Disney Adventure - Day 9

Travel day. Back toward the arctic chill (though, thankfully, not as cold as where my aunt lives, where it was -13 this morning).

We left warm Kissimmee at 10am and, sadly, headed north, away from the magic of Disney World. We got on I-95 and drove back through the northern part of Florida, through the eastern part of Georgia, the eastern part of South Carolina, and into North Carolina. Tonight we find ourselves in Rocky Mount, NC at a Holiday Inn -- not a Holiday Inn Express, so no expectations of extraordinary abilities in the morning this time. :-)

It was a boring, uneventful day. J-Mav talked to himself and narrated while he played games on his CyberSmile. Keeper Boy complained about doing homework, but did some this morning. I finished my Michael Phelps autobiography and, amazingly, didn't sleep at all. Hubby did all the driving, apparently playing the alphabet game in his own head. I found this out only when he got to "x" and couldn't find anything because we were apparently past all of the trucker porn stops by then. We did pass the Risque Cafe; however, there were no Xs to be found on the signage.

We stopped for lunch/potty/gas in Jacksonville, FL, then at a rest area later in the afternoon. We stopped in Fayetteville, NC for dinner. We ate at Ruby Tuesday's, but decided that we'd drive through McDonald's for dessert and get back on the road for another hour or so. We got gas and then got in the line for the drive-through at what we now know to be the world's slowest McDonald's. No joke! There were three cars in front of us. I know the one directly in front of us ordered only two sundaes. We ordered two McFlurries, a milkshake, and a plain sundae. It took us -- and I am not exagerating -- 35 minutes to get through the drive-through line! We could've stayed at Ruby Tuesday's and ordered dessert there and gotten back on the road faster!!

After we FINALLY got our ice cream, we got back on the road (and ate it in less time than it took to GET it) and drove until we got to Rocky Mount. We had been following the NHL All-Star Game on my Blackberry, with live refresh every 30 seconds. We scanned the AM radio dial at the start of the game to see if we could find it somewhere, but we didn't. When we saw the game was going into overtime, we tried again. My reasoning was that we were close to Raleigh, which at least had a hockey team, so maybe it would be broadcast. Hubby scoffed, but we did find it! We were able to keep the station long enough to hear the call as "our own" Alex Ovetchkin made the game-winning goal for the East. And we had a little party in the van while we were driving up I-95. It probably looked pretty silly to anyone who happened to be passing by at the time... Return of the Jedi was playing on the entertainment system, J-Mav and Keeper Boy were staring at the screen but listening intently to the radio. Hubby and I were watching the road, but listening intently to the radio (because the station was starting to fade). When OV scored, we all threw our hands in the air and screamed "woo hoo!" Like I said, I'm sure it looked ridiculous. Anyway, shortly after that, we found this lovely, newly-built hotel to call home for tonight.

The boys were poking and annoying each other until we stuck them in separate beds to fall asleep (we'll move J-Mav in a minute when we go to bed), Hubby is checking his email, and I am updating the blog. Hmmm... it IS just like home.

Olie comes home tonight!

Oh how I wish I was going to be at the Verizon Center tonight to witness Olie Kolzig's return. I suspect he will get a rousing welcome when he is introduced as Tampa Bay's starting goalie, or at least when he comes onto the ice for the pre-game skate -- at least I hope so. Any positive reaction given by Caps fan should be loud and long, and will definitely be well-deserved.

I understand that a coach has to ride the "hot hand" and that Cristobal Huet had the hot glove hand down the stretch last season. But it still seems like Olie got the short end of the stick somehow. Here's a man who gave nearly 20 years of blood, sweat, and tears to the only organization he'd ever played for -- as well as its surrounding community. And he was basically benched for the last month of the hockey season. He was a leader both on the ice and in the locker room. And he was loved in the community. In a town that is not known for its love of hockey, his was a face that people actually recognized.

From all reports, Olie left Washington a bitter man. I get that. Could he have handled everything better than what was reported in the papers. Maybe. But, again, 20 years of blood, sweat, and tears. When he thought he'd play his entire career for one team -- a rarity in these days of exorbinate salaries and behavior problems among professional athletes -- I can see how the way it ended would be hugely disappointing and cause a guy to take his puck and go home. Or in this case, to Florida.

So now, tonight, Olie the Goalie returns to Washington. I really don't know how his season in Tampa Bay has been going as I barely have time to pick up a newspaper most days. I hope that time and distance has wiped away some or all of the bitterness and that he has some time to catch up with some of his friends/former teammates. I do know from reading one article in the paper this morning that he is basically the backup in Tampa, that he sold his house here in one day and traded up for a waterfront home in Florida, and that he had dinner with his former Capitals backup netminder, Brent Johnson, and a bunch of other Capitals last night.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to see much of the game as I have class tonight. However, when I do make it home and sit down to watch whatever is left of the game, it is going to be odd to see #37 with a lightning bolt on his jersey instead of the familiar logo of the Washington Capitals. I think, for me, seeing will definitely be believing. Seeing him in another team's jersey will make it real in my mind (though I hold out hope that somehow, someway, he will retire a Washington Capital and his number will hang in the rafters at Verizon Center). I'm sure it will break my heart all over again. So I hope he plays well for his "homecoming."

But not TOO well... ;-P

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Tuesday Morning Update: Well, the Caps won last night 4-2 over the Tampa Bay Lightening. From all reports, it was a near-capacity crowd that showed the love to Olie. A tribute was played on the Jumbotron during a stoppage in play toward the beginning of the game, and apparently Olie received a standing ovation. That's awesome. He had a job to do, so he probably didn't react much, and I'm sure he was hoping his return to DC would end differently; however, I'm glad the fans were gracious. Sometime returning players get booed. Apparently the tribute video ended with a screen that just said "Olie Kolzig - #37 - Forever a Capital." Nice words. Actions would've spoken louder, but it is what it is. But hopefully when Olie decides he's done and it's time to hang up his skates, the organization will find a way to bring him home so he can retire a Washington Capital.

Left-hand larceny

So hubby and I were watching the Caps game on the VS network last night, and there was some idiot doing the color commentary. His name was Daryl Reaugh. We looked him up on the Internet Hockey Database(www.hockeydb.com) and discovered he was a goalie that didn't spend much time in the NHL, but had a pretty decent minor league career. Anyway, he wasn't an awful commentator... EXCEPT when he pulled out his thesaurus. Good grief, the guy seemed like he was trying to use big words and lots of adjectives whenever he wanted to say something. It made for a lot of WTF?! moments during the game. Here are a few of my "favorites:"

"This should be delicious."
[Said after a penalty shot was awarded to Alex Semin... which he didn't get to take, anyway... the refs said Michael Nylander had to take it... no matter, he scored. But delicious? It's a hockey game, not a gourmet meal!!]

"... rather than the rah rah sis boom bah."
[Speaking of the quiet leadership style of the Canucks' Sedin twins. I'm just trying to picture the Sedin twins with pom poms in front of their teammates in the locker room...]

"That was left-hand larceny."
[Said after the Canucks' Roberto Luongo made a particularly nice glove save... as opposed to right-hand robbery, I guess.]

I don't know, I just thought some of the things this guy said were goofy.

A few other items of note during the game, which was great, by they way. The Caps won 5-1 and dominated throughout. Netminder Brent Johnson earned his 100th win while facing only 10 (yes TEN) shots on goal--a new franchise record. Way to go, Caps!

Next up: Pittsburgh on Thursday. Thursday is going to be a marathon of channel surfing for me. Grey's Anatomy is on. ER is on. The Caps are on. And the Phillies will be trying to win he NLCS and advance to the World Series for the first time since 1993! The remote will get a workout.

And speaking of the Phillies... while watching the Phillies game last night after the Caps game was over, I learned in passing that the team's pitching coach is named Rich Dooby. Hee hee. Might explain something about the nights when the pitching is less than stellar. :-)

There's a new scent in the air...

... fresh ice!! The NHL kicked off its regular season last night, and spirits couldn't be higher in our house! The NHL Center Ice package has been renewed, and we are geared up for another season of watching any and all hockey games going on at any given time.

Of course, our first love is the Washington Capitals, who open the season tonight in Atlanta against the Thrashers (which, by the way, is a stupid name for a hockey team). Let's go Caps! We'll be cheering from the comfort of our [thankfully] now-skunk-odor-free-sofa.

And Saturday night is the home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks. How I'd love to be there to witness the return of netminder Cristobal Huet to the scene of his late-season heroics in backstopping the Caps to a post-season appearance. This is not so much because I jumped on the Huet bandwagon--I am a firm and committed Olie Kolzig supporter and fan (and I'm heartbroken that he's no longer a Capital)--but more to see how the crowd reacts to him.

But alas, we will be in Raleigh, NC this weekend with Keeper Boy's hockey team, which has two games against the Jr. Hurricanes. At least if we can't see the "big boys" play in person, we'll still be catching some great hockey!!