On the Road Again

Last weekend was a basketball tournament trip we hadn't planned on, one that was added later in the season.  We had previously thought we were going to Albany a month ago, but that turned into Binghamton.  But this time Albany stuck--although, truth be told, we never actually got anywhere near the city since the tournament was in a suburb further north, almost closer to Schenectady.  I had high hopes of driving through the city and seeing the Capitol, or maybe checking out the observation deck I remember from my 8th grade class trip, but none of that ended up happening.  It was a pretty basic, straightforward trip, which was admittedly a little disappointing for one that was almost four hours away.  I like to make the most of trips like that to justify the drive, but for many reasons it just wasn't meant to be this time.  

The trip started out typically chaotic, which we always try to avoid but inevitably almost always end up doing.  I didn't even start packing until Thursday night, which I suppose is a product of still adjusting to in-person work life and just being tired in the evenings.  I panicked a little on Friday morning, even though I was in pretty good shape, and realized that if we didn't leave until after dinner, we'd be driving almost entirely in the dark for close to four hours.  Plus we'd get in really late and even without an early wake-up, that could be problematic.  I ended up taking a last minute half day, but worked a little past a half day, until about 2pm, just because I wasn't expecting to be out and didn't think I needed to rush--especially when Craig said he wanted to take Jacob to the Y for some shooting before we left.  So I knew we still weren't getting on the road too early.  When I got home, I ended up going out in my yard to figure out if I could salvage anything else from the garden before some colder nights hit over the weekend.  As I walked out, I was shocked to notice that my out-of-control morning glory looked a little...different.

I promise you that the bottom once looked just as lush as the top!

Apparently some deer got a little (OK, maybe a lot) hungry, and despite this being there for months without so much as a nibble (at least since something ate all but one of my little seedlings a couple weeks in), I guess maybe they got desperate this time of year?  They'd also snacked on some of my giant tomato plants, which were nearly the only thing left in the garden aside from one healthy-ish but unproductive zucchini plant.  For whatever reason, the carnage got me a little overeager and I decided everything needed to come out immediately.  So I picked as many tomatoes as I could (almost all of which rotted within five days--those late season ones are tricky, as I learned last year), ripped out those plants and my fencing, and then started hacking away at morning glory #1, which was quite the undertaking.  I can't even describe how twisted and overwhelming it was.  I started with hand clippers but eventually needed the giant hedge trimmers to make any headway.  It didn't take long in the end but it was pretty crazy while it lasted.  It filled a large garbage can.  The one on the other side wasn't nearly as bad, but it also had gotten a bit twisted around the top once I added fishing line for it to climb a couple months back, since it couldn't figure out how to make it up the lamp post itself.  By the time I pulled that one down, I was out of time, and still have a garden plot of rotting tomatoes that need cleaning up.  

They self-planted at least three plants from that same mess last year, so I definitely need to do some work!  I dread thinking what days of torrential rain has already embedded in the soil, though.  I also still have my sad pumpkin patch to clean up, so hopefully the weather cooperates a little this weekend…but it’s not looking good.

Anyway, by the time the boys were back, Carter had been picked up, and we were done packing, we realized we should really just eat a super-fast dinner at home and then get on the road.  But we didn't leave until after 5:30 in the end, so I'm not sure the half day was really that worth it after all.  But the garden cleanup was nice to get done, I guess.  It was quite a long drive, and most of it was still in the dark.  The sunset was pretty, however, and since it was mostly Thruway driving, we didn't miss much.  I think we only stopped twice, and one was a preventative stop since every other Thruway rest stop is currently closed and we didn't want to get stuck in the middle of a 70-mile stretch with no easy bathroom options.  We did enjoy going through Schenectady, which has some really cool newer stuff (a casino!) and some nicely redone older stuff.  After that we were on backroads for a bit before getting back to civilization and our hotel, which was a lovely Holiday Inn Express, which you may recall is my favorite.  I can't take credit for booking it--and it wasn't cheap--but admittedly it made those two nights considerably lower stress after the vacation disaster (the "trash hotel", as Carter so eloquently referred to it in one of his writing assignments).  The room was probably one of the biggest we've had, with two queens, a pull-out couch, a small kitchenette, a desk and table, and a handicap-accessible bathroom.

Breakfast was pretty monumental on Saturday, because I was FINALLY reunited with my beloved cinnamon rolls!  After two other Holiday Inn Express stays this year without them, it was so good to see them waiting at the buffet!  I won't lie--I had two each day!  So good, as was the rest of the spread.  

Saturday's games were a bit of a mixed bag.  Jacob did have one stretch where he made four straight shots for 10 points, which was pretty awesome, but he still wasn't playing nearly as much as he should.  He sat for an entire half at one point because the coach “lost track of time”.  This coach is honestly just frustrating in a lot of ways.  They won both games, however--one by a shockingly huge margin--so that was good to see.

We ended up having a lazy afternoon after the second game.  We laid around for a while, but I finally worked up the energy to go out.  Carter and I were hoping to hit up a playground, but when we went to the only decent-looking close one, the entrances were blocked and cars were lined up along the side of the road.  I finally figured out there was a drive-thru trick-or-treating event there that night, so I promised we'd find time on Sunday to go back for a bit.  Defeated, we headed to Target to pick up some antacid for me because I had been having a painful reflux/esophageal spasm problem for a couple days that worsened as we drove on Friday, and I needed something for it.  After we got back, dinner turned into a little bit of a debacle.  We debated for a while and finally settled on Red Robin, only to find out they had an hour wait!  Then we went back to a restaurant near the hotel that had gluten-free options, but that was a half hour and there was some added awkwardness because a bunch of other parents were out there and we hadn't gotten a text even though Craig had been in touch with one of the moms about meeting out.  We ended up all picking our own dinners--big boys had Chipotle, Carter got Wendy's, and I got Subway.  Luckily they were all across the street from one another! The other parents did end up contacting us later, but by then I was really uncomfortable from my reflux so Craig walked across the parking lot to hang out for grownup time for a couple hours. 

Sunday morning it was back to the gym.  Another win and a few more points for Jacob!

After the first game, we had a little break so Carter and I headed back to the playground.  It was a lovely but slightly chilly day.  As we arrived I noticed a Messenger notification, and it was from an old friend asking what happened to "Kim".  I immediately opened Facebook because I assumed that's where he saw something, and usually big stuff pops to the top.  Sure enough, an old friend of ours from our church days (and my school days) had passed away.  She was two years younger than me, and was the on-and-off "girlfriend" of my cousin back in elementary school.  She'd been battling cancer quietly for a while, but apparently a tumor caused seizures that led to a stroke.  She left behind a husband and two boys, 10 and 7.  She was a beautiful force in this world, so positive and bold and beautiful.  I was (and am) completely heartbroken over the whole thing.  My old classmate's sister was her BFF (quite literally) and she's obviously devastated and at a total loss.  I won't lie, my sadness clouded the playground time a bit, but I did my best to have fun and enjoy my time with Carter since I'm sure she'd have given anything for more time with her boys.

The playground was fun.  So many of the newer ones have similar features now, so I always look for the new stuff.  This one had a four way tunnel and a cargo net bridge.

As usual, Carter loved climbing, but he realized he needed to pull up his pant legs to get the grip he needed to climb!  He is impressive!

This one also had a few little spinning activities, and we found this spinning maze to be new and different--and hard!

They had a standing swing--it was more awkward than it looks!

It also had these swinging "islands".  Carter tried his darnedest to cross them fast but it was definitely more of a "slow and steady" type of thing because of how they swung!

Before heading back to basketball, we took a little walk around the park.  We wandered past the cute kiddie playground that had a fun train play area (in the background of the photo below) and stopped at one of those workout stations you find on trails.  This one had a balancing disk.  It was a challenge!

We stopped for a  second to look at these fluffy seed pods along the path.  They were impossibly silky, but it was neat to see one that still had some structure.

Across the way was a memorial, so we headed over to look at that.  It was pretty, honoring all branches of the military and showcasing bricks for various veterans.  It was surrounded by benches, and those all seemed to be named for different vets as well.  Some even had memorial flowers and trinkets left behind.

Off in the distance was a little bridge, so we walked that way back to the playground for one last round of play before the next basketball game.

Along the way I got a look at the foliage.  It looked brighter than it appears here, but it looked better than most of what I'd seen at home.  Such a weird year, between the lackluster, late-arriving colors and the extended growing season.

Case in point, this still-blooming rose bush!

We enjoyed walking over the bridge and listening to the stream below, which you could hear but barely see around all the greenery and the way the bridge slats were positioned. 

I was so glad for Carter's sake that we got to find a playground, since he always asks and the playground-friendly weather is dying down now.  He's also a pretty good sport dealing with these basketball weekends, where everything revolves around Jacob and he's just along for the ride.  He really appreciates anything like this that we can do for him. 

And how pretty is this tree that was near the playground?

We headed back to the gym for one more game.  I think Jacob ended up with four points in that one, and his team ended up winning the championship.  Here's their team picture--Jacob is on the far left. 

My well-trained boy knows he better smile!

I think he was happy to win (it beats losing) but he wasn't ecstatic because of his frustrations with this team and not really wanting to reward his coach's decisions around how he uses his players.  One kid sprained his ankle earlier in the tournament and kept playing (shades of lacrosse tournaments years back, where heat exhaustion wasn't enough to keep a player out despite Jacob sitting the bench), and boy, was that kid limping afterward.  It wasn't even that close of a game, but they kept him in anyway.  Technically Jacob should have a tournament coming up with this team in November, but we're letting him skip it.  It's five hours away, at a venue we really want to visit, but between the long trip, the expensive hotels, and his lack of playing time, it just wasn't worth it.  He's ready to move on, and so are we.  High school season awaits!

The trip home felt predictably long, but at least it was mostly in the daylight.  There were glimpses of pretty fall colors, and this was among the better spots.

I'm hoping that now that the weather is cooling off (too much, starting next week), the leaves will get better.  I've never seen so many leaves on the trees at Halloween, let alone green ones, but I'm worried they'll all just die off without changing as it gets significantly colder quickly.  We might even get a touch of snow next week.  We’ve been inundated by rain this week, too—a couple inches the other day and likely a couple more tonight into tomorrow.  It doesn’t really make it easy to enjoy what little “good fall” remains (where are those random 70 degree days?), and the timing couldn’t be worse since I’m home alone with the boys this weekend, the first of many now that lacrosse season is ramping up for the first time in almost 20 months.  Fortunately it’s supposed to stop in time for trick-or-treating.  Hard to believe Halloween is here and the countdown to the holidays is imminent.  How did we get here?!  The pandemic time warp is real, folks.  Here goes nothing…