I'm just back from the Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships. I guess this could be considered a "scouting" trip since Adult Nationals will be at Lake Placid in April. I had to check out the venue, restaurants, party scene, etc. It was a good plan, but since I barely got to leave the rink I didn't get to do much scouting. I did verify that the rink contains ice, which is comforting; we should be all set for Adult Nationals.
After spending 14-hour days in the rink Thursday and Friday, I finally had some time off Saturday morning to stroll downtown and actually see the lake, although I found out later the lake I saw was NOT Lake Placid but merely Mirror Lake, which is smaller and not famous. Anyway it was a body of water adjacent to a nice park where I sat in an Adirondack chair (NOT comfortable I might add) and pondered the scene for some time before returning to the rink.
We did scratch from our open events since Tim is still not able to put on a boot due to swelling and he decided not to come to Placid. I kept myself busy judging and encouraging the 7 teams who did enter adult events here. I stayed at a bed and breakfast which was affordable and quiet but lacked air conditioning which I realized a bit too late would have been nice to have. It really is the humidity.
Sunday consisted of getting up at 4:30 AM and driving with Mike R. to Lake George, where we skated and were filmed for an introduction to ice dancing DVD for adults. After sitting for long periods and eating the very delicious catered food for several days it was nice to get out and skate for 2 hours. Of course my outbound flight was delayed out of JFK for several hours and contained a baby who screamed non-stop for 5 and a half hours along with the obligatory seat kicker/grabber behind me, so real sleep eluded me until I got home exhausted at 2 AM. I caught a cold the very next day thanks to the kindness of strangers sneezing and coughing on the airplane without bothering to cover their mouths and noses.
Despite all this I hope we make it back to Lake Placid in April somehow this season. There is something magical about the place, and I am sure that skating on olympic ice must be inspiring. After judging the Open Austrian Waltzes I think that's the international I want to work on if only I can find a coach to help me out until Tim gets back on the ice. Sounds like a good plan for now.
After spending 14-hour days in the rink Thursday and Friday, I finally had some time off Saturday morning to stroll downtown and actually see the lake, although I found out later the lake I saw was NOT Lake Placid but merely Mirror Lake, which is smaller and not famous. Anyway it was a body of water adjacent to a nice park where I sat in an Adirondack chair (NOT comfortable I might add) and pondered the scene for some time before returning to the rink.
We did scratch from our open events since Tim is still not able to put on a boot due to swelling and he decided not to come to Placid. I kept myself busy judging and encouraging the 7 teams who did enter adult events here. I stayed at a bed and breakfast which was affordable and quiet but lacked air conditioning which I realized a bit too late would have been nice to have. It really is the humidity.
Sunday consisted of getting up at 4:30 AM and driving with Mike R. to Lake George, where we skated and were filmed for an introduction to ice dancing DVD for adults. After sitting for long periods and eating the very delicious catered food for several days it was nice to get out and skate for 2 hours. Of course my outbound flight was delayed out of JFK for several hours and contained a baby who screamed non-stop for 5 and a half hours along with the obligatory seat kicker/grabber behind me, so real sleep eluded me until I got home exhausted at 2 AM. I caught a cold the very next day thanks to the kindness of strangers sneezing and coughing on the airplane without bothering to cover their mouths and noses.
Despite all this I hope we make it back to Lake Placid in April somehow this season. There is something magical about the place, and I am sure that skating on olympic ice must be inspiring. After judging the Open Austrian Waltzes I think that's the international I want to work on if only I can find a coach to help me out until Tim gets back on the ice. Sounds like a good plan for now.
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