Last weekend, the LoBiondo Family took our 2 boys and 5 other rowers down to
Baltimore for the America Rows Mid Atlantic Regional Regatta, then on to D.C.
for a tour. It was an epic visit,
wherein we learned the following: 9
people in a Team Mom-Mobile is a lot, even with the third row; not having to
trailer boats is awesome; people in Baltimore are super nice; Coach Jackie and
Mrs. Lo are OK being the only girls; the Metro in D.C. is confusing; Real
(young) men will wear hotel towels on their heads; and do not EVER try to bring
a quart sized bag of flax seed into the U.S. Congress.
Mr. Lo and I
celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary on Friday, May 2d, during
which time we also celebrated Christian’s Confirmation. The only way the rowers could go to this
Regatta would be for the LoBiondo Law firm to provide the Grant money. Which we did.
To pay for the hotels for the rowers, the food, the gas. But these kids are like family to us. We had the rowers sleep over our house
afterward so that we could wake up early Saturday morning and hit the road. We had one other parent driving down, but she
kind of lost Chico and then kind of ditched us in D.C., which is why we had six
kids in the car on the way down and 7 on the way back. Fortunately, I had been telling the boys for
months to pack light. Meaning everything
had to fit in a drawstring bag which would go on their laps.
We had a
great time touring Baltimore on Saturday, then the kids hit the hotel
pool. Literally. The poor lifeguard had been peacefully
enjoying Reader’s Digest but after we left she looked like she could use a
stiff drink. The boys were going from
the pool to the hot tub and back in classic, OMG-This-Hotel-Has-A-Pool style. Afterward, they all wrapped towels on their
heads like they were at a beauty salon and even let me take a picture of them.
We have all
been a crew for a while and we have Regattas down to a science. The 4+ boat was Kelvin, Richard, Soup and
Christian, with Michael at coxswain. These were my original Student Ambassadors,
plus young Anthony as our team manager.
Young Anthony had never been out of Newburgh and everything we did, from
going in paddleboats to getting gelato to riding the Metro was uber-exciting to
him.
It was the best Regatta ever, bar
none. Now, it’s one thing for me to say
that, but that is exactly what our Head Coach, Coach Cunningham, said to the
Baltimore Regatta Master. And Coach
Cunningham has seen a lot of regattas.
It was an absolutely magical day.
It was an America Rows Regatta, meaning inclusion was the theme, whether
including brand new starter clubs, or programs like ours which focused on
diversity. For one thing, we didn’t have
to trailer any boats down, Baltimore let us borrow their boats: a Filippi and a Vespoli M2. Very nice boats. And we didn’t have to pack a tent or food,
Baltimore fed us. There was no yelling,
no arguing. People smiled, they said
HELLO to each other, cheered the other teams on, and we made quite a few
friends. I don’t know if it’s because we
were (sort of) in the South or what it was, but it was so nice and easy, the
coaches and I were slightly confused.
Baltimore
shortened the race course due to expected high winds, so it went from a 1750
meter sprint to a 1350 meter sprint.
Kelvin and Chico went first, their 2x took Second Place. Someone from another team patted me on the
back to congratulate me. Being a hybrid
New Yorker/ Newburghian, the first thing I did was check to see if I had been
pickpocketed. I had not.
Then the 4+
came down. Kelvin had to row again. Christian had been playing basketball and
football and hadn’t rowed in a Regatta since October of 2013. Little Michael had a steady hand on the rudder. All the parents on the dock at the finish
wanted their kids’ boat to win but it was a very collegiate feeling. It wasn’t the usual tension, I knew I would
cheer on whoever was coming across the finish line. All the coaches were instructing their rowers
to sprint at the bridge, which was the 200 meter mark, that one wasn’t rocket
science. Three boats were all in exactly
the same position at the bridge. The
other boats were much further behind.
Then the Baltimore boat just turned on the gas and broke away for the
easy win. It was Newburgh and The Other
Boat. I thought I could hear Michael
calling the Power Ten (where they row harder for ten strokes) and then another
Power Ten. And they just powered past
The Other Boat, which put in a mighty effort.
But Newburgh got a good 5 or 6 boat lengths ahead of them and sailed
through the orange finish line then spun around to row back to the start, with
Christian pumping his fist in Sheer Joy.
Then Baltimore not only fed us, they gave us all their leftover food.
We drove
straight to D.C. and proceeded to nap.
Well, the grownups napped, while the kids – you guessed it – hit the
pool. Touring our nation’s capital the
next day was a truly awe-inspiring experience.
Only Christian had previously visited, on a class trip, but his class
did not tour Capitol Hill. Congressman
Maloney got us special tour passes, access to the House and Senate, and we
visited his office in Congress. But not
before Mrs. Lo got stopped by security.
I had been
very careful to take all my tools out of my bag before going to Congress. (Crew moms travel with 7/16 wrenches and
sockets, especially if your son is a coxswain).
But I hadn’t removed everything that looked suspicious. “And what is THIS?” said the security person,
as she searched my Disney bag. She was
holding up a Ziploc bag full of flax seeds.
I carry them around to sprinkle on our food and lower my
cholesterol. I don’t know what people
are into these days or what the guard thought it was. But the whole crowd stopped and looked over
at me. We were momentarily stunned. It was our coxswain who spoke up first. “It’s flax seed!,” said Little Michael. “My mommy’s not a terrorist, she just has
high cholesterol!” At which even the
security guard laughed. “It’s high in
anti-oxidants too,” offered another security guard. They all had a good chuckle and let us
through. And she even gave back my flax
seeds.
Glad to be
back in Newburgh. The River may be
rough, our boats may be beaters, and Big Coach might Yell when he could just as
easily talk quietly, but I wouldn’t trade any of it. Have a great day, everyone and, as always,
Remember to Count Your Blessings!
<3 Mrs. Lo -- for more of the Mrs. Lo Blog, visit:
www.LoBiondoPage.Blogspot.com
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