O Say Can You See
- michael832652
- 7 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Baltimore, MD December 3-5, 2025
The boy plays a lot of sports - you know about the hockey tournaments, well, he's a senior on the school basketball team. Tournament every year, for the grade 9 and 10's in Montreal and grade 11 and 12's Baltimore. This is his last year and I had never been to one, so very last minute I decide to hop on down, why not? Last chance to see him play competitive, he does love basketball more than hockey and shines quite a bit. As a side, the league I have been playing in for years allowed anyone turning 18 to be on the roster, so I naturally asked him to play with us. We donned the court together, in a game, for the first time in October for opening night. I came home that night and the Mrs. says, "So, how'd it go?" I was almost in tears, "One of the greatest nights of my life, and we won!" She was almost in tears too. It meant so much to me that I didn't want the night to end. Anyhoo, team bus leaves Tuesday am for the 12 hour jaunt, I get home from the shoppe on Tuesday early evening and the Mrs. says she wants to come. Amazing! Book the flights for Wednesday morning and look into a hotel for 2 nights. I made sure she knew the accommodation was going to be whatever was close to the host school. She agreed and even though I was still nervous about her reaction she realizes the bigger picture here - to see our son. Fly into Reagan in D.C, grab the car, head into the city to meet our niece for a coffee who is currently living and working at the World Bank. Take the Mrs. on a quick walking tour of the city as she had never been - Lincoln Memorial, the White House, WWII and Vietnam Memorials, through the National Mall and back to the car by 2 so we can get to Baltimore and catch the first game at 5. We had some time between games on Thursday so off to the oldest deli in Baltimore, which ahs been on my radar for years, and what else to do in Baltimore. Google pops up Fort McHenry, who doesn't love a good fort tour! The Mrs. and I also love a good history lesson and places of discovery and while touring the place what do you find out but a lawyer named Mr. Francis Scott Key, happened to witness the bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814 and wrote a poem about it and by the dawn's early light, the anthem for the United States of America was born, although it wasn't officially used until the 1880's I think. That's by my memory, Wikipedia might have something different to say about that in the link below. So cool - who knew? Not this Canadian and probably not many Americans know that either, but what a great spot to visit and a nice option for an hour if you are in the area. Back to the school and see a few more games and some wins. Really great experience and something we and he won't forget!
SET UP
King bed at the Double Tree Hilton in Pikesville, MD. A stones throw from the host school, super convenient for the back and forth and near a little strip where we had a quick bit at Jilly's and took the boys to Pikes Cinema Bar (see below in links) and the place was hopping! Turns out there is a pickleplex attached to the back of the hotel and there happened to a mid week tournament happening, no kidding, and people from all over the state were in! Fad, craze or here to stay? This pickleball thing, I think the latter.
MATTRESS
Manufactured in 2007! I don't remember much from yesterday let alone 19 years ago - this is older than the boy!
Needless to say, it wasn't the best night sleeps of my life but it surprisingly was not horrible. Certainly had some wear on it but wasn't lumpy or bumpy. I would say that its time for a change but the suggestion box was closed.
SLEEP
Fine and fine, remembering that we were there for a cause and the expectations were set very low. The Mrs. was on her best behavior and it ended up being a great stay.
OVERALL
As we walk into the gym for game 1, the boys are warming up and a huge smile from the boy and huge hugs, happy to see us and appreciative, at least I think, that we made the trip down. He may have also been playing the cool card a bit too - but hoping the foundation is being laid and the true appreciation will kick in at some point! All in all, it was a great time, the boys finished as first loser, really good final game, but just got a bit flustered at the end and couldn't quite rally back from the 10 point deficit they faced. It was a great decision for us to go and so happy the boys had a great time. They have formed good bonds with each other and the boys from Baltimore and hoping they will stay connected forever. 🏀🏀🏀 🏅🏅🏅🥪🥪🥪🚌🚌🚌
GREAT REALTED LINKS
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