Sunday, April 04, 2010

Exhausted!

By Wilfred Bereswill

Did you ever feel like you need to get back to work to rest from a vacation?  That's me right now.  As Jennie Bentley mentioned in her blog Friday, I was in Nashville on Thursday and Friday.

My middle daughter, Kristen, has been an avid hockey fan for many years.  Sometime in her early years, say 7 or 8 years old, she started cuddling next to me on my recliner to watch a St. Louis Blues game.  I guess it was our way of bonding.

For many of those years, the Blues have sponsored a bus trip to a game in Nashville, but you had to be 21 to join in because alcohol was involved.  Every year she reminded me that after she turned 21 we were going to go on the trip.  Well, she turned 21 a couple of months ago and...this year the Blues decided not to have a sponsored trip.  No bus to Nashville with a bunch of noisy, drunk hockey fans.

Well, as it turned out she was on spring break from college and the Blues just happened to be playing in Nashville on Thursday.  So we hopped in the convertible and headed 275 miles south, just the two of us.  We woke up at 5 AM and hit the road, arriving in time to catch the team as they walked from their morning practice to the hotel.  Of course, my 21 year old daughter was in heaven being around a bunch of young, strapping hockey players.  Here are a few of the pictures.


Here is Kristen with (left to right) Jay MacClement, Eric Brewer, Barret Jackman and Roman Polak.  BTW, Barret Jackman inspired a character in my book, an FBI Agent named Bart Jackman.


Kristen with T.J. Oshie.


Kristen with David Backes.

There are about 20 more like this, so you get the picture.  And the smile on her face is genuine.  We walked around downtown Nashville and took in the sights.






Had lunch, dinner and went to the game.








I like Nashville.  They have Ice Girls.


After the game we hit a couple of bars.


Then checked into the Opryland Hotel and Resort.  This place is fabulous, enormous and expensive.

On Friday, we met the fabulous Jennie Bentley for lunch and talked shop.  Jennie is just as wonderful in person as she sounds in her posts and I was really glad she was able to make time in her schedule to meet us.

After lunch, we packed into the car, put the top down and drove 5 hours north.

I had another early day on Saturday, waking at 5 AM again to play golf.  It was the first round of the year and absolutely forgettable.  In other words, I played like crap.

Easter Sunday started early again with our annual Easter Egg hunt.  The hunt is a tradition in our family and the stakes are high.  This year there was about $150 at stake and my three daughters take it seriously.  It's an Easter Egg hunt with attitude.




After the hunt and Sunday Easter Mass we had my wife's family over and they all just left.

I need to get back to work to rest.

15 comments:

Annette said...

Your daughter is beautiful, Will. She obviously gets her looks from your wife! ;-)

It sounds like a wonderful "vacation" even if you do need to go back to work to get a rest.

Martha Reed said...

Hi, Will.

Your daughter is a lucky girl and you are a great Dad - just looking at the smile on her face tells me everything I need to know.

I'm with you on the exhaustion part - but I also know that some of the best memories come from making the extra effort. I'm sure your daughter will never forget her 21st birthday hockey game.

Jenna said...

It was wonderful to meet you and your daughter, as well, Will. We'll have to do it again the next time you're in town. I'm sure we drove the poor girl crazy with shop-talk, but she was a good sport about it. Nice photographs; a pity we didn't remember to take one of the three of us...

Wilfred Bereswill said...

Annette, all my daughters are gorgeous, which definitly comes from my better half. I noticed a few guys sniffing around her at the bars.

Martha, there's nobody I'd perfer spending time with than my family. Having 3 daughters can be nerve-wracking and expensive, but it does give me plenty to write about.

Jennie, I thought about the photo op too late. We had our cameras packed away in the trunk of the car.

PatRemick said...

What great memories you made this weekend! Worth being really tired over ... Could your daughter's smile get any bigger? You ARE a good Dad!

Jemi Fraser said...

Love the photos! So exciting - I'm a Canadian gal so I totally relate to the excitement of the hockey trip :)

Karen in Ohio said...

Wil, that looks like one happy girl. Kudos to Dad for helping her fantasy come true!

Word verification word: unson As in daughter!

Joyce Tremel said...

What a great weekend! Your daughter will remember it for a long time.

Now yinz guys need to come to Pittsburgh and see a Pens game!

Daryl Wood Gerber a.k.a. Avery Aames said...

What a fabulous recounting of a great day! your daughter is a dream. What a smile. Enjoy your family. They count the most!

~Avery
AveryAames.com
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen

Patg said...

Daughters are the best! So says the mother of a daughter.
On the other hand, Will, what vacation? Ghastly early morning wake ups, long driving by self anywhere, and entertaining family doesn't sound like a vacation to me. Where's the long flights away from home, somebody else doing everything for you and fabulous meals not cooked by anyone you know which includes several choices???
Oh well, maybe it's me.
Guess I'd better keep my trap shut about sports and church.
Patg

Wilfred Bereswill said...

All, thanks for the notes. Sometimes a smile is all you need to keep you going. However, I think it was hanging out with all those young athletes that she was smiling about.

My next beg day will be July 10th when I give my oldest daughter away to a very nice guy.

Joyce, I've been to the Igloo long ago. I'd love to see Sid the Kid in action.

Dana King said...

Sweet, will. Good for you.

As fate would have it, last week I took my daughter (aka The Sole Heir) and my Beloved Spouse back to Pittsburgh to say good-bye to The Big Igloo (aka Mellon Arena). The Sole Heir is a rabid Penguins fan, as if the wife. We had a ball.

I try to find at least one of these bonding opportunities a year with my daughter. We've driven to Colorado, Montana, seen the US Open at Oakmont, and took a day last August to sight see and take in a nationals game before she started college. She's 19 now, and these times may be fleeting, depending on how her life and career shake out. It's great to see another father-daughter tandem sharing this attitude.

MaryQ said...

Will, what a great trip with your daughter. As our kids get older, there is so little time to spend together, esp. in a nice one-on-one trip like that. I'm sure she'll always remember what a wonderful time the 2 of you had.

M Pax said...

Looks like a blast. I always loved hockey. My brother runs the Sabres fan site.

Wilfred Bereswill said...

Thank you all for the kind words. Sometime after July 10th, I'll post pictures of the Wedding... When I'm a poor man.