With a title like that, there are a ton of political jokes I could tell, but I'm not going there. The way I drive, I need to take the "High Road".
But I didn't quite tell the truth at the end of the last blog. It was true then, but not now.
I've been planning since December that I would head out to Portland sometime in March. Originally, I thought I might go to the Mountain West Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas again and then head up through eastern California (to visit the National Parks) to Portland to spend some time with Liz.
Finally, I decided not to go to the tournament this year like I did last year and just do a straight shot out to Portland. I was working on trip details (route, campgrounds, sightseeing, etc.) and called Liz to check on where and when she would be. She has been spending most of January and February in Lincoln City getting her AirBnB ready. As we talked, she said, "Dad, I would love for you to come, sometime, but I've just got too much going on now and coming up for you to come now. Maybe sometime in April or May."
Frankly, I was really pleased she told me. I always want our time together to be fun, and if I could help, but this wasn't going to be the time for her and I'm glad she stood up for it. So, we'll schedule later in year sometime. Also, she said when I do come, she would like to travel south with me as she hasn't spent any time on the coast much below Lincoln City.
Her AirBnB is located at the red heart in the white blip which is Lincoln City, just below the blue casino to the north of it. Her house is the gold marker up in Portland and Corvallis, where Erik did grad school, is located at the bottom. So the place is pretty centrally located along the coast. And its only 1-1/2 blocks from the beach.
She also was telling me about the snow they had. They had 10.85 official inches in Portland, the second deepest snow ever recorded there. And she said there was 6 inches of snow on the beach in Lincoln City. She said Chowder was so excited that she had to keep a "relatively" close leash on her the whole time.
So, if no March in Portland, what's next?
Well, Let's talk Wyoming Basketball.
Men's -- With one game to go, we are the official holders of the bottom of the Mountain West, with 8-20 in the season and 3-13 in the conference. And next game is against San Diego State, which is #1 in the ranking, and not likely to lose it's position. Next up is Air Force with 14-16 and 5-12, so our chances of making it out of the first round of the tournament are not stellar. (While being carefully guarded to say this, there is another school 65 miles south of us and it is the next school above Air Force, so it's not very likely to get out of the first round also.) Bottom line, its real possible that any team I have any connection to (save maybe New Mexico because Tyler goes there) will be out in the first round on Wednesday.
There's lots of reasons for our record. Our Preseason Mountain West MVP pick was injured in the first exhibition game and was out the entire season. (Good news, he plans to come back next year.) We lost four potential starters to "The Portal", meaning they have transferred to different schools, and are removed from our roster once they declare. So, our "A Team" does not exist anymore and one person cannot carry the whole team. We are looking better for next year, but the Portal will basically kill every below average team because the best players will always want to transfer someplace else. Its existence is one of the worst decisions ever made by the NCAA.
Women's - Last night's win over CSU 76-60 put us in uncontested #2 with 13-5 in the conference. Three schools are tied for #3 at 11-6. They have been on fire the last set of games and beating CSU was icing on the cake. So good that they should be invited to the NCAA tournament if they are even in the top four in the conference. So, it's very possible that they will be playing for the Women's Conference title on Wednesday.
After the game last night, I stayed around and shook hands with one of our great super-seniors, 5'6" Tommi Olson from Worland, WY and Allyson Fertig from Glendo, WY, a 6'4" sophomore center who scored 27 points last night. I also thanked the first-year radio announcer for the great job he's done since I listen to the game while I'm watching it live. BTW, I sit on the aisle, three rows back from the UW bench and the row behind Joe and either Mary or Joe Jr. I'm one of the idiots who stands and cheers when the team gathers at the bench. You could say, I am a little invested.
So, am I going to Las Vegas for the tournament? I haven't decided for sure. I've started routing my trip and it would be nice to be in a warmer climate for a while. And I'll have a week to come back afterward before I teach my next Aggregate Workshop (first time in March).
I guess, stay tuned. We'll have an announcement right after the next doctor's appointment.
GO POKES!!!!
Late Update. I'm having problems finding RV sites. That may be my limiting factor.
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