(no subject)
Okay, time for trip spam! The short version:
-overnight trips are teh suck
-4hr layovers in Syracuse in the middle of the night are also teh suck
-the Holiday Inn rocks
-eee meeting boys and getting autographs!
-mmm sleep
-eee game!
-mmm sleep
-there is NOTHING to do in Binghamton on a Sunday
-overnight trips are still teh suck
-mmm home and sleep
And now the long version. Friday afternoon, after packing, I went to my parents' for pizza dinner (my grandma was there visiting, as was my mom's friend from Australia, so it was nice to see them, and get fed ;)), then my dad drove me to the bus terminal for my 10:15pm bus to Syracuse. There were eight of us on the bus, woohoo. Really popular destination, I can tell. ;)
Customs was interesting, I guess. Nothing exciting happened. Just had to show ID and fill out a declaration of where we were going and what we were bringing, then they did a cursory search of our bags and then we got back on the bus and headed for Syracuse. The worst part was that it was the middle of the night and freezing cold, brr.
The Syracuse bus station is surprisingly nice (except the bathroom was kinda gross), and has a 24-hr Dunkin Donuts, so I could get a hot chocolate and finally warm up. Which lasted until the hot chocolate was gone, but I didn't feel like getting another, because it was so sugary sweet that my stomach was rebelling already. Anyways, we were in Syracuse from 2:00am to 6:00am, and it SUCKED. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I didn't want to miss my bus, and besides, there was a creepy homeless guy wandering around collecting the twist tops of pop bottles and such, and talking loudly to someone no one could see but him about how he had all of them, and this invisible person wouldn't be able to find any more, because he'd already found them. Maybe the group of Amish people would have protected me, though. (Well, there was only two to start, an older man and his wife, but a whole busload of them showed up as we were leaving.)
I wish I could have stayed awake for the trip from Syracuse to Binghamton, because the sun was just rising, and there was a bit of a mist, and we were driving through hills and fields that were just starting to green up, and it was absolutely beautiful, but I was just WAY too tired by this point, so I dozed off for an hour or so, and woke up just in time to get into Binghamton.
So I got off the bus in Binghamton and walked down State St. to the arena, which was very cool, and then wandered around to find a hotel (at this point it's about 7:30am, and every hotel I'd looked at online said I could check in until 4:00pm, which was gonna SUCK because I was SO TIRED. So I walked across the street (literally) to the Holiday Inn Arena, where for $115 US I could get a room and check in right away. So tempting, but so much more than I wanted to pay, so I walked across the river to see if there was anything else more reasonably priced, and found the Sai Bless Inn ("Stay in peace"), which was only $50 a night, but I couldn't check in until 2:00pm, and the whole place reeked of cigarette smoke, and the people running it were scary white trash. Oh yeah, and it was across the street from a funeral parlour which was next to a sex shop. So yeah, I walked back over to the Holiday Inn, checked in, called my parents, and was going to try to sleep for a bit, but I wanted to get to the arena for 10:00 to see the morning practice, so I didn't have time to sleep, just lay down for half an hour on my KING-SIZED BED. It was HUGE, and I took up like... less than half of it. Craziness! I was also on the top floor (8th), and had to swipe my keycard through the reader in the elevator before I could press the button for my floor. I was on the "Executive Floor" or something like that. Very fancy. :)
After my brief rest, I went across the hotel parking lot, across the street, and into the arena (through the Press Entrance hehe), and I thought I could hear the practice, so I went searching and ended up UNDER the stands, and finally found my way out (it wasn't that difficult, actually, because the arena's not really so big that you can get too lost), and there were the boys, skating! Woohoo! There was 30 or so other people watching, and I hung out for a bit watching the drills, and then I realized that there was a small group off to one side of the ice kicking a soccer ball around. Pothier, Volchenkov, Spezza, and Neil! *squees* So of course I make my way over to watch, and they're all dorks, joking around, having fun. *grins* I wanted to take a picture, but no one else seemed to have cameras, so I didn't know if it was sort of taboo or something, so I didn't. Yeah, I'm a chicken. :P Shortly after I wandered over, Neil took off into the dressing room, but the other three stayed. Hehe and Spezza accidentally hit one of the women who was watching. He was trying to kick the ball back to Pothier, but it went sideways and hit her in the back and he was all apologetic about it, and all her friends teased that he owed her an autograph now. ;) So I got his autograph too before he headed back into the locker room, and Volchenkov and Pothier, who stayed a while longer (Volchenkov has a really cute smile, but doesn't talk a lot. Like... at all).
The team started heading off the ice about a quarter to twelve, and I managed to get a few more autographs as they went to the dressing room. Holy crap they're tall on skates!! I felt so tiny! (Well, I AM tiny, but it was still crazy!) So they all went into the locker room and I was about to leave, but I wasn't quite sure how to get back to the entrance I used, so I asked a guy who was standing there which door I should use, and he pointed to the right one, but said that if I stuck around half an hour or so, the players would all come back out, and I could get more autographs! So of course I stayed, and he and I chatted a bit, and he's met all the players before, and goes to these big collector's conventions or whatever to buy and sell memorabilia. Oh, and he spends a month out of every year in Tampa, and had a hockey stick signed by the whole team, except for Eric Perrin, who he was going to try to catch that night, since Perrin plays for Hershey, the team the BSens were playing. I never did see him after the game, so I don't know if he got the autograph or not.
Anyways, the guys started coming out of the locker room, so I got a ton more autographs, including Chris Neil, eee! Neil was actually about to leave out another door, but the guy (who I think was named Bob or something - we didn't exchange names, but some of the players seemed to know him, and I think that's what they called him. I was too busy squeeing at getting autographs to really be paying attention), called out his name and said "Chris, can you sign an autograph for this young lady? She came all the way from Ottawa", and Neil turned and came back, and was all smiley and said "Really? Wow!", and signed my autograph book and he was so nice. :) Hehe I'm really glad Bob was there, because I wouldn't have had the guts to say anything (yes, I'm a wuss!).
After the players had all left (some of them snuck out the back, so I didn't get autographs! :(), I picked up my tickets at Will Call, then went back to the hotel and crashed for an hour or two, then walked down to Quiznos and got a sub, and then back to the arena around 4:30, because Bob said that's when the players would start showing up before the game. Sure enough, Langfeld walked past all fancy in his suit and shades, then Spezza, carrying his suitjacket, and he grinned at me and said hi, and I said good luck, and he said thanks, and he went into the arena, and I giggled at his ears. :) Neil showed up shortly thereafter, and he drives a big, red, Ford F150 quad cab with Ontario plates, so it must be his, and not just a rental. *giggles* Fish drives the same truck, I think, but it's silver. And somehow, I wasn't surprised at all that Neil had a truck... :) Anyways, I almost fell over when he walked past. Some guys don't know how to dress themselves, but he is not one of them. Holy fuck he looked good. *drools* It was at this point that I REALLY wished I had someone there with me, because I would have loved to get a picture with him. He was wearing a gorgeous grey suit, with his hair all spiked up and mmm so tasty! And he was so nice and smiled at me and I said good luck, and he said thanks, and then went inside. And I'm a stalker, so I went and took a picture of his truck. *grins* Hehe then I was too tired to wait for the rest of the players, so I went back to the hotel and slept another hour or so before heading back to the arena at 6:00pm for the game.
As I was leaving the hotel, wearing my Chris Neil Sens jersey, two busloads of fans from Hershey had just pulled up, and teased me about my jersey. :) I went over to the arena and found my seat (right between two season ticket holders, directly above one of the exits, so I had a stupid hand rail right in front of me, and had to keep ducking down to see under it or stretching to see over, because it was RIGHT in the middle of my vision *growls* so I won't be sitting there again, if I ever go back down). There was still time before the pre-game skate, so I wandered around the concourse for a bit, and bought a souvenir program (with McGrattan on the cover! :)) and a couple of 8x10s - one of Neil, one of Vermette - with the hopes of getting them signed after the game.
I took a few pictures of the pre-game skate and of the awards ceremony before the game, but the zoom lens on my camera randomly decided to stop working, so I couldn't zoom in and the pics were so blurry you couldn't even tell who they were of. Bah. The zoom didn't work for the whole game either. I could still take pictures, but when I turned the camera off, the lens wouldn't retract or anything. And then it mysteriously started working again after the game. WTF??
Anyways, game spam!
-haha Bonvie and McGrattan chatting during the warmup!
-Bonvie and Neil chatted too, and Neil hung out with McGrattan a bit too
-mmm Neil stretching... ;)
-hehe the goalies are funny when everyone's taking shots on the net and they're trying to take shots too, but can't aim as well!
-wow Emery is fast in nets!
-aww McGrattan was the last one off the ice, after shooting a puck down into the Hershey net (hehe on his second try, getting a big cheer from the crowd)
-nothing much happened in the first, couple of penalties, but no scoring, and the game was moving a bit slow
-woohoo Bingo! 3 goals in the second! (one even strength, one shorthanded, one powerplay, two of them scored by Hamel)
-aww Vermy missed a chance and Bonvie patted him on the head
-Binghamton was up 5-0 at one point, and Hamel had a hat trick! (and since his nickname is Hammer, along with all the hats, lots of fans threw inflatable hammers onto the ice)
-since Hamel now had 39 goals for the year, his teammates spent the rest of the game trying to feed him for one more, so he could have 40, but it didn't work (and led to the second Hershey goal, I think, because they were trying too had to get Hamel another goal, and not concentrating on defense)
-5-2 final, yay!
-yay East Division Champions! :D
-eee Vermette was a +4, with 2a!
-Bonvie shook hands with Neiler and McGrattan and the coach, which I thought was really awesome :)
Three Stars:
3. Langfeld (1g, 1a, +2)
2. Emery (37 saves)
1. Hamel (3g, 1a, +2)
After the game, I made my way around to the locker room again, just in time to see Emery come out in just his hockey pants and an Underarmour shirt, mmm... Unfortunately, I couldn't get a pic, because there were too many people in the way, and by the time I'd gotten up onto the stands high enough to be over their heads, he'd gone back into the locker room, sigh. :( Me and all the other fans (including a boys hockey team from Gloucester - in Ottawa, for those of you on my flist who don't know) waited around for more players, and finally a few trickled out, including Neil and Vermette, yay! So I got my pictures autographed, and McGrattan, so I got him to sign my program. Hehe I didn't notice until I got back to the hotel after, but Vermette, instead of signing #20, wrote #2. Guess he was in a rush! ;) *giggles* Oh, and that boy doesn't know how to dress himself. He had on a brown suit with... square pinstripes? I can't really describe it. It was kinda like pinstripes, but about an inch apart, and with horizontal lines too, to make squares. And the most HIDEOUS tie! I mean... he's gorgeous, but someone needs to take him shopping for NICE clothes! Um... I volunteer! ;)
Went back to the hotel after the game and crashed for eight hours or so, then got cleaned up and checked out. The hotel staff was kind enough to let me leave my duffel bag in the back room so I wouldn't have to carry it around all day, and said that there probably wasn't anything open unless I wanted to take the bus down to the Oakdale Mall (which isn't even technically in Binghamton, I think). I figured SOMETHING must be open, and since it was lunchtime at this point, I decided to go find some food. Just to give you an idea of how small Binghamton is, they have a Subway and a Quiznos across the street from each other, NEITHER OF WHICH IS OPEN ON SUNDAYS!!! WTF? Anyways, so I found out which bus I had to take to the mall, and as I was crossing the street to the stop, a big white Hummer drove past. I didn't get a good look at the driver, but honestly, how many white Hummers can there be in Binghamton? And I KNOW Emery drives one... Hehe I should have tried to flag him down to ask if he could give me a ride to the mall. ;)
Another example of how small Binghamton is for my Ottawa people - their bus stops are about as far apart as transitway stops. And this is on MAIN STREET. Wow. And there was ONE bus on Sundays, that ran every hour or so. So I eventually made it to the mall, and wandered around a while. Went into Abercrombie & Fitch, and don't see what all the fuss is about. Their clothes look the same as everywhere else, except with a different logo. Oh, and apparently pre-ripped jeans are back. These were absolutely DESTROYED. And so expensive! *shakes head* Ridiculous! I also went into Victoria's Secret, and came out with a couple of really good bras, which I desperately needed. It was expensive, but they were better than anything I'd been able to find in Ottawa, so worth it, I guess. I also bought a pair of runners (since the inner sole of mine came loose and kept bunching up under my foot and was REALLY annoying), and got another hole pierced in my ear, with a funky sort of blue-purple titanium stud.
At that point (it was around 4:30pm) I figured I'd better get out of the mall before I spent any MORE money, so I went and caught the bus back to Binghamton, then walked down to the river and found a bench to sit on and read a bit until the sun started getting low and the wind picked up and I was getting cold, so I walked back towards the hotel and found a spot at the arena that was sheltered from the wind and was still getting a bit of sun, so I sat there another hour or so, then went into the hotel's restaurant/bar for dinner around 7:30pm and had possibly the BEST cream of broccoli soup I have ever had. It was really fantastic. Then I sat around there for a bit with the two girls who were working (I was the only customer) and we watched the end of Ever After, and a couple of episodes of The Simpsons, and then around 9:45pm, I left to get my bag and walk up to the bus station. Which, as it turns out, closed at 9:30. Bah. So I had to sit outside and wait. Thankfully it wasn't too cold, and there were a couple of other people waiting too, so I wasn't all alone.
The bus came right on time (10:40pm), and I dozed off a bit before we hit Syracuse, where I had another three and a half hour wait (which wasn't too bad this time, because it was only from midnight to 3:25am, instead of 2:00am to 6:00am), then I managed to get a bit more sleep before we hit Customs. They didn't even check our bags or anything! One of the Customs workers came on the bus, took our ID, went back to the terminal to run it through the computer, then came and gave it back, and that was it! It was really quick, and we were on our way again, and got back into Ottawa at 7:00am. I caught a bus home, called my parents to let them know I'd made it back safely, and then crashed for five hours. And now I'm awake again, and it took me something like two hours to type this (with occasional distractions!), and it's WAY longer than I thought it would be, and I'm sure I've left stuff out.
However, I had a FABULOUS trip (except for the boredom of Binghamton on a Sunday...), and if I had to do it over again, the only thing I would change would be to find someone to go with, because I'm too shy to talk to players by myself, and it would have been nice to have someone to hang out with on Sunday. However, I'm hoping that next season there will be hockey in Ottawa to go to! :D
And a meme, just because this entry isn't long enough... ;)
Legolas Greenleaf
If I were a character in The Lord of the Rings, I would be Legolas, Elf, a son of the King of Mirkwood.
In the movie, I am played by Orlando Bloom.
Who would you be?
Zovakware Lord of the Rings Test with Perseus Web Survey Software
Wow, that was really long. Don't worry, I won't feel bad if you don't want to read it all!
-overnight trips are teh suck
-4hr layovers in Syracuse in the middle of the night are also teh suck
-the Holiday Inn rocks
-eee meeting boys and getting autographs!
-mmm sleep
-eee game!
-mmm sleep
-there is NOTHING to do in Binghamton on a Sunday
-overnight trips are still teh suck
-mmm home and sleep
And now the long version. Friday afternoon, after packing, I went to my parents' for pizza dinner (my grandma was there visiting, as was my mom's friend from Australia, so it was nice to see them, and get fed ;)), then my dad drove me to the bus terminal for my 10:15pm bus to Syracuse. There were eight of us on the bus, woohoo. Really popular destination, I can tell. ;)
Customs was interesting, I guess. Nothing exciting happened. Just had to show ID and fill out a declaration of where we were going and what we were bringing, then they did a cursory search of our bags and then we got back on the bus and headed for Syracuse. The worst part was that it was the middle of the night and freezing cold, brr.
The Syracuse bus station is surprisingly nice (except the bathroom was kinda gross), and has a 24-hr Dunkin Donuts, so I could get a hot chocolate and finally warm up. Which lasted until the hot chocolate was gone, but I didn't feel like getting another, because it was so sugary sweet that my stomach was rebelling already. Anyways, we were in Syracuse from 2:00am to 6:00am, and it SUCKED. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I didn't want to miss my bus, and besides, there was a creepy homeless guy wandering around collecting the twist tops of pop bottles and such, and talking loudly to someone no one could see but him about how he had all of them, and this invisible person wouldn't be able to find any more, because he'd already found them. Maybe the group of Amish people would have protected me, though. (Well, there was only two to start, an older man and his wife, but a whole busload of them showed up as we were leaving.)
I wish I could have stayed awake for the trip from Syracuse to Binghamton, because the sun was just rising, and there was a bit of a mist, and we were driving through hills and fields that were just starting to green up, and it was absolutely beautiful, but I was just WAY too tired by this point, so I dozed off for an hour or so, and woke up just in time to get into Binghamton.
So I got off the bus in Binghamton and walked down State St. to the arena, which was very cool, and then wandered around to find a hotel (at this point it's about 7:30am, and every hotel I'd looked at online said I could check in until 4:00pm, which was gonna SUCK because I was SO TIRED. So I walked across the street (literally) to the Holiday Inn Arena, where for $115 US I could get a room and check in right away. So tempting, but so much more than I wanted to pay, so I walked across the river to see if there was anything else more reasonably priced, and found the Sai Bless Inn ("Stay in peace"), which was only $50 a night, but I couldn't check in until 2:00pm, and the whole place reeked of cigarette smoke, and the people running it were scary white trash. Oh yeah, and it was across the street from a funeral parlour which was next to a sex shop. So yeah, I walked back over to the Holiday Inn, checked in, called my parents, and was going to try to sleep for a bit, but I wanted to get to the arena for 10:00 to see the morning practice, so I didn't have time to sleep, just lay down for half an hour on my KING-SIZED BED. It was HUGE, and I took up like... less than half of it. Craziness! I was also on the top floor (8th), and had to swipe my keycard through the reader in the elevator before I could press the button for my floor. I was on the "Executive Floor" or something like that. Very fancy. :)
After my brief rest, I went across the hotel parking lot, across the street, and into the arena (through the Press Entrance hehe), and I thought I could hear the practice, so I went searching and ended up UNDER the stands, and finally found my way out (it wasn't that difficult, actually, because the arena's not really so big that you can get too lost), and there were the boys, skating! Woohoo! There was 30 or so other people watching, and I hung out for a bit watching the drills, and then I realized that there was a small group off to one side of the ice kicking a soccer ball around. Pothier, Volchenkov, Spezza, and Neil! *squees* So of course I make my way over to watch, and they're all dorks, joking around, having fun. *grins* I wanted to take a picture, but no one else seemed to have cameras, so I didn't know if it was sort of taboo or something, so I didn't. Yeah, I'm a chicken. :P Shortly after I wandered over, Neil took off into the dressing room, but the other three stayed. Hehe and Spezza accidentally hit one of the women who was watching. He was trying to kick the ball back to Pothier, but it went sideways and hit her in the back and he was all apologetic about it, and all her friends teased that he owed her an autograph now. ;) So I got his autograph too before he headed back into the locker room, and Volchenkov and Pothier, who stayed a while longer (Volchenkov has a really cute smile, but doesn't talk a lot. Like... at all).
The team started heading off the ice about a quarter to twelve, and I managed to get a few more autographs as they went to the dressing room. Holy crap they're tall on skates!! I felt so tiny! (Well, I AM tiny, but it was still crazy!) So they all went into the locker room and I was about to leave, but I wasn't quite sure how to get back to the entrance I used, so I asked a guy who was standing there which door I should use, and he pointed to the right one, but said that if I stuck around half an hour or so, the players would all come back out, and I could get more autographs! So of course I stayed, and he and I chatted a bit, and he's met all the players before, and goes to these big collector's conventions or whatever to buy and sell memorabilia. Oh, and he spends a month out of every year in Tampa, and had a hockey stick signed by the whole team, except for Eric Perrin, who he was going to try to catch that night, since Perrin plays for Hershey, the team the BSens were playing. I never did see him after the game, so I don't know if he got the autograph or not.
Anyways, the guys started coming out of the locker room, so I got a ton more autographs, including Chris Neil, eee! Neil was actually about to leave out another door, but the guy (who I think was named Bob or something - we didn't exchange names, but some of the players seemed to know him, and I think that's what they called him. I was too busy squeeing at getting autographs to really be paying attention), called out his name and said "Chris, can you sign an autograph for this young lady? She came all the way from Ottawa", and Neil turned and came back, and was all smiley and said "Really? Wow!", and signed my autograph book and he was so nice. :) Hehe I'm really glad Bob was there, because I wouldn't have had the guts to say anything (yes, I'm a wuss!).
After the players had all left (some of them snuck out the back, so I didn't get autographs! :(), I picked up my tickets at Will Call, then went back to the hotel and crashed for an hour or two, then walked down to Quiznos and got a sub, and then back to the arena around 4:30, because Bob said that's when the players would start showing up before the game. Sure enough, Langfeld walked past all fancy in his suit and shades, then Spezza, carrying his suitjacket, and he grinned at me and said hi, and I said good luck, and he said thanks, and he went into the arena, and I giggled at his ears. :) Neil showed up shortly thereafter, and he drives a big, red, Ford F150 quad cab with Ontario plates, so it must be his, and not just a rental. *giggles* Fish drives the same truck, I think, but it's silver. And somehow, I wasn't surprised at all that Neil had a truck... :) Anyways, I almost fell over when he walked past. Some guys don't know how to dress themselves, but he is not one of them. Holy fuck he looked good. *drools* It was at this point that I REALLY wished I had someone there with me, because I would have loved to get a picture with him. He was wearing a gorgeous grey suit, with his hair all spiked up and mmm so tasty! And he was so nice and smiled at me and I said good luck, and he said thanks, and then went inside. And I'm a stalker, so I went and took a picture of his truck. *grins* Hehe then I was too tired to wait for the rest of the players, so I went back to the hotel and slept another hour or so before heading back to the arena at 6:00pm for the game.
As I was leaving the hotel, wearing my Chris Neil Sens jersey, two busloads of fans from Hershey had just pulled up, and teased me about my jersey. :) I went over to the arena and found my seat (right between two season ticket holders, directly above one of the exits, so I had a stupid hand rail right in front of me, and had to keep ducking down to see under it or stretching to see over, because it was RIGHT in the middle of my vision *growls* so I won't be sitting there again, if I ever go back down). There was still time before the pre-game skate, so I wandered around the concourse for a bit, and bought a souvenir program (with McGrattan on the cover! :)) and a couple of 8x10s - one of Neil, one of Vermette - with the hopes of getting them signed after the game.
I took a few pictures of the pre-game skate and of the awards ceremony before the game, but the zoom lens on my camera randomly decided to stop working, so I couldn't zoom in and the pics were so blurry you couldn't even tell who they were of. Bah. The zoom didn't work for the whole game either. I could still take pictures, but when I turned the camera off, the lens wouldn't retract or anything. And then it mysteriously started working again after the game. WTF??
Anyways, game spam!
-haha Bonvie and McGrattan chatting during the warmup!
-Bonvie and Neil chatted too, and Neil hung out with McGrattan a bit too
-mmm Neil stretching... ;)
-hehe the goalies are funny when everyone's taking shots on the net and they're trying to take shots too, but can't aim as well!
-wow Emery is fast in nets!
-aww McGrattan was the last one off the ice, after shooting a puck down into the Hershey net (hehe on his second try, getting a big cheer from the crowd)
-nothing much happened in the first, couple of penalties, but no scoring, and the game was moving a bit slow
-woohoo Bingo! 3 goals in the second! (one even strength, one shorthanded, one powerplay, two of them scored by Hamel)
-aww Vermy missed a chance and Bonvie patted him on the head
-Binghamton was up 5-0 at one point, and Hamel had a hat trick! (and since his nickname is Hammer, along with all the hats, lots of fans threw inflatable hammers onto the ice)
-since Hamel now had 39 goals for the year, his teammates spent the rest of the game trying to feed him for one more, so he could have 40, but it didn't work (and led to the second Hershey goal, I think, because they were trying too had to get Hamel another goal, and not concentrating on defense)
-5-2 final, yay!
-yay East Division Champions! :D
-eee Vermette was a +4, with 2a!
-Bonvie shook hands with Neiler and McGrattan and the coach, which I thought was really awesome :)
Three Stars:
3. Langfeld (1g, 1a, +2)
2. Emery (37 saves)
1. Hamel (3g, 1a, +2)
After the game, I made my way around to the locker room again, just in time to see Emery come out in just his hockey pants and an Underarmour shirt, mmm... Unfortunately, I couldn't get a pic, because there were too many people in the way, and by the time I'd gotten up onto the stands high enough to be over their heads, he'd gone back into the locker room, sigh. :( Me and all the other fans (including a boys hockey team from Gloucester - in Ottawa, for those of you on my flist who don't know) waited around for more players, and finally a few trickled out, including Neil and Vermette, yay! So I got my pictures autographed, and McGrattan, so I got him to sign my program. Hehe I didn't notice until I got back to the hotel after, but Vermette, instead of signing #20, wrote #2. Guess he was in a rush! ;) *giggles* Oh, and that boy doesn't know how to dress himself. He had on a brown suit with... square pinstripes? I can't really describe it. It was kinda like pinstripes, but about an inch apart, and with horizontal lines too, to make squares. And the most HIDEOUS tie! I mean... he's gorgeous, but someone needs to take him shopping for NICE clothes! Um... I volunteer! ;)
Went back to the hotel after the game and crashed for eight hours or so, then got cleaned up and checked out. The hotel staff was kind enough to let me leave my duffel bag in the back room so I wouldn't have to carry it around all day, and said that there probably wasn't anything open unless I wanted to take the bus down to the Oakdale Mall (which isn't even technically in Binghamton, I think). I figured SOMETHING must be open, and since it was lunchtime at this point, I decided to go find some food. Just to give you an idea of how small Binghamton is, they have a Subway and a Quiznos across the street from each other, NEITHER OF WHICH IS OPEN ON SUNDAYS!!! WTF? Anyways, so I found out which bus I had to take to the mall, and as I was crossing the street to the stop, a big white Hummer drove past. I didn't get a good look at the driver, but honestly, how many white Hummers can there be in Binghamton? And I KNOW Emery drives one... Hehe I should have tried to flag him down to ask if he could give me a ride to the mall. ;)
Another example of how small Binghamton is for my Ottawa people - their bus stops are about as far apart as transitway stops. And this is on MAIN STREET. Wow. And there was ONE bus on Sundays, that ran every hour or so. So I eventually made it to the mall, and wandered around a while. Went into Abercrombie & Fitch, and don't see what all the fuss is about. Their clothes look the same as everywhere else, except with a different logo. Oh, and apparently pre-ripped jeans are back. These were absolutely DESTROYED. And so expensive! *shakes head* Ridiculous! I also went into Victoria's Secret, and came out with a couple of really good bras, which I desperately needed. It was expensive, but they were better than anything I'd been able to find in Ottawa, so worth it, I guess. I also bought a pair of runners (since the inner sole of mine came loose and kept bunching up under my foot and was REALLY annoying), and got another hole pierced in my ear, with a funky sort of blue-purple titanium stud.
At that point (it was around 4:30pm) I figured I'd better get out of the mall before I spent any MORE money, so I went and caught the bus back to Binghamton, then walked down to the river and found a bench to sit on and read a bit until the sun started getting low and the wind picked up and I was getting cold, so I walked back towards the hotel and found a spot at the arena that was sheltered from the wind and was still getting a bit of sun, so I sat there another hour or so, then went into the hotel's restaurant/bar for dinner around 7:30pm and had possibly the BEST cream of broccoli soup I have ever had. It was really fantastic. Then I sat around there for a bit with the two girls who were working (I was the only customer) and we watched the end of Ever After, and a couple of episodes of The Simpsons, and then around 9:45pm, I left to get my bag and walk up to the bus station. Which, as it turns out, closed at 9:30. Bah. So I had to sit outside and wait. Thankfully it wasn't too cold, and there were a couple of other people waiting too, so I wasn't all alone.
The bus came right on time (10:40pm), and I dozed off a bit before we hit Syracuse, where I had another three and a half hour wait (which wasn't too bad this time, because it was only from midnight to 3:25am, instead of 2:00am to 6:00am), then I managed to get a bit more sleep before we hit Customs. They didn't even check our bags or anything! One of the Customs workers came on the bus, took our ID, went back to the terminal to run it through the computer, then came and gave it back, and that was it! It was really quick, and we were on our way again, and got back into Ottawa at 7:00am. I caught a bus home, called my parents to let them know I'd made it back safely, and then crashed for five hours. And now I'm awake again, and it took me something like two hours to type this (with occasional distractions!), and it's WAY longer than I thought it would be, and I'm sure I've left stuff out.
However, I had a FABULOUS trip (except for the boredom of Binghamton on a Sunday...), and if I had to do it over again, the only thing I would change would be to find someone to go with, because I'm too shy to talk to players by myself, and it would have been nice to have someone to hang out with on Sunday. However, I'm hoping that next season there will be hockey in Ottawa to go to! :D
And a meme, just because this entry isn't long enough... ;)
Legolas Greenleaf
If I were a character in The Lord of the Rings, I would be Legolas, Elf, a son of the King of Mirkwood.
In the movie, I am played by Orlando Bloom.
Who would you be?
Zovakware Lord of the Rings Test with Perseus Web Survey Software
Wow, that was really long. Don't worry, I won't feel bad if you don't want to read it all!