Two Peas in a Pod

Glens Falls Civic Center

With much anticipation and excitement we arrived at the Glens Falls Civic Center at 2:00PM on Thursday, February 18, 2010. We met Dawn in the office, but she was in the middle of some work so we waited out side the office area, where Charlotte was able to run up and down a wide hallway. She must have run up and down about 15 times. Amazing amount of energy!

We had to wait for about little while, but we had no place to be, so we ran back and forth in the hallway.  Running is one of Charlotte’s favorite things to do, and we have enrolled her in “Toddler Track & Field” at the Glens Falls YMCA for the next session.

Adirondack Phantoms logo Locker Room floor

With the arrival of George Sporing, the Adirondack Phantoms Certified Athletic Trainer, we descended into the lower levels of the Civic Center, passing by the visitors locker room, down the hallway behind the Home goal and to the Phantoms Locker Room.

As we came into the locker room, both JoAnn and I were surprised at how spotlessly clean it was.  There is obviously a lot of pride that goes into keeping the locker room absolutely perfect for the guys.  Fantastic to see.  The image on the right is the Adirondack Phantoms logo which is on the floor in the middle of the locker room.  The player never step on this area of the carpet.

We looked around and saw that the guys practice jerseys where hanging in each players locker, along with his skates, gloves, helmet, and other equipment.

Charlotte with the sticks of #16 Patrick Maroon

We then moved into the next room, where the guys sticks are kept.  All of the players numbers where on the wall, with each mans sticks on a set of pegs protruding from the wall.  It was interesting to see the wide variety of sticks.

In the next room, which is the Strength & Conditioning Room, we met Assistant Coach Kjell Samuelsson and Strength & Conditioning Coach, Ryan Podell.  Both were doing a good workout, so we didn’t bug them for long.

We moved on into George Sporing’s “office”, the Athletic Training Room.  This area of the locker room can get quite busy at times, with guys getting banged up out on the ice.  There was load of medical supplies, and two training tables where the guys can be treated.

As we where in here, George put his head around a door in the back of the AT Room, and moments later Coach Greg Gilbert appeared.  This was a great honor to meet the Adirondack Phantoms Head Coach.  This is a man that has 16 seasons of NHL playing experience, and has been a Head Coach in both the AHL and NHL.   He is also the only player in NHL history to have won the Stanley Cup with both the New York Rangers (1994) and the New York Islanders (1982 and 1983).

The Phantoms Entrance onto the ice

Returning back to the main locker room, we proceeded down the “tunnel” to the Phantoms Entrance onto the ice.  We stood by the ice, with a Zamboni laying down a fresh layer of ice ready for tomorrow nights game versus the Hershey Bears (currently in first place in the AHL standings).

This was a great afternoon out, and we want to send out our praise and thanks to George Sporing, Coach Greg Gilbert, Coaches Samuelsson and Podell, and all of the staff and players of the Adirondack Phantoms.  Most importantly, we want to thank Dawn Price for setting this up and giving us the opportunity to have this very special time in the locker room.

Truly a day to remember!

Today we went on an AquaDuck Tour of Albany with Starlight Children’s Foundation.  It was a blast, and very cool to see and learn about our wonderful state capital from the fun and entertaining environment of an AquaDuck.

On Thursday – Toby’s 35th Birthday – we went to Six Flags: The Great Escape in Lake George, NY.  This was a “Great Escape” Day Out with Starlight Children’s Foundation.

We had a great time, and Gramma Darlene and Grampa Ron came too.  We went on the Giant Wheel, went to Wiggles World and drove the Big Red Car.  We saw the Pirate Diving Show, and we rode the Storytown Train.

Charlotte had a complete blast!  She was on the go all day, until we left at around 6:00PM.

See all our photos from the day at Google Picasaweb.

Charlotte and JoAnn on the big wheel…

Saturday morning – Charlotte watching Playhouse Disney – JoAnn paying some bills and Facebooking – Toby doing some coding…

Sometime today we will be putting up the new shutters on the house… Home improvement is never-ending… but the satisfaction of improving ones own property is fantastic… I love living here, and I love working on the house!

Granny and Poppa are headed to Denver and then Estes Park tomorrow.  I have to drop them at Albany Airport at 7AM, so will have to get up at 5:30AM… I’ll have to pick them up on Friday too, some time after 11:30PM.

My birthday is coming up on Thursday.  35 – wow, I’m really going to be 35… We are headed to The Great Escape for the day, thank you to The Starlight Foundation.  Gramma and Grampa will be joining us, so it should be a fun day.  We know that Charlotte will have a blast.

Charlotte is saying many words, stringing many together.  She is completely a sponge at age 25-months.  It is amazing to me as her father to see the daily change in her and see her growing so fast.  Just today she moved up to the next size diapers (nappies).  Change is a good thing, but no matter how excited I am with her growth and seeing her develop, with each change I miss my little girl from the day before.

The owners of the Philadelphia Phantoms are looking at moving the team to Glens Falls next season.  We have already put down for season tickets, and having home town hockey back in the area will give a serious boost to the local economy.

This is the news article from WTEN News Channel 10, the ABC Affiliate in Albany, NY.

We are in the clip at 00:45 seconds.  Enjoy! (SORRY ABOUT THE AUTO-PLAY!)