Sk8r and Sk8Mom Abroad
15/4/08 10:16![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madrobinsThursday morning Avocado and I went off to the airport, where we met her team for the flight to St. Louis. Which was, of course, delayed for three hours. Which meant that instead of arriving at the hotel in St. Peters (the suburb of St. Louis where the hotel and the rinks are located) at a civilized 7pm or so, we didn't get in until 10:30. Most of the team loaded back on the bus and went off to Denny's for dinner, and didn't get back to the hotel until 1am. Avocado and I, in a rare instance of Mother-Daughter Commonsense, stayed in, ordered a pizza (which turned out to be a circle of very flat dough topped with barbeque sauce and cheddar cheese, cut into squares. Curious, but once one got over the shock, tasty enough), watched TV, and were asleep by 11:30.
Friday morning, bright and early (as opposed to the weather, which was dark and cloudy), we breakfasted, Avocado and her team-mates got into their practice uniforms, and we all bussed over to the rink for off-ice practice and an hour of practice ice. The two teams (Avocado's team, Team 1, was there for Youth Synchronized Skating Compulsories; Team 2 was there for Youth Synchronized Skating) got done, we returned to the hotel for quick food, then reboarded the bus to go visit the Arch. Since I am not a fan of heights or small spaces, I stayed at the bottom and went through the museum, while Avocado and her friends squealed all the way up to the top of the Arch and all the way down. My ear-drums thanked me.
Friday night was the night for the team dinner. Including the two teams and parents, we had something like 60 people, and accommodating a group of that size is tricky. The parent who had arranged for the dinner had called around, and only Applebees had said they could manage the group, so off to Applebees we went. Only to be told, when we arrived (and despite the four phone calls confirming that we would be coming) that they couldn't take us. The manager, responding to the frustration of parents and coaches, called up a couple of waiters to link arms and physically keep a bunch of girls and parents from storming the restaurant. We left. Eventually we found a Longhorn Steakhouse which did manage, after about half an hour, to fit us all in. And the food was years better than Applebees would have been. (It was so good that some of us went back again the next night.) I wound up sitting at the kids' table, which was unexpectedly pleasant. For all the drama that a bunch of pre-teen and teenage girls can generate, they were a well behaved bunch.
Saturday morning Team 1 had their skate at 9:05, which meant being made up, hair perfect, and in practice uniform to go over to the rink by 7:30 (which meant I was up by 6:45 to take a shower, before blasting Avocado out of bed). It was cold and drizzly, and chilly at the ice rink--I never really warmed up all weekend. The girls skated well, although there were a couple of falls--well enough to place third! They got their ribbons and retired to sit and watch the competition for the second team, until Team 2 skated at 11:30. After that, we headed back to the hotel. If Team 2 had placed in the bottom half of the competition they would have had to skate again that evening; as it happens, they placed in the top half, so had to skate at 9 the next morning. So Team 1 was able to spend the afternoon swimming (no swimming til you're done with all skating!) and I spent it in the hottub, trying to warm my toes up. Again, we went for the steak dinner. And a mound of chocolate cake the size of Everest.
Sunday Team 2 had to get out early; the rest of us were permitted to lolligag until 7:30, when the bus arrived to take us back to the rink to cheer on Team 2. So we did. They placed 3rd. Then, back to the hotel, were everyone swam and packed. At 3pm we were back on the team bus and heading for the airport. This time no delay, just a remarkably unremarkable flight home. At the urging of one of the parents, the flight attendants announced that American Airlines was delighted to be flying with The Tremors, returning from the National Synchronized Skating Championships, where they placed 3rd. The girls squealed. It was swell.
And then home.
Friday morning, bright and early (as opposed to the weather, which was dark and cloudy), we breakfasted, Avocado and her team-mates got into their practice uniforms, and we all bussed over to the rink for off-ice practice and an hour of practice ice. The two teams (Avocado's team, Team 1, was there for Youth Synchronized Skating Compulsories; Team 2 was there for Youth Synchronized Skating) got done, we returned to the hotel for quick food, then reboarded the bus to go visit the Arch. Since I am not a fan of heights or small spaces, I stayed at the bottom and went through the museum, while Avocado and her friends squealed all the way up to the top of the Arch and all the way down. My ear-drums thanked me.
Friday night was the night for the team dinner. Including the two teams and parents, we had something like 60 people, and accommodating a group of that size is tricky. The parent who had arranged for the dinner had called around, and only Applebees had said they could manage the group, so off to Applebees we went. Only to be told, when we arrived (and despite the four phone calls confirming that we would be coming) that they couldn't take us. The manager, responding to the frustration of parents and coaches, called up a couple of waiters to link arms and physically keep a bunch of girls and parents from storming the restaurant. We left. Eventually we found a Longhorn Steakhouse which did manage, after about half an hour, to fit us all in. And the food was years better than Applebees would have been. (It was so good that some of us went back again the next night.) I wound up sitting at the kids' table, which was unexpectedly pleasant. For all the drama that a bunch of pre-teen and teenage girls can generate, they were a well behaved bunch.
Saturday morning Team 1 had their skate at 9:05, which meant being made up, hair perfect, and in practice uniform to go over to the rink by 7:30 (which meant I was up by 6:45 to take a shower, before blasting Avocado out of bed). It was cold and drizzly, and chilly at the ice rink--I never really warmed up all weekend. The girls skated well, although there were a couple of falls--well enough to place third! They got their ribbons and retired to sit and watch the competition for the second team, until Team 2 skated at 11:30. After that, we headed back to the hotel. If Team 2 had placed in the bottom half of the competition they would have had to skate again that evening; as it happens, they placed in the top half, so had to skate at 9 the next morning. So Team 1 was able to spend the afternoon swimming (no swimming til you're done with all skating!) and I spent it in the hottub, trying to warm my toes up. Again, we went for the steak dinner. And a mound of chocolate cake the size of Everest.
Sunday Team 2 had to get out early; the rest of us were permitted to lolligag until 7:30, when the bus arrived to take us back to the rink to cheer on Team 2. So we did. They placed 3rd. Then, back to the hotel, were everyone swam and packed. At 3pm we were back on the team bus and heading for the airport. This time no delay, just a remarkably unremarkable flight home. At the urging of one of the parents, the flight attendants announced that American Airlines was delighted to be flying with The Tremors, returning from the National Synchronized Skating Championships, where they placed 3rd. The girls squealed. It was swell.
And then home.