I confess we’ve never been much up for group travel. I don’t know if it’s because we couldn’t find people to travel with us or because it never occurred to us that other people would be interested, but it’s usually just been Frank and I wandering off and doing things on our own. Now with our new found crew of friends it was time to actually take the plunge and spend a weekend with friends.
So off we went to Saratoga Springs to the Travers Stakes races. Four couples, four cars, 3 or 4 coolers, and enough food to feed a small metropolitan area. We headed to a (very expensive) B&B and settled in for a few days of hanging out, playing the ponies (badly), eating, drinking, and general merry making.
Luckily we had seasoned track visitors with us who knew how things worked. On Friday after breakfast, we wandered the few blocks to the track with the coolers, chairs, and food on a dolly brought expressly for this purpose. We were allowed in to stake some space and then kicked out for an our until the official opening at 11am. So off we go to the pub across the street to begin the earnest day drinking. Once back at the track, we spent the day under the trees, sussing out horses, sipping adult beverages, and wagering less successfully than anyone really hoped. At the end of the race day, we headed back to the B&B for more drinks to be joined by local friends. Some carry out pizza, wine, and whisky accompanied conversations about music, accents, travel, cars and pretty much anything else. We were having so much fun that the proprietor felt the need to quash the celebration at 10pm ostensibly due to local noise ordinances. The early evening was just fine however as we had to prepare for the insanity which was to come bright and early the next morning.
Little did we know that people started lining up that evening for the track opening at 7am. “The boys” were tasked with the 5:15 start to join the long and growing queue to try to find some space for our party of 10-12. Apparently, there is more civility when the doors open at Walmart on Black Friday. Chaos ensued as soon as the doors opened with profiteers staking out coveted picnic tables then offering to sell them to late comers for $50! I’m all about free markets but really! We still wound up with a lovely spot without a picnic table and proceeded to mostly compound the previous day’s losses. We closed out the day with a lovely meal and a few folks played pool and discussed the pros and cons of being male (!?!)
Sunday was quiet with no trip to the track but lots of trekking around town. Frank’s back went out with all the gear hauling so he spent most of the day lying flat on the floor hoping for some relief. On Monday, we tried to figure out what went in which car and headed home none the richer monetarily but with many great memories. I now wonder why we haven’t done this more often before now and I’m glad to have the opportunity to do it again in the future.
The Cannon Chronicles 