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Post-Tournament Recovery

Inevitably after every hockey tournament comes the post-tournament recovery period. As I get older, I have found that this period gets longer and longer. It’s a marvel at how watching one’s child play hockey can leave one utterly exhausted. Yet, here I was again this week in a prolonged post-tournament recovery period.

Perhaps it is because I didn’t sleep well while in Tampa. Or perhaps it was because I inadvertently took two of my Cytomel (T3) instead of a T3 and a T4 pill. I blame the Hilton Garden Inn and their blackout shades. Fortunately, the T3 wears off within hours, so I was mildly uncomfortable for most of Monday. I was nervous, however, that my overly active stomach wouldn’t settle down before I drove back across the state. Mercifully, it settled down before we left Tampa. Nonetheless, the medicine mess up left me feeling tired the following two days.

As for the hockey, it was incredible. My boy was on fire all weekend. I love watching him work with his teammates to find ways to score. They really came together last weekend. We ended up losing in the finals, but not before we made the Makos work for it. The Mayor’s team fought hard to come back from a 2-0 deficit. In the end, a heartbreaking goal with 34 seconds left in the third ended their championship hopes. My boy received the second star of the game but in the face of defeat that didn’t matter.

Goalielocks’ team was in action as well, but that shit show of a scrimmage will get its own post. As will the poor behavior of the other team and the officials. Unfortunately or fortunately, I was not in town to watch the game myself. I only got damage reports post-game. When I finally get around to writing that post, you’ll want popcorn. After all the game was more of a train wreck than 90 Day Fiancee.

Since I was exhausted and a bit under the weather, I took rest days on Monday and Tuesday. In reality, I just didn’t have time to workout Monday between the Mayor’s two hockey games and the three-hour commute back home. Nonetheless, I started BBG 3.0 on Wednesday. Kayla Itsines may be the devil because she killed me Wednesday and again today. I also missed two days running, so my clock for a month restarted the months 9th.

As for this weekend, we are now under a Tropical Storm watch, flood warning, etc. A system developed off our coast this afternoon. Fortunately, it will be weak as it passes over us. We will, however, have to watch the rain totals and the potential for tornados. Otherwise, it will be the perfect weekend for getting stuff done around the house.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read A Room With A View by E.M Forster

*Yin with Jennifer at Open Heart Yoga Studio

*It’s day nine of virtual school. This week has been much better.

*I ran a mile and walked a mile today.

*Tonight my husband made shepherd’s pie for dinner while I finished my run. Unsurprisingly, my persnickety children were not a fan of the dish. I, however, quite enjoyed it.

*BBG 3.0 week 1 day 3: arms, cardio and yoga

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk.

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Left on the Mountain

Yep, you read that right I was left on the mountain. It all happened at the Farmington Creek Trail just south of Layton. I picked this trail for our Thursday hike because it features: a car cemetery, two waterfalls (including the one you could rappel down to), and a moderate degree of difficulty. Admittedly, I am not fast on my ascent up the trails. Due to the Graves disease, I’m mindful of my maintaining my heart rate and regulating my body temperature. This, of course, is not always easy when hiking. Consequently, my ascent was slow, measured, and littered with water breaks.

On the flip side, the hike for my boys was quite easy. Goalielocks soon pulled away from both the Mayor and me as he ran up the trail. I was jealous at the ease with which he tackled the mountain. In protest, the Mayor sped ahead on his own. Fortunately, when the Mayor got to the first waterfall, he waited for me. On the other hand, I couldn’t find Goalielocks. The challenge became the fork in the trail. Unfortunately, the park service hadn’t clearly marked the trail. Fortuantely, we were able to ask local hikes which way to go. Meanwhile, we had no idea which way Goalielocks had gone at the fork.

I decided to follow the trail to the second waterfall hoping we’d find Goalielocks on the trail. Undeniably, I was nervous that nobody had seen him. At this point, we were so deep into the canyon that we didn’t have cell service. As we continued the trail, the Mayor again took off down the path. Meanwhile, I vacillated between anger, frustration, and awe. As I rounded the bend, I saw a vintage car overtaken by the forest with bullet holes all over. It was quite picturesque. At this point, the Mayor came back to me expressed his discontent with the hike, and headed back to the car.

Now they really annoyed me. Yet, I was determined to see the waterfall. I continued down the path looking for the ropes that would take me down to the base of the waterfall. As I searched the area, I finally got a call from Goalielocks who was at the car waiting. Eventually, I found the ropes that could take me down to the waterfall. However, with unreliable cellphone service and nobody near me, I wasn’t willing to risk a fall or injury by rappelling down to the waterfall. Consequently, I started making my way back to the car where both boys were impatiently waiting for me.

Since I knew they were safe at the car, I was in no hurry to finish my hike. The canyon and trail provided beautiful vista after beautiful vista that I wanted to take it all in. Also, the ascent wore me out as it was a vigorous hike. When I made it back to the first waterfall, I took a seat on a large boulder near the side of the stream and relaxed for a bit. In this spot, the mountain stream and shade cooled the air. It was a magical spot to rest and recover before tackling the sunny part of the descent to the car.

While I was sitting at the waterfall, the Mayor made his way back up the trail in search of water. I had brought my backpack, filled with water bottles and oranges to keep us nourished throughout and after the hike. However, since I was the only one willing to carry it, all of the supplies were with me. Consequently, when he got thirsty he had no choice, but to seek me out. Naturally, he received quite a tongue lashing from me once we met again on the mountain. Soon after we met up with Goalielocks, who had come up the trail looking for me out of concern it was taking too long. Of course, I had been almost four miles deep into the trail, so it wasn’t going to be a quick return.

Goalielocks took a left at the first waterfall, which took him on a significantly shorter trail. Eventually, both of the trails meet up near the second waterfall. However, his trail was overgrown as it approached the waterfall trail. Goalielocks headed back the way he came since he wasn’t sure where the trail led. The hillside where he hiked was filled with vintage cars, known as the car cemetery. On our descent, I learned that he had told his brother where he was going. Unfortunately, the Mayor neglected to tell me this. I was super annoyed with the Mayor at this point. I want to rappel down to the waterfall and I couldn’t because I was alone. Naturally, we spoke at length, on our way back to the Airbnb, about the importance of staying together during hikes.

Despite all the drama on the mountain, this was definitely one of my favorite hikes. The trail affords incredible views of the Great Salt Lake, the valley, the mountains and the canyon. Everywhere you looked, it was absolutely beautiful. Moreover, it was an incredibly peaceful hike as the trail was not crowded. I look forward to hiking this trail again with Jake and my hubby. Hopefully, we’ll get to see some fall colors on the hike and even have the chance to rappel down to the waterfall.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. This is an interesting book.

*Gentle Flow with Jennifer at Open Heart Yoga Studio

*I went for a mile run. Yesterday, I ran two miles.

*BBG 2.0. week 10 day 5: Abs, cardio and yoga

*It’s tough to be a parent, especially in this environment. I am lamenting the start of a new virtual school year.

*We have two more weeks until we start virtual school.

*This morning we were in cone of uncertainty for TS Laura.

*Goalielocks has his first official practice this evening. The new season has started. Party on!

*This week I have run seven miles so far!

*Today I ordered my first Butcher Box.

*For dinner, we are cooking a HelloFresh meal. I can’t wait to taste it! We are loving HelloFresh.

*I was left on the mountain. I had no trouble surviving the ordeal!

*Recently, I’ve been collecting checks for our team fund.

*I learned a new word today soupcon. This word means a small amount.

*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk.

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Another Day, Another Adventure

Another day, another adventure. Such has been our trip here in Utah. I love it here. Every day we spend time exploring the surrounding national forests, canyons, and mountains. Each trail gives us a special gift. Whether its a realization about life, a pretty view, or shared memories. Regardless of the adventure, everyone has taught me something or given me something in return. For example, our first hike here taught me that you should save the hard hikes for after your body acclimates to the altitude. Meanwhile, the hike to Donut Falls showed me the beauty and vastness of God’s creation.

Yesterday was no exception. We got a late start to the morning, which was fine because the temperatures have cooled down a bit since the 100s over the weekend. Also I knew the trial we were headed to had a lot of shaded areas. Lastly, we all needed to get some rest as Tuesday was a very busy day. My day started with an early trip into Salt Lake City to drop Melody at the airport. Fortunately, the drive was super easy and I got another hour of sleep once back to our AirBnB. Yesterday’s adventures included the Green Pond Trail near Snow Basin and the Hill Aerospace Museum. Both of these stops on our adventure tour were well worth the time and effort.

The Green Pond Trail is an easy to moderate trail near at the base of Mount Ogden. You do gain about 400 ft in altitude throughout the path, but it is a gradual ascent. The trail itself starts at an elevation near 6,000 feet. Honestly, this probably would have been the best trail for our first hike. Indeed, it is an excellent trail for mountain biking and for kids just starting to hike. Throughout the trek, the meadows and forest surround you. You can see the mountains through the canopy of the trees throughout, which makes for a beautiful vista. Overall, the hike took about an hour and burned nearly 600 calories.

Afterward we headed to the Hug-Hes Cafe in north Ogden. Since we’ve been here, I’ve been trying to take them to local spots. This one reminded me of Perkins as it had a bakery and a simliar lunch and dinner menu. Overall, the food was very tasty and inexpensive. This restaurant is also famous for its giant sugar cookies, so naturally I picked up three for the boys. Post lunch, we headed to Target to pick up some more snacks and a lot of water. We’ve already gone through more than 40 bottles of water throughout our hikes. Thankfully, they recycle here. I wish they had refill stations at or near the hikes as that would be much more efficient.

Once we had our supplies in hand, we headed to the Hill Aerospace Museum. It was awesome! We got there later in the day, so we didn’t have enough time to take in all of the exhibits. Consequently, I’m hoping to go back there today or tomorrow. Also the fighter wing was closed and the boys really want to peruse that exhibit. One thing that I loved about the museum is that it is staffed by retirees, who served in the Air Force and really have a passion for the history of aviation. Naturally, we also stopped in to the gift shop where I bought a rosewood model B-24 that will be displayed in our family room. They did have some wonderful sketches of the planes, but none featuring the B-24 on which my grandfather was a flight engineer.

As for our evening, we went back to the dealership to finish up the paperwork for Jake’s new car. That took way longer than it needed to, but this is always the case. For dinner, we headed back to In-N-Out burger so Jake could try it at last. After enjoying their burgers two nights in a row, we have all decided they need to come to Florida. Their burgers are phenomenal! We spent the rest of the night chilling at the AirBnB and were all in bed early. Today promises to bring more great adventures in the great outdoors.

Places we visited yesterday:

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read North & South by Elisabeth Gaskells.

*We are going back to visit the Hill Aerospace Museum.

*Another day, another adventure is in the cards.

*We are off to hike more magical places.

*There are some homeless folks here, but they seem to have shelters and programs in place for them. You see very little panhandling here.

*We’ll be grabbing dinner with Jake.

*The Mayor continues to be this trips Jester.

*Today my hubby sent me the best picture of my sweet Anakin.

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Magical Places

Utah is full of magical places. Yesterday we hiked to Donut Falls, which is located in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The entire canyon, the national forest it contains, and it’s majestic peaks make it a truly magical place. Since we got late starts to our weekend hikes, we made a concerted effort to start this hike earlier in the morning. This way, we would avoid the heat of midday. Fortunately, the canyon is at over 7,000 ft above sea level, and the temperature was in the mid-70s for the entire hike. The drive through the canyon was spectacular. It is an absolute dream!

The hike to Donut Falls is considered an easy hike, which is true. There are some difficult spots where you have to safely traverse up and down wet rocks, but that wasn’t too bad. At the end of the trail, is a beautiful waterfall. However, I was unable to see the donut. In order to see the legendary donut falls, you have to scale the rocky waterfall. Admittedly, I was not sure I was up to the task. It looked like a steep, wet, and scary climb. We made our way up the path to take a picture overlooking the falls. During this ascent, I decided I could handle the ascent up the waterfall to Donut Falls.

Thus the four of us began our ascent to Donut Falls. We traversed the creek via rocks and logs so that we could get to the climb. Unfortunately, we chose to ascend to the falls on the side, which was a much harder climb. Consequently, Melody and the Mayor decided to go back to shore. Goalielocks and I braved the slippery rocks and made our way up the waterfall. It was tough as the stones were smooth and slick in many places. However, the climb was worth the effort. The views of the canyon and the waterfall from Donut Falls were majestic and beautiful. It is definitely a hike that will satisfy your expectations. After our descent, we spent some time taking in all of the natural beauty of the falls before heading back to civilization.

After our hike, we headed to downtown Salt Lake City to explore and grab lunch. We shopped Trolley Square, the Gateway and 9&9. I wouldn’t go back to 9&9, but did like the antique store at Trolley Square and the Gateway has some fun activities for families. We also made our way to Temple Square. It was hard to get a good picture of the Temple as its undergoing construction to make the roof earthquake proof. Nevertheless, the Temple is gorgeous even when surrounded by construction equipment. The grounds were also a magical place that contained many buildings, such as the Tabernacle where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs. All in all, we liked Salt Lake as it was easy to navigate, but we enjoyed our hike and Big Cottonwood Canyon more.

We had a full day, so after our last shopping stop, we headed back to our Airbnb. For dinner, the boys and I had In-N-Out. The burgers lived up to the hype. Meanwhile, Jake and Mel enjoyed a date night back at his dorm. On Monday, we went to the dealership so that Jake could buy a car. He needs a car to drive to his job and get around his base, which is vast. Tonight we will go back to the dealership and finish up the paperwork for his car.

Monday, we had more of a low key day. The kids all slept in late, which was not surprising given how busy we were over the weekend. When they woke up, we visited the Pineview Reservoir, which afforded incredible views of the mountains and the Wasatch National Forest. The water was cold and refreshing, but we none of us remembered our bathing suits. We grabbed a quick lunch at Subway before heading into Ogden to explore the botanical gardens and historic 25th Street. We didn’t love the botanical gardens, so we weren’t there long. Unfortunately, when we went to the historic 25th street, all of the shops we wanted to visit were closed.

Places we visited Monday and Tuesday:

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read North & South by Elisabeth Gaskells.

*We are going to visit the Hill Aerospace Museum.

*We are off to hike more magical places.

*I’m going with Jake to finish the paperwork for his new car..

*There is no rain here, so no need for an umbrella.

*Today my hubby sent me the best picture of my sweet Anakin.

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Snow Basin Resort

Yesterday our adventures took us to the Snow Basin Resort, which is on Mt. Ogden. After a busy day Saturday, we all overslept. Consequently, we got a reasonably late start to our day. I was a bit worried that the heat and altitude would again be too much for us. Fortunately, I was wrong. We took the gondola up to the ski lodge, where the hiking trail to the summit of Mt. Ogden begins. Technically, you could hike up the entire mountain, but we were not about that life yesterday.

The scenery on the way up Mount Ogden was beautiful with mountains, valleys, and even a lake in the distance. It was a bit hot on the way up as the gondolas are fully enclosed. Once we reached the top of the ride, however, the temperature was significantly cooler, and there was a gentle breeze. The ski lodge was beautiful, with beautiful amenities and A/C. We took a brief respite in the lodge before heading up to the summit. Admittedly, I was quite nervous that this hike would be as challenging as Saturday’s. I think we were all pretty nervous.

Thankfully, this hike got off to a much better and more leisurely start. It wasn’t until the mid-point of our ascent to the summit that it became challenging. First of all, there were a lot of loose rocks on the trail, which makes it hard to find your footing sometimes. This was particularly true on the fringes of the path. Second of all, we were at an elevation of about 8,000 feet, which is a challenging environment for people not accustomed to the altitude. Nevertheless, I still felt much better throughout this hike than our first hike Saturday. The scenery throughout the entire hike was impressive. Moreover, while there were plenty of people and dogs on the hike, it remained quiet and serene. There was an incredible sense of peace on the mountain.

This time we all made it to the end of the hike. The summit of Mount Ogden did not disappoint. As you looked east, you saw the Great Salt Lake and Ogden. We even saw where we had hiked the day before. As we looked to the West, we saw the lake, national forest and several mountains. A top the summit, it was breezy and comfortable. Goalielocks found the perfect place to soak in the majesty of the mountain, while we finished the hike. Naturally, we all felt a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in completing the hike. While this hike had some difficult points, it was well worth the views afforded at the top of the summit. We will be going back.

Afterward we headed back to the AirBnB to change, so we could head to the mall and grab some lunch. Comparatively speaking, the mall was rather lackluster to our malls in South Florida. Nonetheless, it provided a good indoor activity when the heat of the day was at its peak. We also explored several cool stores and boutiques that we’ve never seen before, which was fun. For dinner, we headed East to Taggerts, which has been an institution in the Morgan Canyon for over a century. The service was quick, my soup was delicious and the burger didn’t disappoint.

We ended our day by dropping Jake back off at base, so he could be ready for work today. Our night ended comparatively early last night because we were all utterly exhausted. In fact, two of the three kids traveling with me are still sleeping. It’s almost 11:00 am here, so I’ll probably wake them up in a few minutes. However, after all of our activities over the last two days, I’m glad they’re sleeping in and catching up on some rest.

Places we visited yesterday

*Snow Basin Resort

*Taggart’s Grill

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I finished The Song of the Lark, by Willa Cather last night. Tonight I’m starting North & South by Elisabeth Gaskells.

*We are headed to Pineview Reservoir for some new adventures

*I’m going with Jake to buy a car tonight.

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*The truth is I’m looking forward to another day of adventure.

*We’re heading back to 25th Street for dinner at a cool burger place.

*Today my hubby sent me the best picture of my sweet Anakin.

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Day of Adventure

Yesterday was a day of adventure from the very beginning to the end. We started the day visiting Jake’s dorm and getting his laundry out of the dryer. As he finished his washing, we watched the fighter jets in complete awe of their magnificence. The mighty roar of their engines reverberating off of the mountains never gets old. Honestly, we could have sat and watched them all day. We also stopped by the BX to get some Air Force merch and supplies. As a mom, it gave me great satisfaction to see that where he is living is beautiful, neat, and safe.

Afterward, we headed back to the Airbnb to get ready for hiking. We decided to hike Waterfall Canyon. Unfortunately, our GPS couldn’t find it without taking us the wrong way. Consequently, we started our hike to the waterfall from the 29th Street trailhead. Admittedly, it was a grueling hike between the heat and the altitude. Goalielocks and Jake had no problem making it to the top, but the rest of us struggled. The weather was oppressive, but thankfully there was a mountain brook with cold water. We used the stones from the creek bottom to cool us off. This little hiking hack worked remarkably well, and we felt better, almost instantaneously.

We were on the trail for nearly two hours over the course of which I burned 800 calories. Hiking here is a great workout with an added bonus of incredible scenery. The rest of the afternoon took us back to the AirBnB to eat leftover and get ready for dinner. Our plan was to eat on 25th Street, which the Ogden equivalent to Delray Beach’s Atlantic Avenue. For dinner, we opted to try a highly rated Italian place called Rovalis. It did not disappoint! Everyone that worked there from the owner to our server was so nice and professional. Importantly, the food was even better than the service. I was so excited to see that they had several gluten free pasta options. Our meal at Rovalis definitely hit the mark after a day of arduous hiking

After dinner, we headed to Antelope Island State Park to watch the sunset and see some bison. What an incredible place! If you are ever in Utah, this is a must-see. It is incredibly beautiful and serene. Excitedly, we did see several wild bison on our drive up to the Buffalo Point trailhead. We hiked the trailhead to get the best views of the sunset. It was much more comfortable than our daytime hike, although we were still in our dinner attire.

Nevertheless, it was well worth the walk and the views did not disappoint. Honestly, they left us utterly breathless. Consequently, this place is an absolute must on any trip to Utah. It is well worth the $15 price of admission for the day. Hopefully, we can go back and rent bicycles so that we can explore the island more in-depth.

We ended our evening with a beautiful treat. Our friends, the Seefeldts, happen to be driving through Utah on their way back home from Vegas. We were able to meet up for a while and get caught up, which was an absolute treat. Truly, yesterday was an action pack day with so much beauty, happiness, and love. I’m looking forward to where our adventures will take us today. Naturally, we all slept in this morning after a hectic day. This morning, we’ll be heading to Snow Basin Mountain to ride gondola and hike to the top. It should be another fantastic day!

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read The Song of the Lark, by Willa Cather

*We are having scrambled eggs and toast in our AirBnB for breakfast

*We are headed to Snow Basin Mountain for a hike and gondola ride

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*I’m looking forward to another day of adventure.

*We’re heading back to 25th Street for lunch at a cool burger place.

*We’re going to stop at the mall and do some shopping.

*Today I wonder if anyone ever watched the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

*Today my hubby sent me the best picture of my sweet Anakin.

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One Happy Mama

I’m one happy mama this morning. Yesterday I finally got to see my son for the first time since BMT graduation in February. Our flights were uneventful and quick. Needless to say, they couldn’t end quickly enough. The anticipation of seeing my boys reunited was killing me.

The reunion took place at Target since we don’t have security passes. It was an amazing and happy as I had envisioned. My boy looks great albeit quite grown up. Seeing them together made we one happy mama. Also, it was mighty convenient since we could pick up some supplies before heading to our AirBnB.

The weather was super hot with an ambient air temperature of 103 degrees. Fortunately, there is no humidity here at all. Consequently, it does not feel as miserable as South Florida. In fact, we got out of dodge just as a hurricane is bearing down on our coast.

Our AirBnB is on the Eastern side of the mountains in a small neighborhood. It’s a basement apartment in a single family home. The place is gorgeous and super nice, however, it was a bit hot last night. Nonetheless, it will serve as a perfect jumping off point for our Utah adventure.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*I read The Song of the Lark, by Willa Cather

*We went to Scrambled for breakfast near the AFB. It was super yummy.

*We visited the AFB and shopped the BX before heading back to his dorm to hang pictures.

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*We’re going to go hiking this afternoon

*Today I wonder if anyone ever watched the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

*Today my hubby sent me the best picture of my sweet Anakin.

*We are watching the hurricane from a distance.

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Post Grad Let Down

Since we’ve been back from San Antonio, I’ve been experiencing somewhat of a post grad let down.  After eight weeks of hyper focus on Jake’s progress through BMT and regular updates from my Facebook support groups those days are over.  There isn’t a daily support group for Tech School like there is for BMT.  Fortunately, there is a base group, which I found to be quite helpful.  Tech school is a much different journey than BMT and is more individualized.

As for graduation weekend, it was the most incredible weekend of my life.  The first day began super early with the Airmen’s run.  I know I wrote it about it before, but it was just so cool that I had to mention it again.  I loved seeing Jake running with his flight and singing the Jodies as he jogged. Being on base was just as cool.  Lackland is ginourmous! (Is that even a word?). Afterwards, we watched him become an airman during the coin ceremony.  Before the beginning, there were fight jets and cargo planes taking off and flying over the base, which was wicked cool.

On Friday, we watched the Airman’s Parade, which is when the training squadrons pass by command in formation to be reviewed.  It was such a neat event.  Unfortunately, it was super cold and windy, so we were a bit uncomfortable as the wind whipped against our backs.  Fortunately, for Jake the wind was not as bad on the actual field.  I absolutely loved the parade, in spite of the cold, and was so proud watching my new airman and his wingman on the parade field.

The whole weekend everyone was nice.  Everywhere we went people were nice and happy.  It’s crazy when you think about how much time you spend in line, traffic, how crowded the base was and the tight timelines you’re dealing with.   Amazingly, the happiness and pride that comes with seeing your Airman again and watching them graduate BMT, seems to put everyone in a permanently positive mood.  Even when my hubby purposely took up two parking spots in order to ensure my brother would get a spot, nobody batted an eye.  The only comment was on how smart he was for parking that way.  It is such a unique and uplifting experience!

The first time I saw my Airman’s graduation picture, I cried with pride and joy.  He looks so grown up and confident.  Seeing him in uniform all weekend was incredible.   The transformation he underwent in the 8.5 weeks at Lackland was absolutely amazing.  He left us nervous and anxious.  When we got him back for the weekend, he was happy, confident, self assured, decisive and disciplined.  Thankfully, he made a lot of friends on his BMT journey that will be his friends for life.  I loved seeing him interact with his wingmen.   Knowing and personally witnessing that he is where he belongs was beyond comforting to my hubby and I.

Of course the best part of the weekend was spending time with my Airman and our family.  His girlfriend M travelled with us for the weekend.  Can I tell you how much we enjoyed our time together?  Can I tell you how much I loved seeing my son and his girlfriend together?  Seeing their love and support for each other through the weekend was the stuff mother’s dream about.  I love them together!

Our time off base was well spent hanging out with the grandparents, Uncle Jon and Aunt Brandi and of course J&M2 (my nickname for Jake and his girlfriend- they’re J&M2 because my bro and sister in law are the original J&M.). We played Phase10, Uno, took a trip to the Alamo.  It is small, but the grounds are beautiful.  Friday night we had a wonderful lunch/dinner on Riverwalk.  Everyone was so nice!  They treated Jake like a king!  People were constantly thanking and recognizing Jake for his service and commitment to our country.  Saturday’s food was the ultimate in “everything is bigger in Texas” maxim.  We had a 3 pound cinnamon roll and an 37 inch diameter pizza.  Both were as tasty as they were large.  I’ll write more about that in a future post dedicated to why you should visit San Antonio.  I loved San Antonio!

Nonetheless,  grad week is over and the adrenaline is gone.  I loved my weekend so much and the tap out of my airman was priceless.  There is a lot of worry when your child is in BMT because there’s minimal contact.  That first time you see and speak to them after BMT is magical.  Now he’s in Tech School and there’s still a lot of worry, but also relief in being able to speak with him regularly.  So well I may be suffering from the post grad let down, I am beyond proud of my son and happy that he has found his place in the greatest Air Force this world has ever known.   We are so proud to be Air Force parents!

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Detroit Weekend

Our Detroit weekend has absolutely epic. We ran into a bit of a snafu getting the rental car, but they were able to upgrade us into a vehicle that could actually fit our luggage and handle the snow. Victory! Our hotel was about twenty minutes west of the airport of of I-94. Fortunately, our hotel was on a golf course overlooking Ford Lake, which made for beautiful vistas.

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The weather when we landed was chilly, but not terrible. Our first game was at Yost Arena one the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. I found the arena to be beautiful, but quite a bit smaller than Mariucci Arena at the University of Minnesota. Unfortunately, the boys didn’t play their best hockey and we fell to the Gulf Coast Flames. The irony here, of course, was that we flew all the way to Michigan to play another Florida team.

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As we left the arena, the flurries had begun. In the overnight hours, the storm that had battered Minnesota, dropped eight inches of snow in Michigan. The golf course was absolutely beautiful. Growing up there was nothing better than looking out my backdoor and seeing the pristine, newly fallen snow. Saturday morning those memories came back as I gazed out over the freshly fallen snow covering the hotel grounds.

Thankfully, the roads had been cleared by the time we left for the Mayor’s game. Again it didn’t go great, but was a better effort than Friday night. The weather was perfect with temperatures in the 30s all day long. We enjoyed a quick late lunch at the hotel. That evening we were headed into downtown Detroit to see the Florida Panthers take on ten Detroit Redwings.

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So I had a great rental car, but I didn’t want to drive into downtown Detroit. Clearly, it’s on the list of cities I never want to get lost in. Consequently, I opted to ride with the assistant coaches in their large van (aka Frenchy’s bus.). They had window decals made with the Panthers logo and Frenchy’s and they were on fully display. I had to make fun of them both for being dorks except for….

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When we got to downtown and came to a barricade, our driver rolled down the window to ask security where we should go to find parking. The security guard, seeing the logos, waived us through the barricade. Consequently, we parked right in front of the stadium next to the police van. We all swore on all things holy that the can would be towed while we watched the game.

As for the game, there were some shenanigans with a guy from Windsor. That story from our Detroit weekend, however, will take up a full blog post. The boys had a fabulous time and the Cats brought home the W. Now it was crunch time, would the van still be there? Would there be a ticket on the windshield? How much would an Uber be from downtown to our suburban golf course?

We made our way out of the stadium anxiously awaiting our collective fate. The boys raced to where we parked. Alas, victory was ours and the van was still there. A new problem presented itself, however, in that all the pedestrian traffic leaving the stadium was in the alley where we parked.

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I envisioned us sitting there for hours waiting for the pedestrian traffic to clear. We finally caught a quick break in the traffic and we were able to pull out of the parking spot. No sooner had we pulled out of the spot, when the police cruiser parked near us turned on it’s lights. We were accepting in our fate. Obviously, we were about to get a ticket. Or not… Shortly after the cop put his lights on, he escorted us out of the alley and through the roads of Detroit. That’s right folks we had a police escort leaving the stadium!

The boys were over the moon excited as we ere escorted back to I-94 by the police car. Truly, us parents were also over the moon. What an experience to share with our boys and each other! It was so incredible how it all unfolded. Hockey trips can be expensive, but these moments that create incredible shared memories are what it is all about. I’m incredibly lucky to share this experience with my son.

Of course, Sunday brought more hockey and some hockey drama. The Mayor forgetting one skate at the hotel is going to be it’s on post. In the end, our weekend in Michigan was pure magic. As a hockey mom, I can’t think of any other place I’d rather be than with my kids at a hockey tournament. After all, it only last last for a short time.

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It’s Test Day

It’s test day here in sunny, but chilly for us South Florida. When I woke up this morning, exhausted from the weekend on the road, I was trying to think of every valid reason why I shouldn’t run or workout today. Truly, I was exhausted and couldn’t imagine the thought of pounding the pavement for two miles.

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Fortunately, coffee solved my motivation problem and I quickly changed my mind. After all, the weather was undeniably perfect for a run. While the weather conditions were perfect, my run was not. My time was improved over last week and the first mile felt pretty good. I ended up chopping a minute off of last week’s time. It may have something to do with the great Metallica riffs I was enjoying.

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Unfortunately, I still have 2.5 minutes to chop off my time.The one drawback of the run was me. Sadly, I have some soreness in my knees after yesterday’s dash through DTW (Detroit airport.) Apparently, when you return a rental car, you are also supposed to return the keys. Of course, I didn’t discover the keys in my purse until I got to my gate A12.

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I called Hertz, who instructed me to give the keys to the shuttle driver. That was all I needed. I left my stuff with my Mayor and booked it back to the ground transportation area. I only had about 20 minutes before they started boarding. Honestly, it felt great to run after a couple of rest days.

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In the end, I made it to the shuttle, back through security and back to my gate in less than 20 minutes. The only snafu was having to get patted down by security since my back was now so sweaty. Clearly, I apologized to the TSA officer for having to deal with me and my sweatiness. She replied that it was okay and that she’s seen much worse. So much for picking up a pre-flight Starbucks. It kind of felt like I was in a movie.

In the end, I knew I was taking a calculated risk in running today. After all, we ended out trip in Michigan with some White Castle sliders on Eight Mile Road. I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. It’s absolute insanity to eat White Castle before hopping on a flight.

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Thankfully, the Mayor and I are accustomed to the burgers, so I felt the risk was minimal. However, running a significant distance the morning after could be categorized as either brave or stupid. Spoiler alert, I survived the run with no intestinal issues.

Needless to say there’s no place like home. My skin is thrilled to be back in a place with humidity. Meanwhile, I’m ready to continue with the solid workout routine I’ve created. I’ll devote probably a couple posts to our weekend in Detroit because it was that awesome. I had aspirations of posting everyday, but the schedule and my energy level suggested differently.

So final test results for week 3: 16:51 for 1.5 mile run, 15 pushups and 28 sit-ups! Clearly, I have room for improvement. Next week, I should hit the sit-up number. The run, however, is going to take a few more weeks. Lastly, please keep our airman in your prayers!! It’s test day for him as well and this week is critical!

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