Saratoga

After the graduation on Friday, we hopped in the van and made our way to Saratoga.  It was my fourth time on the Thruway route to Syracuse in four weeks (with presumably one more to go unless our side plans reroute us), so I'm getting pretty bored with that trip, but at least I'm getting more used to what's where and knowing better where we are in case we need to stop.  The trip wasn't bad, but it was dark just past Syracuse so we had a couple hours in the dark.  The good news is that the moon looked cool for a while and the end part of the trip was off the Thruway and therefore had more to see, but we were very happy to get to our hotel by 11:30.  We were a little annoyed to find out our hotel had no elevator, particularly since we had an extra heavy cooler with us, but it's hard to stay in tourist areas without breaking the bank!

We had to be at the field by 8am Saturday.  We had three games, and we knew that by the end it was going to be dangerously hot.   Even though it was still cool enough first thing in the morning, it felt like quite the hike from the lot to the tents.  However, Carter was ready to go!

The morning started out pleasant enough, especially in the shade, and the first game wasn't too bad.  We had a pretty easy schedule that day, too, which was extra good news since it meant Jacob got to play more.  We won 13-2 in game one, and 12-1 in game two.

 

After that we had a bit of a break, and the day got progressively hotter as we waited.

Cooling off!

We had no idea how the boys were going to hold up.  It was in the mid-to-upper 90s with a heat index over 100.  We did everything we could to get the boys to eat and drink during that break.  Luckily, it turned out to be another easy game, with a 14-1 win.  The pools were a little screwed up in this tournament, with our 2027 team getting a tougher draw than us, but we knew the true test would be in the playoff brackets the next day.  Jacob ended the day with two assists and some good plays, which was better than he'd had since the first tournament.  We were thrilled!

We dragged ourselves back to the hotel, cooled off, and cleaned up.  Some families were getting together at one of the hotels where the boys could swim, and we made a pit stop at Target to pick up a suit for Jacob, since he needed one anyway.

Carter just had to get his picture taken outside of Target.  I know we have the same photo of Jacob somewhere...

 
We had a nice time at the hotel, chatting with parents, watching siblings hang out, and trying to keep tabs on the boys as they moved from the pool to a room and back.  We got pizza and enjoyed the still warm but slowly cooling evening.

Carter tried playing with the younger siblings, at one point showing them how to play a game.  I had to take a picture of him holding court, because he's so darn cute when he's explaining and gesturing like an adult.

He did have a bit of a rough go with one of the siblings (different one than the one that hurt his finger in Philly), because they were playing lacrosse and he ended up with a (short-lived) fat lip.  Sigh.  Shortly after that we packed up and headed out to get the boys in bed at a reasonable time.  We didn't have an early morning, but we knew it would come soon enough!  God knows we needed the sleep from the heat alone!

As much as it seemed like it should have been a leisurely morning, we still had to get up relatively early and rush around to ensure we could pack up and get on the road on time.  Packing coolers and gathering up suitcases takes up more time than you'd think!  Our first game wasn't until 11am, and it was already incredibly hot.  And of course this time we ended up parked literally as far as we could be from our fields, at the far diagonal from where we needed to be.  UGH.  Just walking caused us to sweat profusely.  It was gross.  A team of parents mobilized on the sideline (which was mercifully in the shade) to spray down the boys and keep them hydrated.  Even so, one kid came out about halfway through our first game (his parents kept him out--yay for smart parenting), and you could tell the boys were chugging along.  They still put in a great effort and won 9-7 (although it wasn't that close until the end), and we were headed off to the championship...again!

Of course, that meant a final game in the worst of the heat.  It was in the 90s with a heat index around 106.  Awful.  Completely miserable, even in the shade.  There were even a couple teams that opted out of their lower-finish final game, presumably because it wasn't even safe to play.  Our break between games was much needed but only prolonged the agony.  No amount of shade gave relief--only the random breeze once in a while, as it hit the abundant amount of sweat everywhere.  It was so hot that even a referee got heat stroke!  The game was close for a bit, and Jacob didn't play as much as we would have liked, but he did get in a few times.  As the game neared the end, we took a decent lead, but a while before when we expected the final whistle, we saw the boys mobbing the goalie and realized that they may have cut the game short due to the heat.  We won 8-4!

Stopping at the booth to get their championship shirts was just one more thing on a very hot day, but we were happy to do it!

It was so bad by the end that even my shoulders were sweating!  On the drive home the temperature got as high as 98.  When we stopped for a bathroom and snack, we couldn't believe how hot it felt.  I was never so happy to get home and stay in the air.  I had turned the air down while we were gone, but even a house in the 80s felt better than outside!

It's been a bit of a weird week with the holiday, but another adventure awaits!