Spring Break: Notes from the road

Hello. I am posting this from a hotel room in the curiously named town of Spotsylvania, Virginia. My sister just texted me to say that this name has a "Munsters" feel to it. Indeed! Well. Here's the thing! For the first time that I can remember as a coach, our Marist Spring Break coincides neatly with the Spring Recess for my children. This, of course, is neat! My wife came up with a Big, Grandiose Idea of a family trip to Disney World. Disney. No. No. No!!!!!!! After I toweled off from breaking out in a nerves-induced cold sweat, not to mention detailing how our checking account could not withstand such a frontal assault, we settled on a very neat Plan B. We would go visit Aunt Lucy (my sister) and her boys (my nephews, all BROs, for sure!) in Myrtle Beach. On the way back, we would check off some college visits for our oldest son Joey, a junior in high school who has already begun this process. With a relatively new minivan (41,220 miles at the start of this journey), we loaded up and away we go.

Now. Alert readers may be aware that a large swath of our track/XC team -- mostly young men and women distance runners -- also have Myrtle Beach as their Spring Break destination. There was talk among them of Coach Pete getting the gang together for a workout. Coach Pete quickly squashed such talk. Don't get me wrong. I love my team and our athletes. But enough is enough. We have been together on a daily basis for more than two months since the beginning of the year, and stretching back to mid-August for much of the team. Family time is family time. Of course, my phone is always on and open for texts and calls throughout the break. But a team practice? In Myrtle Beach? NO THANKS. However! I am confident that our athletes will be training well while they are away.

So anyway! The first leg of our trip today involved about 400 miles of driving, starting in the mid-afternoon after our kids got out of school. Even with Modern Electronic Devices, this is a long way to go as a Family Unit -- especially when one member of that unit is a very active and maturity-challenged 10-year-old, whose lexicon includes such timeless gems as "I'm bored" and "Are we there yet?" Overall, it has been smooth sailing after Day 1. We look forward to our arrival in Myrtle Beach to see family members that we just don't see very often. I will do my best to post when I can, from the road.