In Spokane this weekend.

I've decided after much internal debate to go to Spokane this Saturday. Possibly dragging Jesse and my younger students with me. It is a small turnout for Saber, but a fresh one filled with a few people who I haven't fenced before, and I would like to encourage them to pop over to Missoula occasionally for our tournaments. It looks as thought Epee will turn out to be a B1 event, which always makes me happy to see in this division. Foil is looking like a C1, which is another strong showing at an Inland Empire tournament, but it seems that Saber just fails to break the E1 mark. This is temporary of course, as D1 Saber tournaments in Missoula are not far off by my observations. I hope the first one we have in September magically breaks that barrier and we can start passing out some ratings.

It is always pleasant to go to a Spokane tournament because we can drive there and back in one day. The awesome part is that we drive through a time zone going west, so technically we arrive two hours after we leave Missoula.

The weird part is the return journey. You feel as though you get caught in some time warp traveling through the 3 mountain passes in the dark. Instead of the two hour drive you convinced yourself was a reality that morning, you are stuck with the prospect of arriving 4 hours after you left. Around 3 hours into the drive, you start to get twitchy and weird. You wonder where the evil overlords of geography have placed Missoula while you have been away. Surely you passed a sign that read Missoula 34, you recall it distinctly. Then I get thirsty. I get stupid thirsty on my return trip from Spokane for some reason. No other tournament makes me crave the sweet taste of two Hydrogen molecules and one Oxygen molecule in plethora quantities. Most people who have carpooled with me to Spokane are familiar with my strange drinking habits on the way home. I will drink all of the remaining water in the car, and then beg to stop at the next station so that I can buy a gallon jug of water. I will then down half to 3/4 of that. What's weirder is that I always adequately hydrate at a tournament regardless of where I am, but Spokane just saps the water out.