And so the tour ends as well as the year.  Now it's time to retreat to Perdido Key and chill on the quiet beach for a few weeks.

GAME STATS

  

Tallahassee, FL.  A birthday was looming. Like all birthdays, this would be the biggest one yet.  It was a milestone, and I wanted to share it with the one person I know and love who would be achieving the same milestone on the same day.

  
In 1950, my grandparents received news.  Their younger daughter had a baby girl.  That was me.  Later on the same day, they were notified that their older daughter had a baby boy.  That was Bruce, my twin cousin.  When we were children, I never let him forget that I was older than him by about four hours.  Now, he's the one reminding me.

  

The twin cousins

Bruce has always been wittier, funnier, taller, and much smarter than me.  The only thing I had on him was age, and I had to play the card I was dealt.  Bruce's wit is so sharp that I have to make a concerted effort to stay on my toes or some of his quips sail right over my head.  Such as the time he called to check on my broken arm. "You still flying in circles?"  he asked.  After a beat or two, when I caught up, I finally replied, "Uh, yeah, I am." 

A master mimic, Bruce can perfectly impersonate our grandfather, his dad, or his brothers, leaving everyone roaring with laughter.  He constantly finds opportunities to make others laugh and help them enjoy life.  This gift is even extended to strangers he encounters.  Spending my 60th birthday with this special birthday buddy was the perfect antidote to any latent concerns about aging.  So we packed up and headed to Tallahassee.

Visiting Bruce comes with added benefits.  First, there's his beautiful wife June, a gracious hostess who thinks of even the tiniest detail to make guests feel welcome and comfortable.  With a refined decorating sense and loving heart, she has created a luxurious guest suite and hospitable home that make visitors feel pampered and eager to return.

  

These girls know how to party.

And there's Bruce and June's adorable granddaughter Reese.  Almost four years old, this bright and imaginative young lady has a knowledge base and emotional sensibility well beyond her years.  She clearly has a mutual adoration society with both these grandparents, with whom she is lucky enough to spend two days each week.

  

Bruce and his birthday posse.

Completing this lovely family are son Adam and his charming wife Jessica, Reese's parents.  Both are very successful in their chosen occupations but have wisely achieved a life-sustaining balance between careers, family devotion and dedication to health and fitness.  They are currently training for an upcoming marathon.

Spending my 60th birthday with my twin Bruce and his family made it a special event I will always remember fondly.  Even though I turned 60 four hours before he did, it could not have been a better day.

Mobile, Alabama.  After enjoying a couple of days in N'awlins, and with hockey still on hiatus, we drove east along the Gulf Coast to Mobile, Alabama.  Last spring we scouted out some likely places to plant letterboxes in Mobile, Alabama, which has been something of a letterboxing desert.  In the intervening months, we prepared the boxes, and finally this week we returned and planted 9 boxes in and near Mobile to highlight some local legends and locations which we thought would be interesting to searchers.

1.  Mobile Museum of Art

Founded in 1963 by the Mobile Art Association, the Mobile Museum of Art (museum sculpture pictured above) serves the city of Mobile and the South Alabama area. The museum is located in the city-owned Langan Park and in 2002 underwent a major expansion which tripled its size. The museum's permanent collection comprises more than 6,000 art objects spanning two thousand years of cultural history. Changing exhibitions feature a wide range of artists, media, subjects, and time periods. A wide range of educational programs are offered to the public and to school groups.

Located in the museum's picturesque lakefront lobby, the Palette Café offers visitors the chance to enjoy a casual and delicious lunch while visiting the museum. Diners can enjoy a variety of tempting soups, sandwiches and salads, as well as homemade cakes and pies. We recommend it highly.

2.  Azalea City (Mobile Botanical Gardens)
Mobile’s Azalea Trail began in 1929 as a project of the local Jaycees to attract tourists to the city. Mobilians were encouraged to plant azaleas to line local streets. Based on the planting efforts of citizens, an Azalea Trail was designated, running through many areas of the city. The trail was marked by a pink line painted down the middle of the street.

Soon the city became known for its mass of pink blooms each spring. Walter D. Bellingrath opened his elaborate private garden to the public in 1932. These two attractions inspired Mobile's nickname as the Azalea City. There's even an azalea named for the city, the Pride of Mobile. Visitors still come each spring to see the beautiful blooms. You'll see plenty of azalea plants at the Mobile Botanical Gardens in Langan Park.

3.  Old Joe Cain (at Church Street Graveyard)
The Old Church Street Cemetery is located behind the main branch of the Mobile Public Library at 753 Government Street. It is the burial place of a legendary Mobile character, Old Joe Cain.

Joseph Stillwell Cain, Jr. is recognized as the man responsible for the rebirth of Mobile's Mardi Gras celebrations in the years immediately following the Civil War. The tumult of the war had disrupted the annual festivities in Mobile. After the war and under Union occupation, the city was disillusioned and discouraged. On the afternoon of Fat Tuesday in 1866, Joe Cain, a store clerk, set out to raise the spirits of Mobilians.

Appearing as a mythical Chickasaw Indian, Chief Slacabormorinico from Wagg Swamp, he climbed aboard a decorated coal wagon pulled by a mule and held a one-float parade through the streets of Mobile, thus initiating the modern era of Mardi Gras in the city. A Confederate veteran, Cain's decision to masquerade as chief of a tribe that had never been defeated was intended as an act of defiance against the Union occupation of the city. He achieved his goal of lifting Mobile citizens from despair and reviving the celebration of Mardi Gras.

In 1867, Joe Cain made his second appearance as “Old Slac” and was accompanied by the Lost Cause Minstrels, a group of musicians playing drums and horns. This was the origin of The Order of the Myths parade on Fat Tuesday. Cain founded many of the city's mystic societies and built a Mardi Gras parade tradition which continues today. Cain himself participated in each year’s festival until he died.

In 1966, Mobile observed the Joe Cain centennial by having Cain's body exhumed from its resting place in the nearby town of Bayou la Batre and re-interred in Mobile's historic Church Street Cemetery. The event was marked with a traditional jazz funeral procession, beginning the annual celebration of Joe Cain Day on the Sunday before Mardi Gras. The event was the brainchild of Julian Lee Rayford, who claimed Joe Cain appeared to him in dreams and urged him to start a "people's parade." Rayford is now buried next to Joe Cain's plot in the Church Street Cemetery.

4.  Yellow Submarine

In the early 1960s, two Mobile adventurers salvaged a 300-ft troop transporter submerged in Mobile Bay with the idea of building a submarine from the 20,000 gallon water tanks aboard the ship. The tanks were made of welded steel plates, half an inch thick, which the men cut and re-welded into the body of the submarine. When construction was finished, the partners hoped to use the submarine to gather treasures from the tropical ocean floor. A tube with a pointed cap was attached to the bottom of the craft. With the cap removed, the tube was designed to work like a vacuum cleaner, pulling in treasures from the deep. The hoped-for treasures were of two kinds: seafood, especially very large lobsters that migrated at certain times of the year, and treasures from sunken pirate ships.

Once construction was complete, the two adventurers disagreed on the best way to proceed. One wanted to test the craft locally while the other was eager to go out searching for treasure. Eventually they joined together in an unsuccessful effort to locate investors to fund their venture. Meanwhile, the submarine remained on the bank of Three Mile Creek where it had been built, having never been launched in the water.

Years later, in the early 1980s, Jordan Pile Driving leased land along the creek and discovered the submarine in the process of dredging the creek to accommodate the company's boats and barges. The sub was freed using a crane, and Jordan purchased it from the builder, cleaned it up, and painted it yellow in honor of the Beatles' 1968 movie and album. He now tells truckers looking for his business, "Go down Telegraph Road two miles, and turn right at the first yellow submarine."

5.  Fort Conde Museum and Visitor Center

Originally a part of French Louisiana, the Alabama Gulf Coast was a focal point for colonial exploration and settlement. Located upriver, Mobile was the first capital of the French colony. Disease and flooding led to the move of the town to its present location in 1711. After the warm humid climate led to the deterioration of the wooden stockade fort constructed to protect the town, a new brick and stone fort was built in 1723 to guard against Spanish or British attack on the strategic location of Mobile and its Bay as a port to the Gulf of Mexico.

Named Fort Conde in honor of King Louis XIV's brother, the Prince of Conde, the fort served as a defense for Mobile and as a base for French exploration and expansion into much of the modern state of Alabama. Fort Conde remained in the hands of its French builders until 1763, when it was turned over to the British along with the rest of Alabama as part of the agreement that ended the French and Indian War. In 1780, Mobile became part of Spanish Florida, and the Spanish held the fort until 1813, when it was occupied by U.S. troops.

After guarding Mobile and its citizens for almost 100 years, the outdated fort was dismantled in 1820, and commercial and residential development spread over its former site. About one-third of the fort was reconstructed at 80% scale during the 1970s. Fort Conde now serves as the official Welcome Center for the City of Mobile. Visitors can explore the reconstructed walls and rooms where exhibits relate the history of Mobile and the fort.

6.  USS Alabama

Commissioned in 1942, the USS Alabama is 680 feet long and 108 feet wide. Under battle conditions, the ship weighed in at more than 45,000 tons. With a crew of 2,500, the ship saw 37 months of active duty in World War II, earning nine battle stars in the Atlantic and Pacific arenas. "The Mighty A" never suffered any casualties or significant damage due to enemy fire. After the war, the ship remained in the U.S. Navy's reserve fleet until the early 1960s when it was designated for scrap. A grassroots fundraising campaign brought the ship to Mobile to serve as a museum and the centerpiece of Battlefield Memorial Park.

The park was established to honor all Alabama veterans who have participated in all conflicts of the U.S. Armed Services and, in addition to the Alabama, features military equipment from numerous conflicts from 1941 to the present.

7.  Little Colt at Spanish Plaza

Presented as a gift to Mobile from the city of Cordoba, Spain, in 1967, the Little Colt is a reproduction of the Potro de Cordoba statue which sits sits atop a fountain near Cordoba's city center. Mobile's Little Colt resides in Spanish Plaza, a downtown city park that honors the Spanish rule in the city from 1780 to 1813 and the city's continuing friendship with Spain.

In 1979, Hurricane Frederic ripped the Little Colt from its pedestal and damaged its rear legs. The statue spent the next two decades in a warehouse full of tombstones, all but forgotten. After a city worker rediscovered the colt in 2000, it took another 10 years for the sculpture to be repaired and returned to Spanish Plaza, where it was restored to its original pedestal in March, 2010.

8.  Ellicott's Stone (Bucks, AL)

Ellicott's Stone is the only surviving boundary marker demarcating the boundary between what was then the Spanish territories in Florida and U.S. territory as negotiated in the Treaty of San Lorenzo. In 1796, George Washington commissioned Andrew Ellicott as the U.S. representative on the commission to establish the international border starting at the Mobile River and working east toward the Atlantic. Ellicott traveled with a military escort and worked together with Spanish commissioners for the next four years. Using homemade surveying instruments and the stars for guidance, Ellicott and his survey crew encountered many obstacles, including rough terrain, dissident laborers, nearly impenetrable swamps, and Indian attacks.

The remaining historic stone marker was placed in 1799 near the bank of the Mobile River where the survey team determined the 31st parallel to be. Despite the limits of their methods and equipment, the stone is placed just 500 feet south of the true 31st parallel. This parallel remained an international boundary for only 14 years, until America obtained Mobile from the Spaniards in 1813. However, Ellicott's Line from this survey, running along latitude 31°N, still defines the border between Alabama and Florida.

9.  Aaron Burr's Capture (McIntosh, AL)

Aaron Burr is no ordinary historical figure. A New York lawyer and U.S. senator, Burr was one of the early leaders of the U.S. and was a candidate in the 1800 presidential election with Thomas Jefferson as opponent. The Electoral College vote ended in a tie between Burr and Jefferson, throwing the election into Congress, which was also deadlocked. Finally on the thirty-sixth ballot, with heavy campaigning by Alexander Hamilton, Congress declared Jefferson the winner and Burr, as runner-up, was named Vice-President.

Burr blamed Hamilton, a long-time political and courtroom rival, for his defeat in the 1800 election and later in the New York gubernatorial election of 1804 and killed Hamilton in a duel. Later Burr organized a venture into the West, perhaps to break up his own country or at least to conquer Mexico, allying himself in this venture with James Wilkinson, who was both a general in the U.S. army and at the same time a paid secret agent for Spain. Burr was eventually accused of sedition by Wilkinson, causing President Jefferson to order that Burr be captured and brought back to the East to stand trial for treason.

Burr fled the chase, heading for Spanish Florida. He nearly made it but was captured and arrested at McIntosh Bluff (then in the Mississippi Territory) in 1807. At his trial for treason, Burr was acquitted by Chief Justice John Marshall, who ruled there were not sufficient witnesses to convict him. After traveling abroad for a few years, Burr returned home to New York and settled back into his law practice. For a time he was moderately successful until personal tragedy and a series of health problems left Burr heavily dependent on friends and family for financial support before his death.

Icing on the Cake
After all the boxes were planted, we were lucky enough to stumble upon our young cousin Ashley at a Mobile Starbucks location, and she insisted we stop by.  Later we visited her and her family at their beautiful home, capping off a fascinating and fun planting event in Mobile.

The Hughes Family

SUNDAY, 26 DECEMBER 2010

New Orleans, LA.  Unlike Mardi Gras and New Year's Eve, Halloween and the Fourth of July, Christmas is not a holiday that attracts tens of thousands of visitors to New Orleans.  Thus we were able to book a suite at a downtown hotel for about one-fifth what it would cost just a week later.  

  

Jackson Square empty on a rainy Christmas morning

Safety Pin, an Oldenburg sculpture

Exquisite landscaping enhances the sculpture garden.

Move along.  Nothing to see here.

New Orleans is a city of characters—and sometimes caricatures.  A truly unique city in ways that most American cities are not—with distinct cuisine, music, architecture, celebrations and a pure joie de vivre that has helped the city survive so many disasters.
  
Though newcomers are moving into the city, long-time residents still make up the majority of the population.  Most left in the aftermath of Katrina's flooding in 2005, only to return later to the city which owns their hearts.
  
Today we met Alfred.  He works as an engineer at one of New Orleans' high-rise buildings.  The chief engineer for the building is a fan of letterboxing and permitted the planting of a letterbox in a mechanical room on one of the upper floors.

  

When one asks the key phrase of security guards at the premises, one of the building engineers will take you not only to the room where the box is located but also on an aerial view of the city via the building's roof.  (view pictured above)

Alfred

Our tour guide today was Alfred.  In chatting with him about his job and his life in New Orleans, he told us, "Everybody has a Katrina story."  This is his.

In 2005, Alfred was an engineer at the New Orleans Museum of Art.  As the waters rose and flooding began, he was at the museum, which was on a small rise and not taking on water.  Power was out throughout the city, and Alfred was ensuring that the museum's emergency generator was functioning so that the priceless works of art were kept at the optimum humidity and temperature. 

A group of 74 people were at the museum with him—employees and others who had taken shelter there for one reason or another.  The museum's director was not present but was determined that Alfred continue to protect the treasures within the facility.

Then the National Guard came and ordered the museum evacuated and generators shut down.  Alfred's director tried to protest by phone but Alfred informed him that the Guard was willing to use arms to enforce their orders.  He and his companions were loaded into helicopters and taken to the New Orleans airport, where he found a chaotic situation.

Eventually, he spent five nights in the open with no place to stay, no facilities for his use, before he was able to join his family, whom he had sent to Texas.  When he returned to New Orleans, he had nothing but his family.  "I lost everything," he said.  He had no home, no job, no posessions. 

Even his treasured saxophone had been destroyed.  With the best of intentions, a relief organization which sought to help musicians affected by Katrina gave him a keyboard.  "But I play the sax," he told them.  "Well, you can learn the keyboard then," was the reply. 

Alfred was the quintessential gentleman.  He genuinely enjoys meeting people and could not have been more gracious and patient with all our questions and chatter.  It was a honor to meet him and hear his story.

A briefer encounter in the French Quarter introduced us to a fine example of a French mastiff and his owners.  As we were walking down Dumaine Street, we saw this dog and a gentleman sitting on the sidewalk outside what was obviously their residence. 

The dog was so nattily attired that a photo seemed imperative.  "Does your dog charge for photos?" I inquired.  The owner replied that the dog did not but that if he did, he could certainly help with household expenses.

About that time, his wife emerged and we enjoyed a chat with the two of them.  When Katrina hit, they lived in one of the neighborhoods near Lake Pontchartrain.  Their home was flooded, and they lost everything before they had a chance to remove their belongings.  Fortunately, they and their pooch survived.

In the aftermath, as they were deciding what to do, a friend told them about a place in the French Quarter.  Though they had never before considered living in the quarter, they decided to give it a try.  Now, they love it!  And their dog is game for whatever costume they want to dress him in to fit the occasion.

For last year's Mardi Gras, he was dressed as a female Saints fan, complete with blonde wig.  "There must have been a couple of thousand photos taken of him," the wife told us.  And like today, he just went along.  He's a survivor, just like so many New Orleanians, all of whom have a fascinating story to tell.

Game 6:  Louisiana Ice Gators vs. Pensacola Ice Flyers at Lafayette
  

After a brief stop at home in Georgia, we headed south for our next game in Louisiana's Cajun Country.  Driving west across Louisiana on I-12, we passed a sign for Tickfaw State Park.  A synapse sparked, and a deeply embedded memory of a puzzle solved months ago reminded us that a mystery letterbox was hidden at the park.  Exiting the interstate, we located the clue and discovered that there was not just one but a series of seven letterboxes at the park.

  

Ready for some time out of the car, we eagerly set off down the trail.  The letterboxes turned out to be a real treat, expertly carved stamps of some of Louisiana's state symbols, including the flag, state bird, tree, fish, mammal, crustacean, and flower.

  

Although we were initially a bit put off by the first part of the name of this park, we were so glad we stopped to visit this cleverly designed and doggedly maintained state park.  Through a system of trails and boardwalks, we experienced the sights and sounds of four ecosystems in the park. Summer weather has not left this area, so we encountered butterflies and other insects (no gnats or mosquitoes!) as well as numerous types of birds on our hike, including a great blue heron taking flight. After a picnic lunch, we were back on the road and headed west.

Where else would Lafayette's Louisiana Ice Gators hockey team play but the Cajundome?  Also known on hockey nights as the "Frozen Swamp," the arena is also home to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Ragin' Cajuns basketball team.

  

Unfortunately for the local fans, the Ice Gators were seriously outplayed by the visiting Ice Flyers from Pensacola, with the visitors winning 5-2.  The Florida players were bigger, more experienced, and much more skilled.  Moreover, they seemed to have more stamina and desire than the local team.  It was easy to see why Pensacola is tied for first place in the league while Lafayette languishes at the bottom.

  

The referee tossed this goon out of the game.

Early in the first period, a Louisiana player initiated a fight, in which his helmet was removed.  Seeing the faux mohawk, we groaned, thinking the pugnacious Augusta player had been traded to Lafayette.  We soon learned, however, that this was Dennis Sicard, another bellicose bad boy who coincidentally (or not) had played on the same Bloomington, Indiana, team as Fukala last year.  Officials saved us from further rubbish from this ruffian by ejecting Sicard from the game after this incident.

Our next game will be back where we started watching minor league hockey last year, in Pensacola. 

Game 5: Augusta RiverHawks vs. Mississippi Surge in Augusta
  
Rain was our constant companion on our drive from Charleston to Augusta.  With only 150 miles to travel, we arrived in Augusta in the early afternoon.  With several hours to kill before the evening game, we set out to search for some letterboxes.

  

  

To complete the perfect letterbox combination, she also creates clues that are challenging and thought-provoking.  The backstory for her "Curse's Key" letterbox in Magnolia was a tale about a local Augusta legendary character.  A wealthy but controversial businessman, Wiley Barron lived in fear of a curse by a rival predicting that Barron would lose his fortune and not have a grave to shelter him.  The mogul ordered the construction of a mausoleum and instructed in his will that his body should be placed in the vault, the door sealed and the key thrown into the Savannah River.  

This decree was carried out upon his death, so the stamp in the letterbox was the "key" to Barron's mausoleum.  Also inside the box was a clue for another letterbox hidden in the cemetery.  Both boxes were worth sloshing through rain to search for, even with the temperature at 36 degrees.

2010-11 marks the inaugural season for the SPHL Augusta RiverHawks.  Though the city had a previous minor league team, hockey had been gone a few years, so the new owners are eagerly trying to build up local support to make good on their investment.  Before the game and between periods, they were active on the concourse, talking to fans, answering questions, handing out programs, and thanking their visitors for attending.

  
To this point, the team has won as many games as it lost, and the RiverHawks gave Biloxi's Mississippi Surge, one of the league's leading teams, a run for their money tonight.  Both teams played well but Mississippi outscored the Augusta 4-3, due mostly to Augusta's excess penalties, including three game misconduct infractions handed out to two players and the RiverHawks coach.

Kevin Fukala, a bully acquired with much hoopla from a league two levels above the SPHL, was the subject of a recent article in the local newspaper: "Fukala has a faith as strong as his fists." Maybe so, but his on-ice behavior seems completely at odds with what he claims to be his religious beliefs.

Fukala went through pre-game warm-ups without his helmet to ensure that fans could see his trademark mohawk. At a critical juncture of the game when his team still had a chance to win, Fukala foolishly tried to instigate a fight with a Mississippi player, who did not respond.  When an official tried to restrain him, Fukala repeatedly tried to break free to resume his attempt to fight with an unwilling opponent.  His egregious behavior resulted in his ejection from the game and being assessed a total of 29 penalty minutes for various infractions.  (In contrast, the entire Mississippi team had 10 penalty minutes in the game.)  As a result, the Augusta team played short-handed for the remainder of the game and lost any opportunity to win.

We sincerely hope that the RiverHawks owners aren't pinning their hopes on Fukala as a way to bring fans into the James Brown Arena.  His belligerent combativeness is an extreme example of the type of misconduct that has led many to believe that hockey is a game of skirmishes, not skating and skill.
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Game 4:  South Carolina Stingrays vs. Florida Everblades in Charleston
  
Like so many others who have trod the aged avenues of this grand old southern city, we found ourselves intoxicated yet again by the charm exuded by Charleston.  With its multitude of historic buildings and passion for preservation, Charleston is a journey into the past.

  

A couple of letterboxes drew us outside the historic district to one of the city's best-kept secrets.  A former rice plantation on the banks of the Cooper River in an area known as Charleston Neck, Magnolia Cemetery (pictured above) was founded in 1849 and is rightfully listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Known locally as the City of the Silent, Magnolia is the final resting place for generations of Southern leaders and hundreds of Confederate soldiers including five generals.

  

Ancient, moss-draped oaks tower majestically over beautiful monuments, many surrounded by decaying iron fences.  Herons visit the adjacent marshes.

  

Magnolia Cemetery shares the same combination of spectacular cemetery art and architecture and a magical Old South setting that make Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery so picturesque and compelling.  We spent an hour exploring parts of its 128 acres and vowed to return.

  

Oozing with architectural charm

Charleston is a beautiful old city that we have visited many times.  We are determined to make an opportunity for an extended visit here.

Like the city itself, Charleston's hockey team did not disappoint.  Even though the South Carolina Stingrays' record was considerably weaker than that of the visiting Florida Everblades, the home team not only won but provided fans with an entertaining game of hockey.  The visitors did their part as well to make the game competitive and exciting.

One edge the Charleston team exploited was their home ice advantage.  Local fans were by far the most enthusiastic we've encountered on our hockey tour.  Some were even tailgating in the parking lot before the game.  They were loud and supportive, constantly offering encouragement to their team.  The Stingrays rewarded them with a 3-0 win.
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Game 3: Greenville Road Warriors vs. Gwinnett Gladiators in Greenville
Game 3: Greenville Road Warriors vs. Florida Everblades in Greenville

Maybe we thought the spell had been broken.  Or we fell for that old saw about lightning not striking in the same place twice.  After all, it has been almost two years since we stopped in Greenville, South Carolina, filled up with gas, and had to have the van towed to a Honda dealer because it wouldn't start.  Surely that was behind us and it was safe to add Greenville to our hockey tour, right?  Wrong!

Things began happening when we arrived on Monday evening.  After we enjoyed a terrific dinner at the local PF Chang, Ken discovered that a piece had chipped off one of his front teeth.  Yet we didn't make the Greenville connection.  Tuesday morning we left a popular letterboxing area after we repeatedly saw a person of unknown intentions loitering in the area.  We're not usually suspicious of strangers but something in his demeanor and the way he kept reappearing near us raised a red flag.  Was it the Greenville curse again?  We had yet to connect the dots.

Tuesday night awareness began dawning.  We drove to the Bi-Lo Arena eager to watch the Greenville Road Warriors face off against the Gwinnett Gladiators from metro Atlanta.  Arriving after the teams warmed up, we picked up our Two-Fer-Tuesday freebies at the concession stand and located our seats.  "Wow!  What a bargain," we exclaimed.  "This is really great!"

When the Zamboni left the ice after making just one round, we wondered what might be wrong.  As we sat waiting for the machine to return and complete the ice resurfacing, we noticed some ominous signs.  First, employees from each team came to the team benches and collected all the hockey sticks.  Next, the water bottles and towels for the players were removed.  Still we waited, as other fans demanded information from the hapless ushers.  Finally, the announcement came.  "Due to unsafe ice conditions," the game was being cancelled and would be rescheduled later.

  
After fans waited in line twenty minutes for a refund, a team official finally came to the box office and reported to the crowd that the team was not prepared (i.e., could not figure out how) to return our money so we should call the next day to find out how we could obtain our reimbursement.  Obvious now, right?  Time to leave Greenville.  But nooooo.... We still refused to read the writing on the wall.

Since there was another game scheduled Wednesday night and our game in Charleston was not until Thursday, what the heck?  Let's stay in Greenville.  (Insert dope slap here.  Please!)

While letterboxing at Paris Mountain State Park Wednesday afternoon, we were treated to yet another sign:  the engine malfunction warning light on our van.  Back we went to visit our friends at Breakaway Honda.  

  

We can't seem to break away from problems in Greenville.

That's where we got the good news ("Your rear catalytic converter needs to be replaced; it could be worse.  It won't cost as much as the other one.") and the bad news ("That part is backordered nationally; we don't know when it may be avalable.")  We were assured that it would probably, maybe be sort of safe to drive the van and it might not damage the engine too, too much.  That's when we got the heck out of..... 

The sign says it all.

Game 2: Charlotte Checkers vs. Hershey Bears in Charlotte

  
On our way from Game 1 to Game 2, we passed through Peachtree City and set our sights on Greensboro, NC, the new home of Ken's sister Marion. Drawn there by the presence of her daughter and granddaughter, Marion has moved into a wonderful lakeside apartment and within the first week enjoyed a snowfall, evidence that she has really moved north from Georgia.

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From Greensboro, we drove to Charlotte, the location of Game 2, a Sunday afternoon game between the Charlotte Checkers and the Hershey (Pa.) Bears.  As soon as we arrived at the arena (and paid $25 per ticket), we realized we were not in the minor, minor leagues any longer. The Checkers joined the American Hockey League (AHL) this season—just a step below the NHL—and all the attendant major league hoopla was in evidence.  There was even a security search before entering the arena (pictured above).

  
Even the arena was very major league-- upscale seating and concessions, and two Zambonis prepared the ice for the game, something we hadn't seen before, even at NHL games.

  

Double your zamboni, double your fun.

The increased quality of the game was quite evident also as the teams played with an intensity and skill level we don't see in the lower level minor leagues.  Stickhandling and passing skills by players on both teams were excellent.

  
Not having attended any NHL games in recent years, we were surprised to see that the "trapezoidal rule" intended to reduce goaltenders' wandering doesn't seem to have had much effect in keeping these goalies at home in front of the net.

Cheering for the home team again, we were rewarded with another win.  Charlotte won the game 5 to 3.  After the game we visited Ken's mother for a delightful dinner in her home and retired to our hotel beneath a dusting of snow.  And we're off to game three in Greenville, SC on Tuesday evening.

GAME 2 STATS

• Charlotte 5, Hershey 3
• Goals:  8
• Shots on goal:  61
• Penalty minutes:  68
• Cheesy ads played on scoreboard:  38
• Punches thrown:  42
• Broken sticks:  7
• Flying pucks:  4
• Attendance:  5,758 
• Overall Experience:  3.5  (on a scale of 5)

TRIP STATS

• Miles driven:  1,666
• Goals scored:   10
• Shots on goal:  130
• Penalty minutes:  94
• Temp range:  18° to 52° F.
• Letterboxes found:  5
• Relatives visited:  5

Game 1: Mississippi Surge vs. Louisiana Ice Gators in Biloxi
  
Having been season ticket holders for the Atlanta Flames NHL team back in the 1970s and 1980s, we became enthusiastic ice hockey fans.  We marvel at the skills it takes for players to maneuver a 3-inch rubber disk around on a sheet of ice with a stick, pass it accurately to a teammate, and shoot it into a goal only slightly bigger than the goaltender.  Even more amazing, they're doing all this while ice skating, half the time backward.
   

Our first ice hockey road trip took place in 1977, when we drove our little VW Rabbit around the snowy Midwest catching games in Indianapolis and Chicago, and missing our planned game in St. Louis after getting stuck in a snowstorm in rural Indiana.  We still remember the adventure and decided we were overdue for a repeat.  In 2010, the Southeast hosts enough minor league teams to allow us to create a tour closer to home.  Since our tour encompasses the Christmas holiday, we'll follow the teams into a break around the 25th and take advantage of the opportunity to do some letterboxing in the New Orleans and Mobile areas.

The first game of the 2010 tour took us to Biloxi to see a Southern Professional Hockey League game.  The SPHL was formed in 2004 from the remnants of three short-lived, defunct minor leagues.  Teams tend to come and go, and this season the league has seven teams.  In terms of level of play, the SPHL is on the bottom rung of the minor league ladder.  

The league just below major league hockey—the National Hockey League—is the American Hockey League (AHL), rated 'AAA', the top of the professional minor leagues.  Players who move from the minors to the big league (or vice versa) almost always come from the AHL. The next level, 'AA' minor league hockey, is the ECHL (formerly East Coast Hockey League, now just ECHL).  And below that is the SPHL, the equivalent of 'A' level hockey.   

SPHL rosters are filled with young players who have aged out of amateur junior hockey but not made it to a higher level of professional play and with older players who have peaked and are no longer needed by minor league teams at upper levels.  Essentially, SPHL players tend to be a  bunch of guys who love the game and give their all every night for way too little money before boarding the bus to ride to the next game.  They play with a lot of heart and are entertaining to watch.

On our drive to the Mississippi coast, we located five letterboxes, enjoying a couple of short hikes in parts of the DeSoto National Forest and one of Mississippi's state parks.  We marveled at the vast network of forest service roads that crisscross the national forest areas.  Some were even known to our GPS.  For one letterbox, we drove four miles out one road before turning on another which took us another 1.2 miles to a place where the Black Creek Trail crossed the road.  These roads have dirt surfaces but are very well maintained and for the most part surprisingly smooth.  Our tax dollars at work!

  

Unlike most tourists to the Mississippi Gulf coast, we did not visit any casinos but headed straight to the Mississippi Coast Convention Center to watch Biloxi's Mississippi Surge play the Lousiana Ice Gators from Lafayette.  Last season was the first for this new hockey team, and the selection of Surge as the team name was not without controversy since so much was lost in this coastal area to the Katrina storm surge.  Team owners assured the public that the team's name refers not to a storm surge but to "a high voltage hockey team with a surge of electricity." 

  
Based on our arbitrary decision to support the home team at the games we attend, we cheered the Surge on as the teams played a scoreless game through the first two periods.  Finally with less than eight minutes left in the final period, the Surge scored their first goal.  They scored again a few minutes later and won the game 2-0.  Mississippi's talented goaltender Dan Earles kept his team in the game through the first two periods, executing one impressive save after another.  Mississippi is currently tied with Pensacola for the top spot in the SPHL standings. 

  

Surge mascot "Shock" likes to hitch a ride from the Zamboni between periods

Though the team is in first place and finished last year's inaugural season at the top of the league, losing the championship to Huntsville, attendance at tonight's game was dismal.  Even with a large contingent of military personnel in the area, the team's average attendance has been hovering around 2,000.  Perhaps the locals are still annoyed about the team mascot.  Or the many casinos in the area offer too much competition.  But at $17 per ticket for excellent seats, we found the game to be very entertaining and an exceptional value.

DAILY STATS

• Miles driven:  195
• Miles walked:  3.25
• Letterboxes found:  5
• Temp range:  18° to 49° F.

GAME STATS

• Mississippi 2—Louisiana 0
• Shots on goal:  69
• Penalty minutes:  26
• Broken sticks:  2
• Loose pucks:  2
• Punches thrown:  17
• Zamboni loops around the rink:  30
• Attendance:  :-(