This past weekend with icespark was a whole lot of fun. Saturday we got up and drove down to Evansville, where we checked onto our hotel room at Casino Aztar before icespark had to head to Swonder Ice Rink to practice and warm up before her bout. I had dinner with hotarugirl and got to meet HPoA, the lovely new woman she is dating. hotarugirl, HPoA, and I then headed back to Swonder for the bout.

The bout was a lot of fun. I remember going to Swonder as a kid with my sister (I grew up in Evansville), but I hadn’t been back there in years. The game was a blast to witness, and was definitely enhanced by the friendliness and good sportsmanship of both the Rollergirls of Southern Indiana and the Slaughter Scouts, of which icespark is a part.

The two teams are considered “sister leagues,” and have practiced and scrimmaged together. The camaraderie and familiarity didn’t limit the competitive spirit on the track (if anything, it enhanced it), but the attitudes displayed by both teams were encouraging and positive. I favor the focus on the athleticism and team spirit.

icespark’s team managed their first win since their one-point loss to the Farm Fatales in May. Both teams seemed to play very well, and while there seems to be some missed calls by the refs, the players largely took things in stride and there was a minimum of bitterness. The score was 62-39, but ROSI made the Scouts work for every point!

The after-party at Fast Eddy's was entertaining as well, and it was great to get a chance to mingle with members of both teams. icespark said ROSI was an excellent host for the Slaughter Scouts, and the women I met from that league were certainly friendly and supportive. I’ll definitely have to catch more of their bouts if I get the chance.

Sunday we got up and I gave icespark a little tour around downtown Evansville, showing her the river, the battleship LST (Landing Ship, Tank), the museum (drive-by, at least), and stopping at Penny Lane for delicious iced apply chai. I pointed out where peacekaat and I used to live, and drove us past my old high school. We stopped at the Acropolis for yummy Greek food for lunch, and then headed out for Holiday World.

icespark and I had big fun at Holiday World. We rode on each of the three big roller coasters twice, the second time riding in the front-row seats on each ride. We rode a bunch of other rides as well, and watched divers leap to their deaths into a 10’ deep pool. We didn’t venture into Splashin’ Safari this time (just the amusement park took all day to work thru!), but we’ll absolutely have to check it out next time. We had an amazing time, and drove home late into the night.

"Everyone thinks I'm perfect."
-- Jessica Simpson, when asked what is her biggest challenge (Us)