It turned out that last weekend ended up feeling like a bit of a do-over of two weeks ago--back to Hamilton for another Knighthawks game, and another baseball game, but in a different city. Some of the do-over worked out better, some didn't.
Carter had off on Friday, and we were originally supposed to do something fun. But my work was pretty overwhelming leading up to our big giving day this week, so my planned vacation day turned into a half day of on and off work. Not ideal, but at least it still left me some time to pack without stress. We left around dinner time, later than would have been ideal. Jacob stayed at school to shoot and didn't come out on time, which meant that we were just getting home by the time we were supposed to be leaving, and he still had to finish showering and packing. On the bright side, we were a lot more systematic about packing so we made sure Carter's bag was packed this time--although he suggested we should leave it again so he could get more new clothes! Craig was worried about being late for the team dinner he planned, and en route we figured out that the highway from the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge to the QEW was closed for construction, which rerouted us to the Rainbow Bridge and made everything take even longer. That meant we couldn't stop for food on the way. We got to the restaurant where the team dinner was happening just on time, and then the boys and I had to go find dinner ourselves. Luckily there was a Pizza Pizza just across the way, so we went there (yup, again).
The team had barely gotten their dinner by the time we were done so we goofily waved through the window as we walked by and just sat in the van for a while. Jacob and I mostly pointlessly argued about random stuff while Carter watched a movie. Par for the course with Jacob sometimes--I think when he's bored he just decides a debate will fill the time. Finally Craig came back and came bearing a gift--he had one of the coaches that lives in Canada buy the Toronto Blue Jays monkey we saw at Sport Chek last time. We probably would have just gone and got him ourselves this weekend, but we didn't know that we would be back there so soon so Craig asked someone to get him. It's one of those long-armed, long-legged monkeys with velcro on the hands so it can hug you. It has a Jays jersey and hat and is super soft. Carter was thrilled!
We headed to the hotel, and once again the parking ramp gave us issues. It was SO small. It had awkward dead ends and the few spots that were left were really awkward to get into. We were already thinking ahead to the morning and how I was supposed to navigate the van out of there. Thank goodness we figured out timing to have Craig do it, because the slope getting out was so severe that it took a couple tries. The garage door is motion activated so it wasn't totally open yet as we were driving up to it. Stopping halfway up to let the door open didn't give us enough momentum to actually go forward because the slope was so steep that we'd roll back the second he took his foot off the brake! Craig had to back up the van to the bottom of the ramp to fully gun it to get out. Awful. I totally would have panicked mid-ramp. No incidents with pillars this time, but because of the walls, fire hose boxes, and pipes, it still felt a bit miraculous to make it out of there unscathed.
Our room was a suite with a kitchen, a king bed, a pull-out couch, and a chair. We thought maybe Carter would sleep on the chair since Jacob claimed the pull-out, but he opted to sleep in the king with us. Unsurprisingly, Jacob's bed was super uncomfortable. I felt bad because I had thought about bringing the foam topper I bought to sleep on a pull-out in the fall of 2022 when Jacob and I went to Albany, but I forgot. We all managed--our bed was a bit cozy, especially with Carter's animals, but it was fine. And it was comfortable, at least!
In daylight, we could see the views out our windows, rain included--we were on a corner so we had two! This was in one direction, and we could see the arena!
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| Look close near the orange and you can see the bottom slope of the upper bowl from the outside of the arena. |
From the other window, you could see our last hotel!
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| We were just above the outside deck. |
Craig had to be up and out early, and Jacob went with him to eat the team breakfast. Carter and I had a lazy morning but eventually had to get ready so we could get the free hotel breakfast. It was really good--waffles, egg omelettes, sausages, stuff to toast, muffins, cereal, yogurt, etc. It was all really good.
After that Carter and I were going to IKEA and lunch. We had to wait for Craig once he was back from the shootaround to drive the van out, but then he hopped out and we were off. We packed up most of the luggage then so we didn't have to do it later. It was a rainy day, but the temperature wasn't half bad at least. It was nice to get to IKEA since I meant to go on the previous trip but it didn't work out when we had to get Carter clothes instead. I didn't have a lot in mind, but it's always nice to look and see what's new. Always food for thought, at least. I ended up just getting a pair of tongs (with the air fryer I seem to use them a lot and needed another set), new flexible cutting boards since one of my old IKEA ones cracked recently, and a spare light bulb for our bedside lights. I considered a couple other things, like picture frames to coordinate with ones I have, or a new light to replace the crooked one in our living room, but ultimately passed. We did discover they now have a large stuffed moose! We totally would have owned this during our moose prime, and I might have still considered it were it not $25!
They also had this fun chocolate moose in the market. We were a bit tempted by some of the snacks, but we were heading right to lunch so we passed. Carter was just about done by that point anyway, but he'd been a good trooper through the store.
We decided to go to A&W, since Carter had never been, and the closest one was in the mall down the road from IKEA. Apparently Canada never got the memo that malls are dying, because this one was jammed! It was like Christmas season in the old days. It was so hard to find a parking spot! We finally did, and braved the rain to go in. Carter liked his food, and we liked what was on the cups, too!
Craig had texted me in the meantime to let me know that the parking lots around the arena might be $30 cash. I panicked because I had none, but thankfully there was a currency exchange place in the mall. Luckily I had grabbed $25 out of my wallet before we left (I only bring a small purse since big ones can't go to games) and I exchanged that for $33 and change. Whew.
Back out into the rain and back to the city we went. For simplicity and to avoid that awful ramp, we just went right to the arena. I wanted to get the lay of the land with the area parking lots, but that turned into a large detour/city tour before I could get myself turned back around and go back to the lot right across from the arena. I figured Craig would appreciate that with his equipment and whatever else he brings to games. We did end up at the far end of the lot, technically in an A&W parking lot (ironically), but it all seemed legit enough, and had we come out early we wouldn't have been blocked in. I did a quick change to get into my Knighthawk gear (Carter opted to go without), and off we went.
I should have mentioned that my parents were meeting us for the game. Since they didn't get to go to the 400th game, and my mom expressed some slight disappointment that they weren't invited, I thought it might be nice to offer them this game. I figured they'd never been to a game there and it was a pretty easy drive, and a playoff game nonetheless, so why not? Carter and I waited for them outside the arena and saw them just as we were wrapping up talking to the same Knighthawk fans we saw at the last game.
I only took one picture during the game which shows where our seats were (much better than last time!) and where Craig was again. Jacob sat up there with him for the first half.
This game, unfortunately, was not much better as a do-over from the last one. Toronto went out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter, which was more goals than the Knighthawks gave up for their entire last home game. Then it was 5-1 at the end of the first, mercifully closer by halftime but still down 6-3, then 8-3 at the end of the third, and a 9-6 final. It seemed like a comeback might be in the works a couple times, but no luck. It was a tough game--their goalie was so strong. Early on when we were down, Carter teared up, partly because I think it was depressing that we were losing like that, and partly because he was mad Jacob was in the press box. Jacob sat with Craig last year for the Bandits game in the playoffs and the result was equally painful, if not worse. Carter thought he was jinxing us. Not sure what spawned that sudden burst of emotion, but he felt a little better once we scored. But it was pretty rough as a whole, even if I wasn't expecting a lot given the previous game. My parents obviously wished for a better game, but were intrigued by the arena and were appreciative of the chance to go. We had a nice time regardless.
My parents took off at the end of the game, and the three of us headed down to the friends and family area. We waited forever! We were getting so impatient. Craig finally came out with some chicken for Jacob and then disappeared again for a bit, and then it was finally time to go. We stopped at the A&W we were parked at to get something for the road. Craig just wanted a root beer but ended up getting a small burger too. They no longer have root beer floats (what?!), but we got frozen root beers instead. Not the same, but not bad. I'd get it with sweet cream or cold brew next time. We headed out of town with this gorgeous sunset.
We were just driving back to my parents' house for the night since we had opted to go to a Buffalo Bisons game the next day. The trip back was pretty uneventful. We did have a customs agent who started talking lacrosse once he got through the official stuff. He lives in Rochester and goes to Knighthawk games, so he was interested to hear how the game went. He got pretty chatty and I felt bad for the people behind us, but that was pretty funny. Then we almost ran into both a fox and a possum in the 20 minute drive to my parents' house! Oh, and we found out Mighty Taco's nacho cheese is no longer listed as gluten-free (boo), though based on emails with them it seems to be a formality because of the facility it's made in. We grabbed some Mighty as a late dinner, got to my parents, ate, and generally pretty quickly shifted toward bed--once I inflated and made mine!
We tried to get up for church the next morning, but Craig and Carter weren't waking up any too easily and Jacob said he forgot church clothes, so we scrapped that idea. The boys did make it up at a reasonable time because Carter and Jacob were both desperate to get out and play some baseball, especially since Carter had to miss practice the prior day. They did that while I got ready and heavily debated my outfit for the day. The weather forecast wasn't good. Despite being in the mid-60s at my parents' house, Buffalo was only supposed to be in the low-50s, and rain was coming. I opted for capris and a long sleeve shirt under my Buffalo Blue Jays shirt, figuring I'd wear my raincoat over. I also didn't bother curling my hair (for the second day in a row) since it was going to be wet.
The boys came back, we packed up, and we were off to the game. The second we opened the van doors, we were shocked. It was cold and windy! Everyone changed pants since the boys all had shorts on and I didn't want cold ankles, either. Good thing, because it ended up being really cold!
Once we got into the stadium, we immediately ran into Buster and Chip, as well as the chicken wing racers.
As you may recall, I interned there 25 years ago (!) and it felt funny to be back with the mascots. Chip used to be a lot shorter--when I worked there, his human was a short guy gymnast who went on to be the Pirate Parrot. When Buster was teasing me behind my back, I let him know I had worked there long ago and know how it goes! So, I got a picture!
Despite the chill we made the best of it. We did some browsing in the store, and then Jacob and I grabbed food before heading out to the outfield because players were warming up. The ball quest was back on!
Thankfully, this one went better! Not only did Carter get one ball from a groundskeeper, but he also got one from the other team's starting pitcher--and that one was an amazing catch!
He was a much happier kid than he was a couple weeks ago! We headed back to the concourse and met up with Craig's parents. We went to our seats, just behind home plate. We were in the row in front of Craig's parents' season tickets.
Unfortunately, we barely got through the first inning before the rain got to be a bit more than sprinkles. On the bright side, the game wasn't too heavily attended so there was room under the overhang for pretty much everyone to move up. The game continued on despite the rain, until about the 5th inning when it started to come down harder. The game was stopped but no announcement was made and the tarp didn't come out so we were a bit confused for a few minutes. But sure enough, finally the interns and staff assembled (oh, I remember those days) and pulled the tarp, and the announcement came shortly after.
The rain delay went on for maybe 20-30 minutes. About halfway through we noticed the umps come out and talk to the managers, and then the managers met on the field, shared a bro-hug, and chatted for a couple minutes. We were pretty sure that meant the game had been called, but it probably took another 10-15 minutes for the ump to come out and do the "called game" sign of waving his arms. Then they announced it and that was it. Of course, the guys had just gotten free burgers from a concession stand since they were closing up shop, so we hung out a few minutes while those got eaten. The good news was that the Bisons had scored a couple runs right before that and it was a complete game, so they won! But it was a bummer that we wouldn't get a rain check and that we missed half the game. Ironically, it wasn't really raining by the time we left--there was a break in the rain but more was coming, hence the cancellation.
We headed out and stopped at an Anderson's to get Jacob some food. He got a roast beef meal, but Carter ate the fries and Craig wanted the drink. I was still full from my fried bologna, and it was too cold for an ice cream snack. We had a minor "incident" when we got there because a bird had massively pooped on the van in Hamilton, and the rain had sort of loosened it up, and when I went to close my door, I accidentally touched it and it was so gross and slimy. And honestly, with bird flu going around, that was even more icky, so I ran in and immediately washed my hand, but of course the boys found it endlessly hilarious...and it was not.
We got home at a reasonable time, which was good because both boys forgot their homework (again). I needed to get prepped for a challenging week of work, and Craig settled in for a couple days off to mark the end of his season. But our do-over weekend was still a good one--even if the Knighthawks lost again and the rain ruined our baseball game, we got the monkey, got to IKEA, got my parents to a game, saw the Bisons mascots and got two balls. Not too shabby.
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