This past Sunday I joined a group of friends to watch the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Washington Capitals and I must say, it was quite exciting, though not for the reason you may think. I may have missed the fun at the tailgate before the game but once the game started rolling, I did something I don’t normally do. I opened DraftKings and started making a few bets. While my bets were small in nature $5 and $10 they led to excitement throughout the game. My first longshot bet was on which player would score the 4th goal of the game and when Necas fired in the goal a few moments later I whooped and hollered with my friends, though their excitement was limited to the goal, mine was linked to a payout of $65. Now with some free cash in the coffers I made another bet on who would score the 6th goal. For this I chose Andrei Svechnikov. Now I found myself watching the game closely, waiting for #37 to skate down the ice and plant himself in front of the goal hoping for a redirection into the back of the net. Unfortunately, the minutes tolled by without another goal and time was running out. My friends next to me were laughing every time I saw a close shot come in which was defended. My hands would tighten and my exasperated breath could be heard. It’s crazy to think a $10 dollar longshot bet would have such an effect on me. I wanted the Canes to win but I found myself rooting against everyone except #37. Reminds me why I don’t play fantasy sports. I found enjoyment but also found myself rooting against my own teams. Enough of the aside, let’s talk about the conclusion of this short story. Time was ticking down, there were only mere seconds remaining, the Capitals pulled their goalie but still no goal. The puck was dumped down the ice, the capitals player sent the puck back in for a last ditch effort. Fortunately the puck was intercepted and passed up the ice to none other than Svechnikov who skillfully shot the puck passed the defender into the back of the goal with only 8 seconds to go in the game. The fans went crazy, my friends jumping for joy for the secured victory and me, I was on a whole new world of excitement, yes, the canes won, but so did my miracle bet, my $10 turned into $120 in that instant. Once the adrenalin wore off, I laughed and showed these two bets off to my friends. On the way out of the arena, I cashed out of the app and took my winnings to the bank so to speak. I don’t foresee betting often, but given the opportunity to watch a game in person, I may have to.

Check out the goal below, it sure was exciting in the moment

Oh and the supporting evidence:

Our team name was “Icy Dead People” and Amazon came through with perfect shirts to keep us uniform, though we didn’t win the costume contest. The ice at Peachtree was quick and it took repeated adjustments through our games to figure it out. While there were close games throughout the weekend, we weren’t able to secure our spot in the semi-final matches.

While I did not experience winning on the ice, I did find a sense of victory in the form of raffle prizes. I locked down two for myself. One was the Cube of Beer representing beers from the Orlando area and the second was a basket full of mini games. I also took home a lesson learned from a fellow curler. What was it, a name stamp. While I was writing my name 80 times on raffle tickets, they used an address stamp to apply their name to the same allotment of tickets in a fraction of the time.

Check out our first game on the ice

Drove down to Atlanta Georgia for another Curling Bonspiel and took the opportunity to stop by the Georgia Aquarium. This is a bucket list location for me as its one of the few aquariums in the world to have a whale shark in its tank. While the whale shark stayed at the top of the tank during my stay, it was still very impressive to see this majestic animal swim pass in the tank. Add in the large Manta Rays and other species of fish and this tank was quite breathtaking to watch. As an added perk, the aquarium boast a viewing area where you can sit and enjoy the sea-life to your hearts content. It was interesting to hear how they train each species of fish to respond to a different feeding mechanism. Whether its a color of a bucket or the sound of the chirp, each species has their own unique identifier which alerts them to feeding time. I’m glad I could check this location off my bucket list. Now time to focus on the Bonspiel!

This past weekend I made my way down to my hometown to take part in the 2024 Grits and Granite Curling Bonspiel at the Charlotte Curling Club. The host club put on an excellent spiel and ensured all curlers felt welcome. I curled with my friends from the Triangle Curling Club and took up the Lead position responsible for setting up guards and positioning the initial shot stone. While I mainly play in the second position in league, I was pleased with my performance through the weekend. Our team had a great time. I felt our first game was the best all around performance from our team and was a close one til the end (video below) Ultimately, we faced some great teams through the initial rounds and did not make it to the final day.

While our team did not make it to the final day, we participated in several broomstacking events after each game. Broomstacking is a way for teams to relax after each game, discuss plays and get to know one another. In addition, there’s a great tradition within Curling, well two. First, the winners buy the runner up team the first round of drinks which softens the blow. However, the tradition I have come to enjoy is the sharing of your club pin with the other team. Its a great memento to remember those whom you’ve played against and established friendships which persist. I have just started my collection recently but it has grown nicely. I can’t wait to get more.

The Grits and Granite was my second away spiel but definitely won’t be my last. These events are so much fun and I get to play a sport I have come to thoroughly enjoy. My goal for future spiels is to make the final day and get piped out onto the ice and share a drink with my fellow finalist. This is a tradition at Bonspiels and traces its roots back to the Scottish founding of this sport. Naturally, you all will see that happen as I will share this milestone with each of you.

Work has been stressful as we are all wondering if you jobs are safe in the upcoming restructuring. To combat the stress, I went up to Norfolk VA to visit a few friends and enjoy my first visit to the Roar and Pour Event. This event opens the Zoo to visitors who can try various brews from the local breweries while taking in the various animal exhibits around the Zoo. The perk here was the crowds were kept to a minimal which for me is always appreciated.

The zoo was fun but for me the self-guided tour of the area on my motorcycle was my main takeaway from the weekend with exception of time spent with friends. One stop was a quick visit to the USS Wisconsin. All in all, a great weekend getaway.

Welcome to Robbinsville NC, also known as Deals Gap, aka the “Tail of the Dragon”. The Dragon is known by car and motorcycle enthusiast alike for is 11 mile stretch of 318 turns through the mountains. This was my first journey to the Dragon but definitely won’t be the last. Plus, it’s close to the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains which means even greater chances for windy roads and scenic hikes. What took me by surprise on the Dragon was the photographers who took pictures of every vehicle that passed by. I felt like I was at the amusement part getting my photo taken as I’m leaning into a turn. I’ll be honest, the first time I saw them I got a tiny bit distracted but from that point on my focus was fully on the hundreds of turns ahead of me.

All are welcome on this route and there’s ample pull off spots to take in the scenery or to watch the numerous enthusiast driving by. In fact, it’s relatively close to Pigeon Forge which often host Jeep week, Truck week, Car weeks, etc so there’s always an opportunity to watch from the side of the road. And hey, if this isn’t your thing, I’m sure Dolly would love for you to stop by DollyWood!

Check out my ride below, I plan to post more videos of my rides and some of the cool finds I see along the way!