ROAD TRIP!

[PCSPounder]

This thread is about OUR road trips, or even our teams’ road trips. This post is about one of mine 7 years ago (sort of by request), and you’ll note that it doesn’t even include teams at this level.

Thing is, I don’t see a thread like it elsewhere, The Lounge seems to be a place where they deliberately don’t mention hockey, and NHL and similar arenas are designed to pack as many people as possible into limited space and generally rely on simply being NHL arenas. The economics of that are understandable. Plus I usually go to at least one NHL game on each of my designated hockey trips. But part of the reason I place it here is because, at this level, being there is often more fun.

So, year 2001 or so, the Soccer America message board, we have a poster from North Dakota who posts a little snapshot of The Ralph. Partly due to the old digital cameras of the time, it looked like Oz. I had to go. Flying from Boise to Grand Forks was more than I was willing to spend, so I waited. Divorced, re-established ties to Portland, found someone, moved back to Portland, get to late 2013, and at some point I was able to express to my wife that this ought to happen (she’s comfortable with me going on these things, not at all comfortable accompanying me, so she doesn’t do hockey trips). Had enough flight miles to almost add further whimsy to the idea before she objected to going anywhere else fun (other than Chicago, as we’d gone the previous June), but I ended up on Amtrak to Everett (v the Winterhawks), fly from Sea-Tac to MSP, Amtrak to Grand Forks and back, Wild v Avalanche the following night.

A week before I fly out is when Illinois freezes over and closes their roads, Lake Michigan’s icy exterior popped up over Chicago, and train traffic isn’t going anywhere. This shouldn’t matter except that the train to Grand Forks has to first leave Chicago. Things supposedly opened up the Monday night prior to my departure, but being on the phone 90 minutes with Amtrak was fruitless, not even able to get an explanation for the “service disruption” message on the app for previous trains.

Took off to Everett on the second Wednesday in January, stayed in a motel whose bathroom was an inch too short for my health. Winterhawks won a tight one. The beer concession at the “open end” of their arena was more than handy.

Afternoon takeoff Thursday to Minneapolis, landing after circling around a while watching tiny dots skating on big ponds, lingering in a pub near the old Metrodome (in process of being prepped for demolition at that point), taking in a period of Wild at Arizona before trudging off downtown to get cash in 9° Fahrenheit and see if I’m going to have a train to catch. For some silly reason, I allowed a guy to borrow my phone at the bus stop toward Midway Station. When he gave it back on the bus, “Service Disruption” finally became “left Chicago 10 minutes ago,” and damn right I considered myself lucky.

I think I spent 7.5 hours in the station (maybe 45 minutes of it sleep) before the train was present and ready to board. Had to sit in a view car (no naps allowed). Remember by Fargo (9 hours late at that point) someone boarding and asking if they could speed up the train because she had a ticket to the Seahawks playoff game 24 hours later. 3 hours after that, finally in Grand Forks, check into my room, set the alarm for an hour of snooze, and wake up 2 hours later than that at 6:53 or so for a 7:30 game. A 2-minute shower later, walk a mile in snow (did well for a native Oregonian, 15° at that point) to the arena, the granite floor in the concourse, in an actual leather seat with cherry wood armrests (thought I’d bought a corner ticket, but no, mere seats from the center line 7 rows up). It was too much. Lot of pics and some video. Phil Knight has tried to out-do this in Eugene, but he couldn’t out-class this.

The 1:30 am train was known at this point to be 2 hours late; it caught up from 3, but lost it as two freight trains forced it to siding in view of our station. By the way, if I had tried the original idea of taking Amtrak’s Empire Builder all the way from Portland, whether I’d left Tuesday or Wednesday, I’d be late and on this train and angry because of delays out of Spokane. Slept back to Minneapolis, farted around as the temps rose well over 32°, was kind of impressed by the arena in St. Paul, Colorado showed some skill, the Wild not so much, lucky I wasn’t late flying home the next day.

Click to read more...

 

[JMCx4]

Can we even have these any more? I'm starting to wonder again lately.

 

[JMCx4]

I can't out-do the OP's opening play, but I would like to see this thread get some traction for entertainment & inspirational purposes. So in the spirit of reminiscing, here is a blog of one of my extended U.S. hockey road trips since the tradition got in my blood 10 years ago. These trips always mix hockey with local sightseeing & shopping, to fill the time between puck drops ...

Texas Hockey Road Trip, February 2017 (1,100 round-trip air miles + 1,000 road miles)

• Day 1: Flew to DFW. Visited Ft. Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum, After check-in at our B&B and a dinner out, my wife & I drove up to North Richland Hills to attend our Game #1 of the trip: NAHL’s Odessa Jackalopes vs. Lone Star Brahmas @ butt‑freezing cold NYTEX Sports Centre. ETA: I bought a Brahmas replica jersey & a t-shirt that night.
• Day 2: Thawed out. Took my wife to a couple of quilt shops (her traditional reward for being my road trip wing-woman & for sitting alongside me in butt-freezing cold arenas). Stopped at “the largest Christmas décor store in Texas”, where my wife bought a red & green fleece blanket that has become her “arena wrap” for our trips. Attended Odessa @ LSB Game #2, where the new blanket passed the test while the Brahmas completed the weekend sweep.
• Day 3: Drove from Ft. Worth to San Antonio (our first visit – well worth the drive). Strolled the River Walk in the evening and had an outdoor dinner along the SA River.
• Day 4: Another River Walk stroll after breakfast, shopping in La Villita Historic Village, and a tour on one of the many river barges. In the afternoon, we attended Game #3 of our road trip: AHL’s Texas Stars vs. SA Rampage @ the cavernous (and largely empty) AT&T Center. Returned to the River Walk post-game for dinner & more strolling.
• Day 5: Visited the San Fernando Cathedral (c. 1870), and shopped at the Historic Market Square Mercado. We joined a very good guided tour of The Alamo in the afternoon, followed by more River Walk-ing (our B&B was a short walk away just south of the River Walk commercial area). We had early dinner in the revolving restaurant near the top of Tower of the Americas, followed by a return to the Main Plaza in front of SF Cathedral to watch the amazing multimedia show “The Saga” projected on the Cathedral’s front façade.
• Day 6: Drove from San Antonio to Austin, via a detour thru the Texas Hill Country for lunch & another quilt shop stop in Fredericksburg, TX. After hotel check-in, we stopped for dinner then drove on to Game #4: AHL’s Manitoba Moose vs. Texas Stars @ the unremarkable H-E-B Center in Cedar Park.
• Day 7: More quilt shops (go figger). Visited the Blanton Museum of Art on the University of Texas-Austin campus. Had an outdoor lunch at the Hula Hut overlooking the then-shrinking Lake Austin.
• Day 8: Drove from Austin to Allen, Texas. Attended Game #5: ECHL’s Wichita Thunder vs. Allen Americans @ the equally unremarkable Allen Event Center (one of the cookie-cutter minor pro arenas built by the Global Entertainment Corp. who owned the Central Hockey League).
• Day 9: Drove from Allen to Wichita Falls, TX. Stopped in for a short (that turned into a long) visit to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, which deserves a “hidden gem” title & is a must-see for anyone who grew up watching wrestling on TV (even the WWF/WWE era crowd). We chatted at length with former pro wrassler & President of the PWHF Board of Directors “Cowboy” Johnny Mantel. After that cultural treat, we checked in to our hotel then attended our final Game #6 of the road trip: NAHL’s LS Brahmas vs. Wichita Falls Wildcats @ Kay Yaeger Coliseum (reminiscent of a large high school or small college auditorium). ETA: Bought another t-shirt.
• Day 10: Drove from Wichita Falls back to DFW for the flight back home to recover.

And who says Texas doesn’t have hockey?

 

[JMCx4]

I still can’t compete with the riveting tale from @PCSPounder that kicked off this thread. But here’s another memorable road trip for me ‘n’ Mrs. JMC ...

East & Central Midwest Hockey Road Trip, March 2014 (approx. 1,150 road miles)

• Day 1: Drove to Ft. Wayne, IN. Attend our Game #1 that night: ECHL’s Florida Everblades vs. FTW Komets @ the cavernous & advertising littered Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Long drive, long game night, slept soundly after.
• Day 2: Back on the road, headed to Toledo, OH. Spent a couple of afternoon hours at the Toledo Museum of Art (I highly recommend their art glass collection). Attended Game #2: ECHL’s Komets vs. Toledo Walleye @ the downtown Huntington Center. It was their annual Green Ice Game (day before St. Patrick’s Day), and we got to join the post-game skate on the choppy but still-green ice.
• Day 3: Again on the road for St. Patty’s Day, north to Michigan then west to Kalamazoo (after a scheduled quilt shop stop outside of Ann Arbor). Game #3 was another Green Ice Game: ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears vs. Kalamazoo Wings @ the cozy Wings Stadium. Previous snowfall was piled so high around the parking lot that we could barely see the arena as we parked our car. But we enjoyed the game in the small chilly rink, as well as the bagpipers circling the concourse pre-game.
• Day 4: Yet another driving day, this time from snowy K’zoo to the Northwest Chicago ‘burbs to visit with our sister-in-law for a couple of days. We took the rest of that day off to rest our butts, and to enjoy some local cuisine.
• Day 5: Visited an old friend of my wife, and I took the Mrs. to fill up on sewing supplies at another local quilt shop (cost of doing hockey). In the evening, we attended our final Game #5: NHL’s St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago Blackhawks @ the (did I say Ft. Wayne’s arena was cavernous?) United Center. An almost overwhelming venue, with a great hockey atmosphere. I had secured 3 tickets from a group purchase of local folks at a company that I was doing business with at the time, so we sat at nearly the top of the arena with ticketholders who were only occasional hockey game attendees (not much intelligent puck convo going on). I swore we were about a mile from the ice surface, but the sightlines were surprisingly good. And the Hawks fans are certainly an enthusiastic bunch, especially with a regional rival in town. Lucky for us, the Hawks blanked Mrs. JMC’s favorite Blues that night, so we escaped the premises with nothing more than semi-friendly razzing after the game to keep us humble.
• Day 6: Took a detour to Oswego, IL, for some Giordano’s Chicago deep dish pizza (my personal fave). Then we drove back home to St. Louis with our stomachs full & lots of hockey under our straining belts.

 

[JMCx4]

C’mon, folks, I’m runnin’ outta material here ...

Florida Hockey Road Trip, February 2018 (1764 air miles + 760 road miles)

• Day 1: Flew to Orlando, then drove south to Bonita Springs on the Florida Gulf Coast for a couple of days of vacationing & good food ... and hockey, of course.
• Day 2: Joined a morning kayaking tour of Estero Bay & Bonita Beach & the shallow estuary complex in between, first time in a kayak for me & Mrs. JMC. I snapped a lot of photos from the back seat, while dodging backward glances & accusations of shirking my paddling duties. Had we attempted this tandem adventure earlier in our marriage, we might’ve not made it this far. But both the relationship & the kayakers survived without lingering dispute (nor any alligator sightings), and the leisure activity has since become a shared favorite of ours. The remainder of the day was dedicated to eating & relaxing.
Day 3: We visited Barefoot Beach Preserve County Park in the morning, where we walked the shore line & collected our share of seashells to bring back home like all landlocked tourists do. After shedding the sands & eating lunch @ the very good Shrimp Shack in Ft. Myers, we drove around the area for our traditional quilt shop hopping. That evening, we attended our Game #1 in nearby Estero, FL: ECHL’s Allen Americans vs. Florida Everblades @ then-Germain Arena (since rebranded to Hertz Arena). We sat among some very friendly & laid back locals, and enjoyed a competitive game.
• Day 4: We left our brief beach life behind, and drove across the state to the Atlantic Coast then north to a lunch stop at a marina in Melbourne for a short catch up with some retiree friends. Then we continued north along the coast to our next destination of Jacksonville, FL. I wasn’t feeling well (URI), so we skipped that night’s hockey game (would’ve been our 2nd of 4 games planned) for me to sleep a few extra hours. Then we ate a late supper at a small Italian place in the historic & uber-popular Avondale neighborhood a few blocks from the St. Johns River (after circling the area for about 15 minutes before we found a street parking space).
• Day 5: Felt slightly better after sleeping overnight, and buying some OTC meds. We attended Sunday morning services at the beautiful Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on the north side of Downtown JAX. Stopped for lunch in the modern Bohemian 5 Points neighborhood, then returned to our B&B to rest up some more before game night. We attended Game #2 in the evening, ECHL’s Americans vs. Jacksonville Icemen @ the Veterans Memorial Arena in the sports park area at the east end of downtown. Modern facility with decent sightlines & relatively comfortable seating.
• Day 6: Feeling even better after more meds & sleep. We drove across town to visit the early 1800s‑era Kingsley Plantation in the National Park Service’s Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve. Self-guided tour, quite different from the plantations we had visited in Louisiana, but worth the time. Stopped at the quirky European Street Café in the Riverside neighborhood for a late lunch, hung around the nearby B&B for the rest of the afternoon, then walked several blocks to share a very good pizza & generous salad at the neighborhood gem Carmine’s Pie House. We were rushed to complete our meal, as the regular Monday Trivia Night crowd was hovering around “our table” as we finished our last bites & closed out our bill.
• Day 7: Visited 3 quilt shops around the Greater Jacksonville Area in the morning & early afternoon. In the evening we drove back to downtown to visit the languishing Jacksonville Landing shopping & entertainment complex on the north bank of the St. Johns River (which a few months later was the site of a restaurant mass shooting, and the complex was eventually demolished after a long legal battle between the development owner & the city). From there we took a water taxi to the South Bank, where the advertised light show at the deteriorating Friendship Fountain never happened; but there was a consolation show of pulsating colored lights at dusk that lit some of the Downtown JAX tall buildings & the Main Street Bridge crossing the River. Water taxi back to the North Bank, and back to the B&B.
• Day 8: We left the mixed bag of Jacksonville, and drove south along the Atlantic Coast to Flagler Beach for an unremarkable seafood lunch stop. From there we worked our way southwest to the Orlando area for a two-night stay with my elder sister.
• Days 9 & 10: Hung out at my sister’s condo, and made visits to the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens and the scenic Lake Monroe Riverwalk. Meals were all at local joints, with the only noteworthy stop being at the Corner Café in Downtown Sanford, FL, where owner/chef Michael O’Brien continues to this day to serve up a good meal & a memorable dining experience in his small storefront. We attended our Game #3 on the 9th evening of our Florida loop trip, driving into Downtown Orlando to watch the ECHL’s Worcester Railers vs. Orlando Solar Bears. That was our third visit to Amway Center for hockey games, and it always strikes me as way too much arena for a mid-level minor pro hockey team. But the Solar Bears are lucky to have it as their home ice, even if they do have to shuffle their schedule regularly to accommodate their NBA Big Brothers.
• Day 11: End of our Florida Peninsula adventure. We flew back to STL from MCO to unpack and get ready for our next monthly road trip (MUCH closer to home).

 

[Bondurant]

The only dedicated hockey trip I took was March 2019. I flew to Newark to visit my friend. Public transit from Newark Penn to New York Penn. Took in a Devils road game at MSG. Then we drove up to Montreal to watch a Red Wings game. They lost but I was able to see Carey Price make Habs history. Cool to see. Still have my Montreal newspaper from the next morning. Already looks a decade old.

A dedicated minor league trip would be a lot of fun. Knew a guy that spent a lot of time traveling Canada for junior hockey games. Made a bit of a name for himself in some circles. One town wrote an article about him for their paper. Wish I could remember the team/town that he received the write-up from.

 

[PCSPounder]

Can we even have these any more? I'm starting to wonder again lately.

I just delivered my daughter all the way across the country to her grad school in a bouncy rental cargo van. Within 24 hours of the arrival of a wannabe hurricane. I will never live that one down.
I would avoid any team that isn’t doing proper controls for fans. But I will say this.
American media portrays a country going back out there and doing all the things. While there are concerning gatherings now and then, this is a half-truth. I’d say most people aren’t taking big risks for trivial things. Where I visited and what I saw was anything but full motels or other attractions. So it ironically may be a better time to travel, IF YOU DO IT RIGHT.
We (eventually just I) attacked every motel room with disinfectant spray and wipes. All the likely touch points managed. Never ate inside a restaurant, limited other visits (certainly avoiding indoors when possible)… and I even trained for this with day trips, timing myself for bladder control, etc. Disposable masks so you’re not indoors washing cloth masks every 2-3 nights (I did do a wash twice in 15 nights, fortunately I wasn’t competing with anyone for washers or dryers).
Renting the van avoided crowds for flights and other public modes. Which doesn’t likely bode well for January, but neither does the likelihood that this will get licked by then. I’d shoot for October or March, as long as you have learned how to manage risks.

 

[JMCx4]

... I would avoid any team that isn’t doing proper controls for fans. But I will say this. American media portrays a country going back out there and doing all the things. While there are concerning gatherings now and then, this is a half-truth. I’d say most people aren’t taking big risks for trivial things. Where I visited and what I saw was anything but full motels or other attractions. So it ironically may be a better time to travel, IF YOU DO IT RIGHT. ...

Renting the van avoided crowds for flights and other public modes. Which doesn’t likely bode well for January, but neither does the likelihood that this will get licked by then. I’d shoot for October or March, as long as you have learned how to manage risks.

Thanks for the firsthand road experiences. Me 'n' Mrs. JMC are using our late September round-trip to Pittsburgh as a "trial run" for further road trips this coming season. Original plan was to attend some TBD number of the USHL Fall Classic games @ UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex to test our tolerance of pandemic hockey crowds (with intent to focus on weekday games when the attendance would be lower); but I'm still waiting for a public ticket sales announcement, and I'm growing increasingly doubtful one will come. Nevertheless, we've agreed to make the trip for an overdue getaway (last one was a long weekend in early June) & I'm renting a car this time to check out our local agency's advertised protocols for customer health & safety. So we're avoiding airports & will have room in the rental vehicle for en route meal items and disinfectant products (plus extra masks). We've booked a room for 7 nights at a small privately owned B&B out in the countryside of Western PA (avoiding lodging crowds), and I've identified a few collections of outdoor dining & curbside pickup options around the area as well as outdoor tourism destinations if the hockey thing completely falls through.

Much of this Sept. journey will inform my detailed plans for a March 2022 hockey road trip through Georgia & South Carolina (delayed from earlier Jan/Feb target dates), which will add a round-trip air aspect contingent on public health conditions & flights-with-seats availability as those dates grow closer. Just one more complication - admittedly a major one - in resuming the annual series of road trips we've made since 2011 (minus 2020-21). But we can only hunker down & watch hockey via web streams for so long. The road beckons, and we're ready to fight the good fight.

Safe travels to all.

 

[JMCx4]

More warm weather hockey travels, this time during the season of the AHL’s Westward Migration (Part 1) ...

Southern California Hockey Road Trip, January 2016 (3140 air miles + 800 road miles)

• Day 1: Flew to John Wayne-Santa Ana Airport, then drove south to the San Diego area for a 4-night stay to tour & shop & eat & attend a hockey game. My wife & I walked to a very good neighborhood Italian restaurant that first night, Parma Cucina Italiana.
• Day 2 thru Day 4: Took the SEAL Tour on our first full day in town, to refamiliarize ourselves with San Diego (it had been 15+ years since we’d visited together with our teenaged son in tow). We spent the rest of that day @ Seaport Village shopping & eating, then returned to our B&B. Day 3 was dedicated to a guided tour of the USS Midway aircraft carrier (the tourism highlight of our SD visit, highly recommended by The JMCs, especially for the very knowledgeable tour guides who either served on the Midway or on similar vessels), followed by a visit to Coronado Island to walk around inside the historic hotel & stroll the golden sand beach. Day 4 started with a quilt shop loop drive, and ended with Game #1 of our SoCal trip: AHL’s San Jose Barracuda vs. San Diego Gulls at the very dark & aging Valley View Casino Center (now the Pechanga Arena). Good hockey with an enthusiastic home crowd, but not a venue that I’d wish to visit again.
• Day 5: We regrettably departed from the San Diego area & drove northward via the I-5 Freeway thru Riverside & San Bernardino, continuing into the Mojave Desert (with a lunch & pie must-stop @ a Marie Callender’s) to stay overnight while visiting with some old friends in Ridgecrest, CA. One of many arid settlements claiming to be the “Gateway To Death Valley” (chamber of commerce desperation), Ridgecrest is a high desert town whose descriptive adjective became “godforsaken” for me from the first time I entered the Indian Wells Valley on a 115-degree mid-August day back in the mid-1990s.
• Day 6: More high desert driving, skirting the south end of the stark Sierra Nevada mountain range & heading west to Bakersfield, CA. We hit a couple of local quilt shops after hotel check-in, then had an unremarkable & overpriced Italian dinner not far from our Game #2: AHL’s Texas Stars vs. Bakersfield Condors @ Rabobank Arena (since rebranded Mechanics Bank Arena). Another not-very-attractive hockey venue, but the Condors are the only team I can recall that had 3 differently identified mascots on the payroll. So they had THAT going for them.
• Day 7: Escaped Bakko early, driving south to reconnect with I-5 to spend a few hours @ L.A.’s Venice Beach. The winter weekend crowd was in fine form as we strolled The VB Boardwalk (with a brief wander onto the parallel bike path – a tourist gaff for which we were loudly chastised by the locals) then we explored the nearby Venice Canal Historic District to admire and often shake our heads at the overpriced residential real estate. From the beach scene, we drove east to Ontario, CA, where we stayed for another overnighter to take in our final Game #3 of the CA trip: AHL’s Condors vs. Ontario Reign @ then-named Citizens Business Bank Arena (now one of a handful of “Toyota Center” arenas in North America). We were joined by a local couple of friends & their pre-teen granddaughter from Anaheim, none of whom had been to a minor pro hockey game. Unfortunately our very cramped nosebleed seats did not give them a very favorable impression of the hockey watching experience, but there was no way we were gonna pay what the Reign were getting for single-game lower bowl seats @ CBBA. On a positive note, I got to add a 3rd hockey arena to my growing list (plus a Reign replica jersey); so at least one of us got something out of the evening besides the socialization opportunity.
• Day 8: Me ‘n’ the missus attended Sunday morning services at the small but beautiful San Secondo d’Asti Catholic Church, before returning to John Wayne A/P for our long flight back home.

 

[royals119]

I just delivered my daughter all the way across the country to her grad school in a bouncy rental cargo van. Within 24 hours of the arrival of a wannabe hurricane. I will never live that one down.
I would avoid any team that isn’t doing proper controls for fans. But I will say this.
American media portrays a country going back out there and doing all the things. While there are concerning gatherings now and then, this is a half-truth. I’d say most people aren’t taking big risks for trivial things. Where I visited and what I saw was anything but full motels or other attractions. So it ironically may be a better time to travel, IF YOU DO IT RIGHT.
We (eventually just I) attacked every motel room with disinfectant spray and wipes. All the likely touch points managed. Never ate inside a restaurant, limited other visits (certainly avoiding indoors when possible)… and I even trained for this with day trips, timing myself for bladder control, etc. Disposable masks so you’re not indoors washing cloth masks every 2-3 nights (I did do a wash twice in 15 nights, fortunately I wasn’t competing with anyone for washers or dryers).
Renting the van avoided crowds for flights and other public modes. Which doesn’t likely bode well for January, but neither does the likelihood that this will get licked by then. I’d shoot for October or March, as long as you have learned how to manage risks.

The transmission of Covid-19 via touch has been shown to be minimal. It is transmitted primarily via respiration (breathing in virus particles that someone else breathed out - typically attached to moisture droplets). One of the good things to come out of this pandemic is a renewed focus on cleanliness and hand washing, which is good for many reasons. However, if you are taking particular precautions for Covid, wiping down the hotel room with disinfecting wipes is probably pretty low in the risk/benefit ratio. I would focus on wearing a mask, social distancing, and otherwise avoiding >15 minutes of face to face time with unvaccinated people.

I went to Florida last month for a professional conference. While the plane was full, and the terminal crowded shortly before boarding, it wasn't difficult to keep a distance from most people, most of the time, and the airlines are enforcing masks rigorously. That means either KN-95, surgical, or multilayer cloth. (Gaiters, handkerchiefs, etc were not acceptable.) You couldn't board without one, and it had to stay on except for actively eating or drinking, and they were taking it seriously. (They only served drinks once, and a small pack of crackers, so there wasn't much eating or drinking to do. My return flight had a lot of turbulence, so they didn't serve any food or drinks. I was lucky to get an offer for a cheap upgrade to first class shortly before my trip - and the person in the seat next to me was a no-show both times. I guess the biggest risk would be to be seated next to someone who brought food with them, and was purposely eating slowly to keep their mask off for a long period of time. While in the hotel for 5 days I only encountered another person occasionally, and that was simply passing in the hallway. They were only cleaning rooms when you check out, so no maids in the room once you check in, unless your request something. The breakfast room was almost empty on the weekdays. On the weekends it was busier, but still plenty of open tables, and of course you could take the food back to your room if you chose. People were pretty respectful - for example, no one would get on the elevator if there was already someone else in there. I was actually surprised that more people were wearing masks in public there, than where I live in PA. Walmart's here are about 10% masked, where in FL I saw about 75% of people wearing masks in WalMart. The media would make it seem like Florida is the wild west of Covid, but the average citizens seemed to be doing the right thing most of the time.

Surgical masks are pretty cheap, and easy to get on Amazon. I keep a pack in my car and toss after each use. I wear one all day at work as a health care provider, so I'm pretty used to them by now and don't find it a big inconvenience.

 

[JMCx4]

... if you are taking particular precautions for Covid, wiping down the hotel room with disinfecting wipes is probably pretty low in the risk/benefit ratio. I would focus on wearing a mask, social distancing, and otherwise avoiding >15 minutes of face to face time with unvaccinated people. ...

Agree with your approach, EXCEPT I'd reduce that "face to face time" number to something well under a minute as long a Delta and/or equivalently infectious variants are spreading in your location.

Still, we each should establish our own levels of risk acceptance & consistently act accordingly. And ALL enjoy our hockey.

 

[PCSPounder]

The room attack shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes.

The Friday in the Providence suburbs, where we were trying to find a restaurant with outdoor seating and less crowds and it was a bit late for reservations anyway (had to shop for some storage stuff)… we should have taken at least 10 minutes to research before we started driving around. It’s not like we weren’t giving proper attention to distancing and the more important measures.

But the person in Wyoming who challenged my daughter’s mask-wearing (naturally, I wasn’t in the area at that moment) should feel lucky that I wasn’t there to mention that I work for a hospital and otherwise bore them to death. I did buy the same sort of masks we’re required to wear in the office (when there, which isn’t that often anymore), and that was likely the smartest of my decisions on several fronts.

 

[JMCx4]

Not that I don't appreciate the travel health tips (I have a feeling they’ll be topical for many road trip seasons to come), but back on the original topic ...

Nova Scotia Hockey Road Trip, May 2019 (Canadian Hockey League Memorial Cup in Halifax) (2975 air miles + approx. 1600 road miles)

Me ‘n’ Mrs. JMC spent 12 days in the Canadian Maritimes, for the primary purpose of attending the annual Memorial Cup tournament played among that season’s top CHL member clubs (WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, OHL’s Guelph Storm, QMJHL Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) and the host QMJHL Halifax Moose @ Scotiabank Centre on the steep hillside in Downtown Halifax. We ended up attending 6 of the 8 tournament games played over 8 days of competition. That part of the itinerary left us plenty of time to explore the sights around Halifax, and to rack up the miles on our rental car & a couple of hired bus tours to see the western third of Nova Scotia plus popping up to New Brunswick for a day trip. Highlights follow.

Memorial Cup Experience: One of those “Must Do Before You Die” events for hockey fans. I chose the Halifax-hosted tournament because of timing, and because I had long wanted to visit the Maritimes (with hockey being a good excuse to go). The atmosphere inside the arena was very reminiscent of the U.S. NCAA Division I Frozen Four tournaments, with enthusiastic fans from all across country (Canada in this case) wearing their home team jerseys and rooting loudly for their favorites (or their adopted favorites if their home teams didn’t make the Top 4). The main & lower level concourses were always packed with fans buying merch & concessions and using the facilities; but everyone was polite & willing to accommodate passers-through. With Halifax having a very compact downtown area surrounding the arena, we couldn’t help but mingle with lots of other hockey fans (always wearing their team gear) when we walked to/from the parking garages and to restaurants & the shopping mall & the harbour & museums & other attractions between games. Everyone was friendly and ready to strike up a conversation, from fans to arena staff to the downtown proprietors & staff.

The seats we reserved on the day-of-public-offer for the tourney were in the upper tier of the arena, which has a very narrow view of the ice surface due to overhanging seating boxes added since the arena opened. But we luckily were assigned a pair of seats in a row whose position gave us an unobstructed view of the width of the rink & the player benches on the far side (see game day photos from my public Flickr account by clicking the Scotiabank Centre link above). We sat next to two couples who had driven over from the Barrie, ON area, and they were as cordial as any hockey fans we've ever met in our travels. For one of the games, a kindly usher pulled us aside as we entered and gave us two of his season seats that were a half-dozen rows up from the glass just inside one of the bluelines. My wife & I even got a cameo appearance on the center ice video board during that game; I suspect it was because she was wearing her favorite St. Louis Blues sweater during the Stanley Cup run, but I waved at the camera anyway per tradition.

The Memorial Cup was a very memorable hockey experience for both of us, one we’d definitely recommend if you ever get the chance. The tournament moves around Canada year-to-year, so you can pick-n-choose a destination that suits your interests & hope you can secure tickets for the event.

OT Notes (since we traveled all that way) ...

Halifax Highlights: We definitely got our daily exercise during our visit, with the topography of Downtown Halifax reminding me of a smaller San Francisco or Seattle. But most of the streets are laid out in grids, plus a few angled thoroughfares and accommodations for the harbour shoreline, so with the ample sidewalks it’s a walking-friendly town as long as you save up your energy for the uphill treks. We never felt unsafe day or night; and once we got used to the pedestrians-first rule of traffic flow we had an easy time getting where we were going without delays.

As for Halifax touring attractions, we enjoyed the Halifax Waterfront (lots of good restaurants/bars & some specialty shops & outdoor food/merchandise vendors in warmer weather (including Canada’s iconic BeaverTails pastries – YUM!) & a long boardwalk offering walking access to a museum complex plus a farmers market at the south end of the harbor); the Canadian Museum of Immigration (historical & personal perspectives via excellent displays illustrating the significance of one of the country’s largest ports of entry); and our shared favorite – despite being our most difficult walk up to the high ground - the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site (historically commanding views of the surrounding land & water, and fascinating history lessons).

Western Nova Scotia Destinations: By either rental car or tour bus (the latter being a rare option for The JMCs on our vacations but the tour guides made us grateful we broke tradition), our most memorable destinations were … Hall’s Harbour (to witness both the low tide & the high tide points in one day on the Bay of Fundy – which has the largest tidal range of any place on Earth); Old Town Lunenburg (a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its architecture & cultural history); and Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse & Village (a very scenic rocky Atlantic Coast fishing village).

New Brunswick Side Trip: Probably our #1 tourism destination during our nearly two-week stay, where we got to walk on the muddy Atlantic Ocean floor during low tide @ Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park. The Bay of Fundy never disappoints.

 

[JMCx4]

Western Washington State Hockey Road Trip, September/October 2019 (3,400 round-trip air miles + approx. 300 road miles and countless steps)

PART 1 - HOCKEY STUFF
• Day 1: Flew to Seattle-Tacoma International, stopped for a tasty late lunch at Duke's Chowder House in Tukwila, then continued north to Everett, WA, for the 3-day 9-game Western Hockey League Preseason Classic tournament.
• Days 2 thru 4: My wife & I stayed in hotel near the freeway (luckily equipped with decent soundproofing), and either drove or walked (depending on our daily schedule) the relatively short & decidedly hilly distance to the home ice of the Everett Silvertips inside the Angel of the Winds Arena in Downtown Everett. The Tips hosted 5 other WHL teams over that Labor Day weekend, with each team playing 3 exhibition games (one each day per team): Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs, Tri-City Americans, and Vancouver Giants.

The daily games were scheduled late morning & mid-afternoon & evening, giving us time between to explore Everett's walkable downtown area for dining options and a short visit to the quirky Funko toys & collectibles store. The odd detail of the hockey tourney for fans was that tickets were sold as individual game admissions; so the arena staff would shoo us all out of the building between games, then scan the next game's tickets with another security check upon re-entry. AOTW is a medium sized arena without many frills, but the sightlines are good for hockey with relatively comfortable seating while the sparse crowds afforded plenty of general admission seating location choices. The small contingents of visiting team fans were all enthusiastic & supportive (clearly anxious to have the REAL season begin), and there was friendly chatting among the groups each time we had to stand in line again outside the arena for readmission.

We attended 8 of the 9 games played, skipping the morning match on the middle day for mandatory quilt shop visits and an outdoor lunch & some antique/gift/home decoration shop browsing in the attractive little tourist town of Snohomish, WA. We also squeezed in a morning visit to the under-appreciated Evergreen Arboretum & Gardens prior to the start of the tournament.

PART 2 - TOURISTY STUFF
• Day 5: Departed Everett & headed for Seattle. We stopped for lunch at Ray's Cafe on Shilshole Bay, along the Puget Sound northwest of the city. Excellent food & a great water view from the outdoor dining deck. That afternoon we checked in to our Airbnb condo unit in the basement of a residential building in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood near downtown.
• Days 6 thru 8: It was our first visit to Seattle (or anywhere else in the Pacific Northwest), so I wanted to see & do as much as we could because we're unlikely to return (too many other bucket list places & hockey teams/arenas to enjoy). Highlights outside the Seattle core included: a day-long boat tour of the Puget Sound & adjacent waters with a stopover at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island (lunch & some shopping) AND a successful search for a small pod of elusive orca in Canadian waters (our first whale watching tour was a memorable one); a half-day bus tour around Seattle & out to Snoqualmie Falls, led by a photography enthusiast with a very good eye & knowledge of the craft to share with his tour group; and a drive over to Bellevue Botanical Garden for a shady wander. The remaining 1-1/2 days we did a LOT of walking (plus a couple of handy Monorail rides) around the hillside city, trying some neighborhood restaurants (Pike Place Chowder in Post Alley being the only meal worth mentioning) & exploring Pike Place Market and Seattle Center (including a peek at the KeyArena reconstruction site, a visit to Chihuly Garden and Glass, and a daytime ride up to the observation deck of the Space Needle). We also watched some talented glass blowers at work in their urban studio a block from our rental condo.
• Day 9: We flew back home with less money & more pictures to download.

 

[PCSPounder]

Preface: April 1989, Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Game 3, WHL championship. I believe Swift Current scored 4 goals in the 1st period. I know this blur named Sheldon Kennedy was skating past, through, and around the Portland Winterhawks. I step out to the concourse after the 1st, look towards the sun preparing to set over the West Hills, wondering if I’m doing the right thing when I move out in a bit more than 3 weeks, unsure/unaware of the adventures awaiting. Even if I was only moving to an island kind of between Seattle and Vancouver.

I did go to both Game 3 and Game 4 as Swift Current blasted Portland in a decisive sweep, and many of you know the story far better than I did at the time.

July 2017: I was working so much overtime that summer that I could hardly lift my hand to attempt to make my temporary promotion permanent (which didn’t seem worth it, and I may have been correct). I was a wreck. But the money made for the thought that maybe, just maybe, that fall, it was time to attempt Winnipeg. But how to approach that. The answer got more interesting than I bargained for.

November 10, 2017: Fly from Portland to Calgary via Vancouver. Naturally, the 2nd leg was late at least an hour late.

Taxi to the bus station, where I find out I was supposed to print the ticket I didn’t receive after buying it online before renting a locker for a few hours, not to mention traveling later.

So I took light rail to Saddledome and got two periods of Calgary Hitmen v Medicine Hat Tigers. Mostly listened to a group of Hat fans in front of me. Walking back via the Stampede Corral to the LRT station, they display all the old Stampede promotional posters. Definitely caught my attention.

Back to Greyhound station. Bus departs, then a few blocks out, we’re told to turn around because not all the luggage was loaded. I did see what looked like my bag on the table as we re-entered.

Overnight to Swift Current on Greyhound. 3 am in Medicine Hat looked interesting. Had to resolve my remaining bus ticket issues at 7 am before taxi to motel. Thought I was going to tour town that day, but spent time in the room decompressing. Didn’t even eat until 4 pm. Then I walked 1.5 miles to the iPlex. Snow on ground. Sun didn’t set until just before my final turn… which was extremely fortunate, because I took a wrong turn right at the start. I was going to stop downtown on the way, then take this “back way” back, but I would never have seen where I was going when returning.

That “arena” is really more community center (some would call it a rec rink), and that’s what I loved about it. Add the history and the commemoration of the Memorial Cup (and the blotting out of the coach’s name on the plaque) and of Joe Sakic and Sheldon Kennedy and it was equal parts celebratory and, dare I say, sobering. Also add that this was Remembrance Day / Veterans Day, with a pregame ceremony with the quietest crowd I’ve ever heard (literally heard the puck hit the ice). Swift Current 6-0 over Lethbridge.

Stopped at the local brewpub on the walk back through downtown. I still wonder what’s in the water in Swift Current, but it’s worth the trip.

Two hours by bus to Moose Jaw early the next morning, staying in a historic hotel in the historic downtown area. Late afternoon game, more arena but still community center (new place, not the Crushed Can). Moose Jaw 2-1 over Regina. Not nearly the exercise I got the night before, and too damn cold to do that anyway.

The next day, the long ride to Winnipeg. Bus dropped us off at the Regina Airport while refueling, apparently got lost for 40 minutes. Onward through the prairie, the highlight perhaps being watching someone drive their Zamboni across TCH just before the Manitoba border to or from Monday maintenance. Think arrival time in Winnipeg was 10 pm.

Next day, Fort Geary and La Fourche, a little late perhaps to tour the Canadian Human Rights museum, but another distinct history lesson regarding the settling/colonization of the West from this location. Plus the first time witnessing an almost ice-covered river. Then Jets 4-1 over Arizona. Maybe a little surprised at no special animus against Arizona. Quickly back to the room, though.

EARLY flight the next morning. Connected at MSP while having to jog the entire length of Terminal 1 to catch the flight to… Rapid City. Stayed at a supposedly haunted hotel, found a pub with a beer on my bucket list, saw all the statues of American presidents placed downtown, and Idaho 4-3 over Rapid City.

BTW- while spending most of the next day taking pictures of the statues, it kind of hit me how much history I encountered on this trip, really without even trying. But I spent the last night in Vegas because it was cheaper than flying direct to Portland… plus I won in Vegas to keep that honest.