Day 1 - WestEastern Ho!

On Thursday afternoon the debating group in our family (you know who they are - Peter, Aidan - my Mom, - sister, G. Ingrid and myself) headed up to Syracuse, New York for a debate tournament. On the way we picked up some friends (Eric and Aaron C.) who were also going to debate at the Syracuse tournament. Eric C. is a rabid Red Sox's and Patriots fan so we had plenty to talk (or argue.... think Red Sox.... pray that he will one day see how bad the Sox's are and repent and become a Yankees fan....) about on the trip - including figuring out who's going to draft who in the NFL draft.... After I started gettting a headache and becoming carsick from turning around talking to Eric and Peter about sports - I discussed debate theory and the NATO topic with Aaron C. and Aidan. As expected, about five hours of driving we finally reached the Syracuse area. We stopped at Chittenango Falls State Park for a few minutes and took pictures and jumped off the huge waterfall. After drying off we headed over to where we would be staying during the tournament - our friends and fellow debaters the Claghorns - house (actually at a friends of the Claghorns house). After being shocked to find out that the Clag's were Buffalo Bills fan, we all cried for a few hours and then went outside and beat each other up in a football game. My team ended up losing (by a touchdown) - but we did have the small disadvantage of having five to four less players then the other team..... On one play that I was quarterback I was scrambling away from the (negative teams....) blitz when I hit a muddy spot and literally went flying. Both feet and arms in the air for about 10 seconds then "SLAM".... When I hit the ground the football just popped out of my hand and rolled away and I didn't feel like really getting up. On another play there was a fumble and I was the "first" one to recover it but it slipped/slammed out of my hands and the pileup for the football ended up a few feet away from where I was. Undaunted - I jumped into the new pile and ended up digging the football out for my team anyways.... As Dan Rather would say, "courage." And don't ask me why he would say that. He just would.

Some pictures from day 1

If you can read then this picture doesn't need a caption

Likewise

The media swarms

Could he be preparing to dive? Diving off the waterfall is surprisingly not recommended by most experts. It can cause minor headaches and temporary cause you to see stars that don't really exist.

The waterfall

"Row, row, row your boat, merrily down the stream.... "

Under the bridge leading up to the falls

We arrive in Buffalo Bills country

A shot of the amazingly dramatic football game

Day two coming up next