I was never a hockey fan. But then I met a boy named PJ. And boy, is he a hockey fan!! And so is his family! So through osmosis, I became a bit of a hockey fan as well (albeit not a very good one).
Now hockey tickets in Vancouver are expensive. I was pretty fortunate to work at Boston Pizza where I was sometimes able to see a game from their box. Plus PJ shared an ice pack with his friend Dan so he took me to a lot of games too. The live games really made me like it. And I loved watching hockey games surrounded by family in the McKnight's living room. And I'm a bit homesick so I am extra fond of anything related to Vancouver.
When PJ told me that the Canucks were going to be on a road trip to play the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on January 16th, I was so there. Plus, we would be staying overnight in a big city (with a Nordstrom!) and I was more than ready for some big-city livin'. And hockey tickets in the south? What a difference! They were $80 for a front row seat! So a pretty sweet deal. (After I looked up the price of a hockey ticket, I looked up the price of a football ticket. It's like they switched what was expensive - those football tickets are pricey). I was pretty excited to be going to the game and wore my jersey all day on Friday.
It's about a 3.5 hour drive to Raleigh so you know what that means! Car naps for me while PJ drives. I don't know what it is about cars but they just lull me to sleep. I was awake for part of the trip and managed to see some interesting stops along the way such as this gem:
What is that you may be asking? Well it's an amusement park called South of the Border. You can read all about it here http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_of_the_Border_%28attraction%29
We kept seeing billboards for this place saying things like 'Fill Yo' Trunque Weeth Pedro's Junque!' or 'You Never Sausage a Place! (You're Always a Wiener at Pedro's!)' or 'Sommtheeng Deeferent'. So, totally politically correct.
We got into Raleigh and quickly stopped at Five Guy's for a burger. A nice man approached me to ask how I liked our Impala. I told him that we were just renting it for the week. I guess my 'accent' gave me away because he asked if I was a Canucks fan. I proudly showed my jersey and then he and PJ started talking about Connor McDavid playing for the Hurricanes- finally someone talking to him about hockey instead of football!
We headed off to print the tickets at a FedEx copy centre because PJ forgot his tickets at the office. He also forgot his American cash... I only had $13 dollars and parking was $15. We pulled into a gas station and PJ tried to take money out. It is HARD to get money out at ATM's - it's a crapshoot as to whether or not it'll work. There was a big tattooed guy waiting for him to finish and PJ told him to go ahead because his 'stupid' Canadian debit card wasn't working properly. It turned out the guy was from Canada and went to school at UBC where he became a Canucks fan.
PJ managed to get money out and we parked at PNC Arena:
It almost felt like being home. Except. A lot less crowded.
We had our front row seats which were AWESOME. Except... We thought we were behind Willie Desjardins but we were actually on the other end of the bench with this as our view
Our family was watching at home to see if they could spot us on any bench shots. Our niece, Finny, managed to captured a shot and sent it to us:
We were pretty lucky that the Canucks pulled off a win that night. It was pretty hit or miss the first period with the Hurricanes outplaying us (I think the shots on goal were 12-4 after the first period). The Canucks got three goals in the second period and managed to hold on to that lead during the third. Phew. I must say they had incredible concentration - I gave them a thumbs up when they got a goal and they didn't even look away from their bench! I always wondered how professional athletes managed to stay focus when all eyes were on them and now I know: they just tune it out!
We really had a fantastic time seeing the Canucks in Raleigh:
The next day, we got up early to get our fill of city life! We started with a quick stop at Starbucks for me and it really felt like a city there. Lots of university students and lots of people who had just stopped in after their morning runs. I could live there.
We headed to Nordstrom after that - it was such a beautiful day:
We did a bit if shopping - PJ got his Microsoft Band! - and went for a nice lunch for the Cheesecake Factory (PJ's choice):
Yes, this photos are included to make the McKnight's jealous - they have quite a strong attachment to the Cheesecake Factory!
We headed home shortly after lunch. I fell asleep while listening to one our road trip podcasts. Durham was so nice, PJ commented that if they had sent us there, he could stay for three years. I probably could too. We are heading back there for Valentine's Day and I am quite excited!
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