California Polar Cats, who had some players we recognized from a team we played last year. among those players was none other than "maskless", a.k.a. "orange gloves", a.k.a. woman who has a wicked shot and skates really well. i teamed up with Lindsay and Sharon again and those two were en fuego. a hat trick from Lindsay and a Jill-style goal from Jill saw us tied up at 4 and back into OT. we pulled Cara with about a minute left (maybe less?) to try for the win. Mary took my shift and we had so many great chances. but, alas, the Polar Cats put one into the empty net with 10 seconds left and we lost 5-4. :-(
i'm still winless in tournaments. and without a point. *sigh*
had a fun team dinner at a teppanyaki place, and it only took us about 50 phone calls to arrange it. okay, i exaggerate, but it did take lots of phone calls. Viv downed a long island iced tea (with help from Becky and Barb), Lindsay mastered the use of chopsticks, we laughed a lot, and had a fun time. went to Circus Circus afterwards to play some games, then headed back to the Tuscany for some rest.
we didn't do much on sunday besides rest (me), work (Viv), and head out to the airport. made it back to santa cruz by 8, i think. absolutely exhausted and glad to be home, but man, i had such a great weekend. thanks to each and every Burninator (including Mom, Thunder, Gerald, Devin, and Mike) for making my first skating Vegas tournament a memorable one.
was going to sleep in since i wasn't heading to work in the morning, but couldn't sleep, so i spent the morning cleaning the house up a bit. got all packed and headed out to casa de Murrita (y Liz y Andrea) where they graciously let me leave my car and we headed off to the airport. for those of you traveling out of Mineta airport and want to shuttle from remote parking: i highly recommend DeLaCruz parking. they were efficient, friendly, and on time. woo!
met many Burninators at the gate and enjoyed the "party flight" to Vegas. aside from the moments where i thought i was going to have only a few minutes to call my family and friends to tell them i love them because i thought the plane was going to crash (we circled the airport a few times and hey, i'm easily frightened), the trip was uneventful. got our rental car and checked into the Tuscany, weekend home of many other tournament folk. we Burninated the Alladin buffet as a team and it was eh, okay. i mean to say, the company was awesome, the food was eh, okay.
friday
had our first game at 8:30 (yes, in the morning!) so we rose early and arrived at the rink before the time i usually wake up each day. we played a very fast team, the LA Dragons. they looked like they had played and/or practiced together for a while. did i mention they were fast? i played on a line with Sharon and Lindsay and wow, are they fun to play with! great communication from those two - i sort of felt like the awkward 3rd wheel because they were so much faster than me, but it was a blast playing with them. Christy took a bad spill agains the boards and literally had to be dragged back to our bench. yikes. despite Cara standing on her head the whole game, we lost 4-1. our lone goal came from a sweet Viv breakaway. thanks for not letting us get shutout, Viv!
game 2 of the day was at 3:30. we had a mellow lunch/late breakfast, rested up, then headed back to the rink to face the Phoenix Strange Brew. let me just start by saying that this team was so much fun to play against - especially #23, "St. Pauli Girl". the refs were late for our game, so we just started chatting on the ice. super friendly folks, fun to joke with and talk to during the game. Christy was a superstar and skated the whole game. i was on a line with Sharon and Lindsay again and it was Lindsay who put us on the scoreboard. we were up 1-0 until the Strange Brew tied it up with less than 2 minutes left, i think. i was so mad when that tying goal went in. there was a big scrum in front of the net and i keep thinking i should have left my point to help clear the zone, but i stayed up high. oh well. we finished up 1-1 after a 5 min. OT period but thoroughly enjoyed the game and the other team.
Viv had me laughing all night because of her buzz from a Miller Lite. i think it was Miller Lite. we ate at the MGM buffet which absolutely rocked, then saw Cirque de Soleil's "KA". the show itself was a bit of a disappointment to me, but our usher made it worth my while. he talked in a Strong Bad - esque voice all night, and Liz repeatedly addressed him as Strong Bad but he didn't respond to it. when we were leaving the show, he was thanking everyone for coming, and Liz addressed him as Strong Bad again. he shouted down "it was the Cheat!" awesome.
saturday
didn't have our 3rd game until 4:30 so we slept in and i actually have no idea where we ate. we played the California Polar Cats, who had some players we recognized from a team we played last year. among those players was none other than "maskless", a.k.a. "orange gloves", a.k.a. woman who has a wicked shot and skates really well. i teamed up with Lindsay and Sharon again and those two were en fuego. a hat trick from Lindsay and a Jill-style goal from Jill saw us tied up at 4 and back into OT. we pulled Cara with about a minute left (maybe less?) to try for the win. Mary took my shift and we had so many great chances. but, alas, the Polar Cats put one into the empty net with 10 seconds left and we lost 5-4. :-(
i'm still winless in tournaments. and without a point. *sigh*
had a fun team dinner at a teppanyaki place, and it only took us about 50 phone calls to arrange it. okay, i exaggerate, but it did take lots of phone calls. Viv downed a long island iced tea (with help from Becky and Barb), Lindsay mastered the use of chopsticks, we laughed a lot, and had a fun time. went to Circus Circus afterwards to play some games, then headed back to the Tuscany for some rest.
we didn't do much on sunday besides rest (me), work (Viv), and head out to the airport. made it back to santa cruz by 8, i think. absolutely exhausted and glad to be home, but man, i had such a great weekend. thanks to each and every Burninator (including Mom, Thunder, Gerald, Devin, and Mike) for making my first skating Vegas tournament a memorable one.
# posted by cheddah : 4:49 PM
