paddle on!

This weekend Chicky and I attended his annual Kelowna Dragonboat Festival.

Friday - we had intended to leave early to beat the rush but by the time we got off work and got the car packed it was nearly dinner time - so it was food before adventure. By the time we got on the highway the sun was setting and there was nothing to look at. I spent the time playing around with the camera and trying to do some homework. We were bored so we played around with lighting at night. This translates to Chicky turning off the headlights while driving so that I can attempt to take pictures of the stars, reflections, etc while the car was in motion. This served only to confuse the drivers infront of us. :-) 3.5 hours later we arrive in Kelowna and pull up to the Willow Hotel. Upon looking at the front of the hotel - I proclaimed "this is it?!" - mostly in disbelief. The place was super scary and I had no intention of getting out of the car. It's a hotel/strip club. Hmmm...Chicky's dragonboat team's cost saving ideas taken to the max. Reluctantly I got our stuff out of the car and went inside. The wave of cigarette smoke hit me like a wall and I cringed at what the rooms were going to be like. :-) We walked down the low lite hallway with it's questionable stains on the carpet and pipes sticking out of the ceiling. Upon walking into the room I said to Chicky - "it's just like Singapore!". Lol - memories of our Singapore hotel room...ewww. So Chicky inspected the bed for bugs and stains. I looked into the bathroom - at least it was white. I regretted not bringing sandals as I didn't want to take off my shoes (the carpet had interesting stain patterns). How classy was this room?!? We got red plastic beer cups to use (unwrapped of course). Yup - looks like one of those pay-by-the-hour rooms. :-) Which is fitting because the adult entertainment is just downstairs! After settling in we turned on the tv and tried to air out the room (smoking room - how can we tell? 2 ashtrays so that you don't have to get up from bed to smoke). Can't air out of the room - they've locked the windows! Guess they don't want their guests escaping.

Saturday - we get up early and head down to meet the rest of the team. Apparently those that had children or did most of the work fundraising got to stay at the Travelodge. A definite upgrade to our "novel" palace. We were happy to learn that our room didn't suck as much as some of the other "single" paddlers - as it's only the guys on the team that thought it would be "fun" to stay at a strip joint. Lol - the couple staying in the room next to us had a hole in their wall and their smoke detector was destroyed (guess someone wanted to smoke in freedom). The first race was good. Chicky's team didn't do that well but they were happy to paddle. The groupies and roadies sat on shore and entertained ourselves with food, cameras or chit chat. After the first race we walked around downtown Kelowna and did some shopping. Ate some food then headed back to the festival for the second race. Paddling hard the crew finished 4th out of 6. Time to head back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner. Lorry was buying pizza for the whole gang - he's the senior manager of marketing, the team captain the main "motivator" for the team. Hard to say "no" to dragonboating when your senior manager "insists". Lol - not to mention 4 other marketing/customer service managers are on the team - thus prompting their cohorts to join as well. I think I was getting sick from Nick S. (who was already sick and spreading it to the rest of us). Julie didn't come this year so I didn't have anyone to talk to. Boohoo. I passed out in bed while Chicky and Nick got ready for dinner. The 3 of us went shopping for a poker kit after that. They wanted to start a poker tournament that night. After many shops and driving - we came back empty handed. We went over to the Travelodge and had the pizza party with the team. Lots of eating and drinking. Most of the girls were drunk when it was time to go to the paddlers-party on the beach. They also took this opportunity to do some fundraising for their team. All team members stuffed glow sticks, necklaces and bracelets into their pockets to try to sell at the paddlers party. :-) The girls were sucessful at selling the glow sticks. I think being drunk played a big role in the sale of those things - can anyone say "girls gone wild"?! More drinking and dancing there then it was a walk over to the local dance club to party some more. Chicky and I were getting tired by then. We're not drinkers so it was funny watching the team get wasted and taking pictures of them but by midnight our old age kicked in and we called it a night. I don't know how the rest of them do it but if I had to paddle early in the morning - I probably won't be drinking till the break of dawn! :-) Yes - I'm an old foggie!

Sunday - hurricane Kelowna hits us. The blustering winds causes all teams to stare at the white caps in anxiety. On shore teams that came with tents try to tie down their gear so that it doesn't blow away. Chicky's team huddle together to keep warm. Most are suffering from hangovers and the notion of getting out on rough water is totally unappealing. We're losing team spirit by the second. The race is delayed by an hour. After an hour the officials decide to change the race course - cutting it in half. More delays due to high winds. The expensive dragonboats are taken off the water in fear of damaging them and only the crappy practice boats are brought in. All novice teams were advised that their boat steer people would be replaced with 1 of the 12 official festival steer people (highly trained and experienced). The reasons NOT to paddle are mounting. The third hour - the race officials announce that teams won't be "racing". They would do timed trials instead and then the times would be compared. Meaning that teams would be escorted by a speedboat to the start and then they would be timed individually on the "race" course. All paddlers line the shore watching in anticipation/anxiety as the mens diamond division teams are sent out on the water to "test" out conditions. Lol - these guys are pro paddlers. Big, brute muscular men who compete internationally. They had a hard time just turning the boat to head out to the start of the course. The steer people were putting all their weight and muscle power to take control of the boats and not have it wash to shore. This only adds to the anxiety levels of the group. Instead of music playing on the large speakers throughout the festival - the radios from the 3 escort boats play. It sounded like mayday calls. All we heard was static and interjections of "boat 3 taking in water", "we are not ready...repeat we are not ready" and "we've lost control". :-) The crowd gasp and mutter to each other - either adding to everyone's anxiety or quelling thier own. This prompted some of the novice teams to pull out of the race. Potentially good for us as the less competitors - the more likely we'd win a medal - winners by default!!! Lol....Chicky's team captain kept asking the group if they still wanted to paddle. They didn't respond right away - but they agreed that the challenge would make an interesting ending/story to the festival. When the winds got worst and the race times more delayed. I decided that I was not in to mood for huddling by myself with the rest of the groupies. I told Chicky that I was going to head out to mall for some heat, food and shelter. :-) Lol - totally not supportive eh? So off I went - left everyone else to fend for themselves. The mall was so warm and inviting. Mmmm...didn't want to head back into the cold. I didn't bring my rain gear with me on the trip. So after 1.5 hours at the mall - out of guilt I headed back to the festival. I found the group where I left them. Wearing 3 sweatshirts, trying to keep warm and listening to my IPOD - I sat in my folded chair and watched other teams deal with the wind and cold. :-) It was too windy and raining to take pictures. Plus the weather was doing nothing for my cold - feeling miserable I look at the girls on the team. They're only dressed in their short sleeve team tank tops and shorts. I feel guilty for complaining about the cold. The girls team outfits this year are much more "feminine" but they had to sacrifice comfort for fashion. :-) Chicky's team finally got to paddle. They made a heroic attempt at getting a good time. It was a bit boring to watch as timed trials have no excitement. I took some pictures but they were uneventful too. They were suppose to race twice but the team decided that once was enough for them. Chicky was soaked right through - poor him. Another fun adventure in Kelowna! Looking forward to next year!