Arrival in Prince George.
Some landings are smooth. Others are wobbly and hard. Any time a plane makes contact with the runway after a long flight, something can happen. It happened this time, too. Something happened. We were just turning on our cell phones to find the local networks when the Russians who flew with us already had fresh WCF information on their FB profiles that the Women's World Curling Championship was cancelled. So we flew halfway around the world to find out we were here for nothing? Kind and friendly volunteers drove us to our hotel and we started to figure out what we were going to do. Without much thought, we decided to check out the lobby. It struck us that all four lanes were full of players from local clubs who were there to play friendly matches. When they saw us, they invited us on the ice and we accepted. What followed was a festival of understanding of each other's feelings. Our disappointment that the championship would not take place was mixed with the organizers' disappointment that more than a year of hard work would be wasted. MS Chief Icemaker Dave Merklinger and his son, an assistant icemaker, walked among the people with a glass of red wine in hand and sadness in their eyes. We exchanged a few words, but more importantly, we both immediately understood that the Czech women's team had helped the local community overcome their sense of doom, and in turn the volunteers from Prince George had helped us overcome our sad moments. The girls played a few ends against club players, handed out dozens of photos, signed many jerseys and brooms, and were rewarded with applause. Tomorrow, we'll deal with going home.
rnphoto: Betty on the ice in Prince George