Disheveled Musings: Almost Packed!

When I booked my trip to Vietnam a couple of months ago it felt so far away, and now its upon me with little time to really digest it, yes I'm leaving tomorrow. J Where did the time go? All this time I'd pushed it to the back of my mind thinking that it was so far off and not wanting to get too excited about it too early – if you know what I mean.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week with me. I was on a business trip Monday and Tuesday; as I was scouting a hotel for our customer conference in 2016 and it just so happened to fall this week. Then on top of that I had a host of other activities with Zach and Sami that has seen my week pass in the blink of an eye. It’s just been one of those weeks – what can I say except that I still have to pack!

The Broadmoor is a very special place!

My week started with me getting on a plane and flying to Denver early Monday morning (4 hours) so I could visit The Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado Springs. And what a hotel it is – wow!

Spencer Penrose built the “lodge” in 1918; basing his design on the best of the grand European hotels of the era and combining that with the magnificent railroad hotels that dotted the country at that time he created a timeless masterpiece. Even today the Broadmoor has a distinctly European flavor and flair, with Italian frescos lining many of its rooms and studios, juxtaposed with a myriad of fine American fine art and the grandeur that you'd expect of a hotel of its lineage.

As you know I've traveled extensively throughout the world and the Broadmoor was one of the best hotel I have ever stayed in. Earlier today I was trying to pin down why it was so special? Was it the combination of the lush gardens and mountain vistas that bombard your senses as you take in the natural surroundings, or was it the rich and beautifully appointed rooms, perhaps the friendliness and familial feeling of its staff or maybe it was the exquisite food… One thing’s for certain it’s a place I will not forget easily and hope to get back to again - very soon! J

During my visit I also squeezed in a visit to the US OlympicTeam training center, which is also located in Colorado Springs. The facilities are as you'd expect nothing short of amazing, but the big advantage to training here is that the athletes are at altitude, in fact just over 6,000 feet above sea level which provides an added advantage to their cardio vascular conditioning. Although Michael Phelps and other members of the US Swim team weren't in residence this past week there were about 150 athletes training across the variety of disciplines, and as you'd imagine it was amazing to observe them and their coaches working out.

US Olympic Training Facility

Fascinating experience!

The remainder of my week was just getting into gear upon my return home late Tuesday night as Zach returned from his first month of camp earlier that day so I got a chance to spend a little time with him before I dropped him back to his camp bus on Thursday morning. Fortunately his visit home coincided beautifully with an exhibition soccer match at BMO Field between Toronto FC (MLS) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (English Premier League) on Wednesday night.

Of course Tottenham Hotspur just so happens to be Sami’s favorite English football club (wow, what are the chances?) clearly she was thrilled to see her team play in the flesh so she was adorned in her blue and white to show her support for “her” team, whereas we other three (Zach, Julia – Sami’s friend from school/soccer and me) were all in our red and white and cheering for Toronto. J Nothing better than a little friendly rivalry!

Although it was considered a “friendly” match both teams seemed to be playing with a certain amount of energy and gusto if you know what I mean. It was obvious that Tottenham were in a class above Toronto and were ahead 2-0 after only 15 minutes with two beautiful goals from Erik Lamela, the recent signing from Argentina. He is clearly destined to be one of the Tottenham’s, if not one of the top players this season in the English Premier League so it was no wonder he scored so easily.

I was a little worried it was going to be a complete whitewash, but to Toronto’s credit they fought back and by early in the second half tied it up 2-2. However, this is where it became obvious that the Tottenham players pride was on the line especially considering they play in one of the best leagues in the world. And with less than five minutes to play, they began assaulting the Toronto net with shot after shot and scored a beautiful goal to go ahead and eventually win in a closely fought 3-2 victory. You could almost see a sigh of relief wash over the Tottenham players at full time – tragedy averted!

Sami (Tottenham Hotspur supporter), Julia and Zach in our Toronto FC colors!

Then last night Sami and Julia played in their U13 Cup match against Pickering. Mooredale started strongly scoring twice in the first half to be 2-0 at the break, however, as the game wore on Sami and her team mates couldn't keep up the torrid pace and with no substitutes (yes, its summer time so the team is struggling to get enough players mid season) they began to tire and slowly but surely Pickering evened it at 2-2, before Mooredale went ahead 3-2. However, with less than ten minutes to play Pickering scored a beautiful goal on a corner kick to make it 3-3... Sami’s team now had every girl-playing defense and fought off attack after attack, with some very close misses from the Pickering team.

However the drama wasn't quite over yet! Oh no, because it was a cup game they had to have a winner so it went to a penalty shootout. Sami was third of five to step to the line for what was a win or lose moment, after the Pickering goalie stopped one and we had put another over the crossbar we were looking at losing it right here if Sami didn’t score. No pressure huh?

She looked at me forlornly as she strode toward the waiting referee, I called from the sideline for her to “just breathe sweetheart”, but cool as a cucumber and without a flicker of acknowledgement she adjusted the ball on the spot and stepped back. I’m not sure about you but I held my breath as the referee blew his whistle, and she began her five-step run up. For that split second the world stood still as she made great contact and banged it home into the bottom left corner of the net…the team yelled their support and a huge smile and sigh of relief washed over her as she jogged back to the center circle – that’s my girl!

However, someone had to lose and although they played their hearts out her team eventually lost 7-6 in sudden death.

Finally it's the end the week and I drove Sami up to camp early this morning (a day late as she wanted to play in the cup game last night), we left at 7:00 am for the 3.5 hour drive up to Algonquin Provincial Park and our eventual destination - Camp Arowhon.

Sami and I at Camp Arowhon where she'll spend the next month enjoying all of the natural
wonders of Algonquin Provincial Park with her cabin mates...

As we arrived her camp mates, literally pulled her from the car, all hugging and talking over one another as they embraced collectively. I was fortunate enough to get a quick photo of her and I before she was once again enveloped. It made my heart swell to see her so happy and popular with her friends.

Okay, now I have to pack!

Your next blog will be from Vietnam J

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Here are some photos from The Broadmoor that I took earlier this week - enjoy!