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Super Saturday

It was a super Saturday here in Boston. After swearing I wouldn’t drive back into the city again, I drove there twice today. The first trip into the city was to see the New England Aquarium and Quincy Market. Fortunately, the drive into the city was much easier today with the weekend traffic. Moreover, it was super easy to find parking near the aquarium.

As for the aquarium itself, I can’t say that I’d recommend it. It cost way too much for the size and number of displays. For the Mayor and I, it cost nearly $70 for a forty-five-minute walk-through of the facility. The only reason it took so long was because it was super crowded and it took time to be able to see some of the animals. Fortunately, the cost of admission helps support the animals and the facility’s research efforts. While I can’t say it’s worth the price from the experience perspective, I’m okay with spending money to support the animals.

The gift shop was surprisingly not too expensive. I picked up a few gifts for the family including a stuffed penguin for the puppies. The Mayor picked out a turquoise necklace and a surprise for his brother. After we finished at the gift shop, we walked over to Quincy Market. Fortunately for the Mayor, it was a quick walk from the aquarium to the market. Thankfully, the market wasn’t overwhelmingly busy like it was yesterday. The Mayor opted to have some Chinese food and I opted to have clam chowder in a bread bowl. As Prue Leith would say, the chowder was “worth the calories.”

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to rest. We left early for his game as his teammate from last season was playing in the game before. All of our games this weekend have been in Attleboro, so I could probably now do the drive in my sleep. Of course, I’d be happy to never drive here again. The traffic and drivers create the next level of hell. The degree to which they suck at driving cannot be overstated. At this point, that thought is more than just a posit in my mind. It’s an absolute fact that these drivers are lethal weapons. As for the hockey, the Mayor and his team came up with a 5-3 victory. He had another strong game.

For dinner, we headed back into the city to meet my best friend. Jenny and I have been besties since high school and I don’t get to see her nearly enough. Fortunately, she had a conference in Boston this weekend, which gave us a rare opportunity to have dinner together. Honestly, dinner was awesome. It was wonderful to be able to hang out with her and catch up in person. What a blessing she has been to me. Now we’re back at the hotel getting ready for bed and watching television.

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Exploring Boston

Today was all about exploring Boston much to the Mayor’s chagrin, but more on that later. We started our day today the same way we did yesterday, at the rink. Game two was a bit more difficult than the first game. The other team had some lucky bounces and we took some bad penalties. Consequently, they ended up losing 5-3. The Mayor had plenty of opportunities to score, but the opposing goalie came up with some ridiculous saves. He continues to play well and is enjoying playing junior rules. Since the asinine USA Hockey rules don’t apply to Juniors, the games actually flow nicely and don’t take forever.

Once we left the rink, we came back to the hotel for him to shower and get ready for a day on the town. Before we headed north to Boston, we had to stop at the original Dunkin’ Donuts. It was pretty cool. I can’t wait to show Polly, who manages my regular Dunkin’ back home. She’s been making my coffee since the kids were young. I grabbed another coffee for the road and we headed to Boston.

I decided to park at the Boston Common garage, so we could grab lunch and walk the Freedom Trail. Traffic was utterly horrendous once we got downtown. The Mayor remains unimpressed with the big city. He definitely doesn’t have the patience for big-city traffic. Once we got to the parking garage, the rest was east. Okay, not so much. The Mayor was in a mood. His attitude was quite angry. I hoped it would improve after lunch, but it didn’t. He only wanted fried rice for lunch, so we ended up at PF Changs. Some battles just aren’t worth fighting.

After lunch, we headed back to Boston Common to start the Freedom Trail walk. I had intended to walk the entire trail less crossing the Harbor to the USS Constitution, but my Mayor was not on board for that. We made it to the North Church with the Mayor grumbling the whole time. He enjoyed seeing the sights closer to Boston Common but was not thrilled to walk across town. We attempted Quincy market, but the Mayor wasn’t about that life. To be fair, both the market and the Freedom Trail were jammed packed.

Tomb of James Otis
John Hancock’s Tomb
Paul Revere’s tomb
Monument to Paul Revere
The tombstone of Mother Goose
Tombstone for Ben Franklin’s parents
Monument to Ben Franklin’s parents
Boston Massacre memorial
Sam Adams tombstone
Robert Paine’s tomb

He did enjoy walking through the Park Street Church and the Granary Burial Grounds. The burial grounds were particularly cool. First of all, there are some major American heroes buried there including John Hancock, Sam Adams, Ben Franklin’s parents, Mother Goose and Paul Revere. It was a nice walk and a beautiful way to see the city and its famous historical sights. I wish the Mayor would have enjoyed it more instead of being in a mood. His mood was reminiscent of his breakdown on the Kongevegen in Norway. Nevertheless, I enjoyed myself.

Afterward, we headed to the mall to pick up some more goodies. This, of course, was easier said than done. Driving in Boston is not for the faint of heart. In fact, it’s complete hell. To be clear, driving in cities or new places doesn’t bother me. I’m from South Florida, which is notorious for its horrible drivers and traffic. Driving in South Florida is a lot easier than driving here. It took a good forty minutes to go a few miles.

The mall was busy, but we still managed to get in and out pretty quickly. There are some fast chargers at the mall, which recharge the car really quickly. We wanted to grab some Starbucks, but the line at Target’s Starbucks was ridiculous and there was only one barista working. Consequently, we headed over to the Starbucks in Quincy near the hotel.

Instead of driving straight back to the hotel, we drove to the Old House at Peace Field. This is where both John Adams and John Quincy Adams lived during their presidency. The house was closed, but the grounds including a beautiful garden were still open. The mayor sat in the car as I walked through the gardens. We ended our mini Adams National Historic Park with a trip to Abigail Adam’s Cairn. This is found in Penn’s Hill and is where she took her children, including John Quincy Adams, to see Charlestown burn during the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Our day ended with some pizza delivered to tree hotel for dinner. Originally, we had planned to go out for dinner, but we were both exhausted. By the time we got back to the hotel, we had already walked over 17,000 steps. We’re finishing our night watching Monty Python’s Life of Brian on Netflix. Tomorrow there will be more hockey and more exploring to be done.

A poem from Mother Goose:

Come Out to Play 

Girls and boys, come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day;
Leave your supper, and leave your sleep,
And come with your playfellows into the street.
Come with a whoop, come with a call,
Come with a good will or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A half-penny roll will serve us all.
You find milk, and I’ll find flour,
And we’ll have a pudding in half an hour.

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Busy Day

It was a busy first day in Boston. This morning absolutely kicked my ass since we got just over three hours of sleep. Our day started with an early morning drive to the rink in Attleboro. We stayed near the airport last night, which is an hour’s drive from Attleboro. However, I knew I wouldn’t want to drive an hour after landing at midnight.

Do you know who wasn’t tired this morning? The mayor. I don’t know how he did it, but he had an awesome game. He got a decent amount of ice time in the first period. Since we got in late last night, he missed the team’s practice. Nevertheless, in the second period, he was playing all special teams and was on the ice a lot. He had some key plates including drawing a nice penalty. The game ended in a tie, but it was a good game for a group of boys that haven’t played a game together.

After the game, we headed back to the hotel for a brief nap. I was fried despite all 40 ounces of Dunkin Donuts that was onboard. Fortunately, I was able to sleep for about an hour. I’m not a napper at all, so I wasn’t convinced I’d fall asleep. While I slept, the Mayor showered and took a nap. We had a gourmet lunch at MacDonalds before heading to the mall to kill time.

We ended up with a fully electric rental car, which was super intimidating. I had to google a lot of the functionality to even get out of the rental lot. One thing I didn’t like at all is that the car comes to a dead stop as soon as you remove your foot from the gas. Honestly, I was terrified we’d get rear-ended because of it. It was terrifying. Fortunately for us, we met the nicest guy, Nico, at the mall chargers. He owns a Polestar and was able to walk through how to maximize charging while minimizing cost. In fact, he reconfigured the settings for me, so the car would drive like a regular car. His act of kindness has made this trip so much easier for me.

The Mayor and I killed some time at the mall. There was an absolutely amazing candy store in the mall. They had absolutely everything from everywhere. They even had a wall of ramen and drinks from everywhere. Now we had no interest in trying the pickle soda, but we did buy a can of Warhead Lemon soda along with a bottle of root beer and cherry cola. Naturally, I couldn’t in good faith pass up an opportunity to buy a Milka bar.

After the mall, we headed to Quincy where we are staying. We drove past the original Dunkin Donuts on our way to the beach. There is a nice beach not too far from our hotel. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s beautiful and peaceful. Obviously, the water is way too cold for me to consider swimming. On the way to the hotel, we stopped at the birthplace of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Quincy has a ton of history embedded in it, which makes it a nice town.

We ended our day with a trip to the USS Constitution. Unfortunately, due to traffic and lack of parking, we got there after the museum and ship closed. Nonetheless, the wharf where it is located has a nice waterfront walking path. You can view the USS Constitution after closing, you just can’t go on it. The Mayor was happy to see the ship as well as the Bunker Hill memorial in the background. We ended our night in Boston with dinner at Pier6. I had the clam and corn chowder, while the Mayor enjoyed a lobster roll. And now it’s time for bed because our busy day and late night have left me exhausted.

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Ready to Go

We’re packed up and ready to go. This morning the Mayor went out and picked up Athena’s favorite donuts from Publix, so she’ll have plenty to munch on while we’ll we’re gone. I’m hopeful our flight will be on time today and Sunday. The airports in the northeast have been an absolute disaster this summer. We get in pretty late, which is an absolute bummer since he plays tomorrow morning at 7:00 am. Tomorrow morning is going to be an early start.

While in Boston, I’ll try to post as often as I can. Hopefully, the weather will hold out, so we can go whale watching. I saw a whale when I was in Puerto Vallarta, but it was from a great distance. I would love to see one up close. Albeit, not too close. I’m looking forward to taking time to explore the city with my Mayor. Additionally, it will just be nice to hang out with him since he’s moving out next month. Needless to say, I’m excited to see how he does at the next level of hockey. We’re ready to go, so stay tuned.

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Packing

I’ve started packing for our trip to Boston tomorrow. The Mayor and I don’t leave until tomorrow night, but I want to make sure we have everything we need. This trip I’m not faffing around. I hate getting to our destination only to realize I forgot to pack something important. Consequently, I’m hoping that going through my list and packing today will help avoid that frustration.

We fly out late tomorrow, so I’m hoping and praying the weather doesn’t mess up our travel plans. This time of year, it’s difficult to fly out of Florida due to our summer storms. The weather hasn’t been better in the northeast either grinding most of those airports to a complete halt. I’m going to bring my work laptop just in case we can’t get back Sunday. I figure if I’m prepared for the worst, we’ll get home without a problem.

This will be our first trip to the Chowder Cup, which is the big showcase tournament held in Massachusetts every year. It’s a good opportunity for players to gain exposure to junior teams as well as colleges. For me, it’s an excellent opportunity to enjoy summer in Massachusetts. Our schedule is pretty open, so we should have plenty of time to explore Boston and the surrounding area. Planning fun, random excursions is kind of my forte, so we should have a good trip.

I’m super excited for the trip, but it will be hard to leave Athena behind. Her days are numbered, so I hate to be away from her at all. While we’re gone, Goalielocks and the Hubby will take good care of her.

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Weekend in Minnesota

The Mayor and I had a great weekend in Minnesota courtesy of his Janesville Jets camp. Even though we ended up with bronchitis, we had such a great time seeing our family and friends. We flew up Thursday evening, so I could work Friday and the Mayor could rest up for his camp. It was a pretty smooth trip less a little delay on the ramp due to severe weather. Fortunately, we were able to take off in between storms. Nevertheless, we made it to Minnesota a little late.

Thursday night we went straight to my folks and got situated. I got set up in the guest room while the Mayor took over their basement. My folks ordered Pizza Man including the boys’ favorite, pizza buddy. Every time I have the pizza, it’s like stepping back in time to the Friday nights of my childhood. It’s probably a similar feeling for our boys since they spent their summers in Minny. At least, they did until Covid put the kibosh on it.

Friday, the Mayor and I really started to feel the effects of the pollen and smoke. We were feeling quite miserable. Unfortunately, for the Mayor, he had a lot of hockey to play that weekend. He loves playing, but it’s a bit frustrating when you can’t play your best. A bright spot in Friday’s on-ice session was that Grandpa Steve and Grandma Linda were able to join us at the rink. They had plans to be out of town but rearranged them so they could see us. It was awesome!

Saturday brought more hockey and a road- trip up to Forest Lake to see Cassie’s family and Uncle Eric. It was nice to see everyone. Neither the Mayor, nor I had seen them since 2019, which was way too long ago. We had a really nice time and some great food. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to stay as long as we would have liked due to an early ice time Sunday morning and not feeling great. Hopefully, I’m able to see them all again later this summer.

Sunday brought us back to the rink for the last on-ice session. Afterward, we picked up my Grandma and Uncle Mark and headed to my brother’s cabin. Their cabin is perfectly located not too far from their house or the cities. It’s on a beautiful lake that’s perfect for boating. Fortunately, the weather was absolutely beautiful, so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the lake views. Honestly, I was happy we got to see our family back home after a four-year absence. I’m hoping for another great weekend in Minnesota later this summer.

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Time Off

I’m back after taking some well-deserved time off. Once hockey ended, I was as utterly exhausted. Also, not only did hockey season end, but it was the end of the road for youth hockey. Consequently, we spent the spring trying to navigate the junior hockey world. When I say it’s a whole new world, I can’t emphasize how different it is from youth hockey. It’s a bit disconcerting, to be honest, as youth hockey was pretty straightforward. At any rate, we spent the spring navigating this new level of hockey.

A month after the season ended, the Mayor took a solo trip with an FPHSL (Florida Panthers Scholastic League) team to a showcase. The tournament was in St. Louis and parents were encouraged to stay home. The purpose of the showcase was twofold. Get the players exposure and an opportunity to operate independently of their parents. Admittedly, it was hard to stay home. It wasn’t hard because I was worried about him being by himself, he can handle himself. Rather it was hard because I love watching him play. Thankfully, we could at least watch the games on LiveBarn.

The Mayor took advantage of the opportunity and ended up with several invites to team camps. After looking at all the opportunities and talking through them with Coach David (South Florida Wolfpack,) we opted to do an NAHL camp in Minnesota with the Janesville Jets. Prior to leaving for that camp, the Florida Eels had invited him to come to skate. The program was an excellent fit for him, so he signed with the Eels. Even though he signed with the Eels, we felt the Janesville camp would still be a good opportunity for him.

The fact that we were able to stay with my folks was definitely a motivating factor for us to sign him up for the Janesville camp. We flew up to Minny the Thursday before the camp since it started Friday night. Fortunately, I was able to work Friday before heading to the rink. Unfortunately, the amount of pollen and smoke from the Canadian fires absolutely destroyed our lungs. The Mayor and I were on all sorts of cold medicine and home remedies including Manuka honey and black pepper.

Unfortunately, we both ended up with allergic bronchitis, which made it super tough for him to skate. It also followed us back to Florida and took a couple of weeks to clear out. Nevertheless, the camp was a success. He sat down with the coach and owner at the end of the camp and will be staying in touch throughout the next season. This was really the ideal outcome. My hubby and I are excited to see how his game will grow with the Eels. It also gives him the opportunity to billet away from home, but also be close to home.

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Superstitious

Yesterday’s prompt asked if I’m superstitious, but I didn’t notice the prompt until after I had already finished my blog about our torturous allergy season here. The answer is that I am absolutely superstitious. It comes along with the hockey mom and hockey culture. Show me a hockey mom that’s not superstitious and I’ll show you snow in Miami (real meteorological snow, not the stuff referenced in Miami Vice.)

Are you superstitious?

So let me recount some of the superstitious ridiculousness that comes with being a hockey mom and/or player

  • Thou shall not utter the word shutout until the final buzzer has sounded. If you utter it before, it will be your fault when the goalie gives up a goal. This is one of the cardinal rules of being a goalie parent.
  • I wore this jacket and they won; ergo, I must wear this jacket to all future games, so the trend can continue. God forbid we wear another jacket and they lose, oh the regret that would spark.
  • Pregame rituals: for me, it was always grabbing a coffee before game time. Each player and parent has their own pregame routine.
  • Always tell my player or goalie good luck and have fun before they hit the ice
  • The goalie hits the goalposts in a certain order before every face-off.
  • The playoff beard. No shaving for the guys until they’ve won or been knocked out of the playoffs
  • Favorite shirt or piece of equipment. This item will be repaired until it can’t be repaired anymore because the player has to wear it.
  • Not washing equipment during the season. This one is a killer. You’d only have to walk near my garage during the season to know why.
  • The taping of the stick. Every player has a ritual for when and how they tape their stick before a game.
  • Pregame meal or drink (i.e Celsius.). We’ve definitely hit some gas stations before games to make sure they had their Celsius in hand.

What are some of your superstitions? Hockey folks, did I miss any?


Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness+
  • Book: I finished Marcel Proust’s Finding Lost Time last time. Five years and seven volumes later, I’ve completed his masterpiece. Tonight I’m starting Mary Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley by Alison Weir.
  • Word of the day is chiton. A chiton is a mollusk often found in tide pools.
  • Blog: done
  • Today’s song is Outta Our Heads by Dropkick Murphy’s
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Player of the Game

The Mayor was the Florida Panther’s player of the game last night. The Florida Panthers Scholastic Hockey League (FPHSL) chose him for the honor last weekend. They provided a number of questions for him to answer for the feature. His first answer to why you love hockey was “hookers and blow,” but obviously that response didn’t make the Final Cut. (In case you’re curious, there’s actually a book on Amazon called Hookers and Blow Save Christmas.)

We’re quite proud of our player of the game. Meanwhile, he was a bit embarrassed and asked me not to post the picture on Instagram. To everyone that texted, messaged, or hit me up on social media last night, thank you. I loved hearing from so many people that have been on this hockey journey with us. You guys have made our hockey experience incredible. At any rate, it was a nice way to cap off hockey season. Although it did keep me up way past my bedtime.

Prior to the Panthers game, I was calling all my previous PurpleStride team captains that haven’t registered. It was all part of our national registration day. Fortunately, it was a success. Our efforts yesterday have paid dividends and will continue to do so as the week progresses. Honestly, we have the best working group ever. I love being a part of our PanCan affiliate. We have the best volunteer group in the world. If you or your teen is looking for service hours in the South Florida area, please let me know.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Word of the day: exoskeleton. As in I heard the spider’s exoskeleton crunch as I stepped on it.
  • Today’s song is Sweetness by Jimmy Eat World
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First Weekend Off

It was our first weekend off since hockey ended. I thought my liver would recover nicely now that hockey season was over. As it happens, this proved to be an entirely false hypothesis. It all started Saturday afternoon in our driveway with the neighbors. The boys were watching glue dry (literally) and the wives joined them to enjoy some drinks. Before you knew it, we ended up heading to a restaurant with the guys in hard hats and high-visibility vests.

Sunday we headed to brunch with my friend Scott. He and I worked together at Progressive many moons ago. In fact, he first met me when I was pregnant with Zachary. We met at JB’s on the beach in Deerfield Beach. It’s an awesome place, but the whole rigmarole of traffic was too much. Deerfield Beach is one of those places you need to get to extremely early if you don’t like traffic. Nevertheless, the view, the food, and the company made suffering through traffic worth it. Our first weekend off of hockey was a smashing good time.

I crashed, however, as soon as we got home thanks to the mimosas. Fortunately, I woke up in time to see Kaprizov score a hat-trick and steal the game from Columbus. The kid is incredible. Speaking of hockey, we didn’t fully take the weekend off from hockey. The Mayor started lessons with Coach Joni early Saturday morning. Joni is an incredible skating coach, so I’m excited to see the process the Mayor makes under his tutelage. They’ll be working together weekly. Tonight the Mayor will play in the high school All-Star game, which should be fun.

Today’s accountability tracker:

  • Workout: 45-minute spin class, plus 15-minute cooldown courtesy of Apple Fitness
  • Book: Book: Marcel Proust’s  Finding Lost Time. 
  • Blog: done
  • Today’s song is Radiate by Jack Johnson