Saturday, July 13, 2013

Kicking Things Off At the Cape

Team Bond Girls are finally at "The Cape"! Of course, we miss our favorite Third, Cindy, who couldn't make it, but overall we are mostly intact with Marissa, Jen, Katie, and me - Donna on the beat once again).  To kick things off, The Cape Cod Curling Club in Falmouth, MA hosted a clam bake. This was my first clam bake ever, and for all those who do not know what that is I've looked it up on Wikipedia:

"The New England clam bake is a traditional method of cooking foods, especially seafood such as lobster,[1] mussels, crabs,[1] steamers, and quahogs. The seafood is often supplemented by sausages, potatoes,[1] onions, carrots, corn on the cob,[1] etc. Clam bakes are usually held on festive occasions along the coast of New England."

There was a lot of food! Here's what was on my plate:
Shrimp
Lobster
Clams
Corn
Potatoes
Watermelon

I haven't eaten lobster in a very long time, and so I got a refresher course from the Connecticut Mixed Team on how to properly crack it open. I have to say it is easier than eating a crab, and it was deeelicious. I also have had my 4th clam chowder since I've been here in Boston, and each one has been better than the last.  Gotta get it while I can! We're just storing up some energy for the big day tomorrow. Our first game is at 2 pm EDT, and thank goodness since most of the girls flew the red eye and walked part of the Freedom Trail before driving to the Cape today.

Also, we brought along a small but powerful cheering section with us. Team Bond Girls are accompanied by Paul Mendoza (my wonderful husband and Skip of Team Zissou), 2 Baby Bond Girls (Leianna who just turned 2 years and Halia, our newest addition at 3 months who has got a great set of lungs), and we can't forget Katie's Dad, our gracious host.

Ice analysis:
So there are a few factors to keep in mind for tomorrow's game...
1) It's really humid here at the Cape.
2) The Mixed Spiel will be ending in the morning. Will there be time for a scrape?  This might affect the speed of the ice; so we'll see what the ice guys end up doing before the Women's Spiel begins.
3) We've witnessed the ice to be very fast.  Adjusting to the weight difference might prove a little challenging since we haven't done one of these in a while...During times like this I always refer to one of my learn to curl sessions, "just ooze out of the hack."

Finally, I want to give a quick shout out to a few people who made it possible for us to get situated in Cape Cod, Carolyn Ryczek, who was so patient with my million of emails back and forth and checking in on some of our details.  Also, I wanted to thank Liz Abeltin who we met way back at our first Club Nationals Tournament in Utica and is an awesome host to me and my family. We wouldn't be here without her. There's also Katie's family who are housing the rest of the gals at their beach house.

Team Bond Girls are so excited to be curling again at the long awaited Cape Cod Spiel. We are looking forward to the great ice, fun people, and lots of fresh seafood.  I'll keep you posted on our progress.

See you on the ice!

- Domino


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