Independence Day

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The 4th from 35,000 feet

Said goodbye to the Courtney and the puppies and headed for Sea-Tac. Absolutely no fireworks for Independence Day. What I did get was mother nature's version as the thunderstorms across the southwest provided a bit of a show from the air. From my upgraded seat in First Class I was able to shoot some photos of it though through the airplane's window not much came out. I actually think the video I shot with my Nikon D300S turned out better than any of the stills.

Late arrival into DFW then a disagreement with my GPS which sent me in circles just trying to get out of the airport made for a long night. Met Kelvin around 8:00 a.m. in the lobby of the Courtyard in Plano/Legacy Park. We decided covering the tournament in Frisco would be the best first stop and then later in the week move on to Dallas. Wish I would have had the schedule sooner as our arrival at the gym before 9:00 a.m. got us checked in but no games until the early afternoon. It allowed us to grab some coffee and grid out our two days there.

The event didn't disappoint. I saw some fantastic players from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. The best part of my job is finding a kid I have never even heard of that is as good as many of the big name players out there.

The hotel was very average for Marriott standards and there was some foul odor coming from the sink drain and the water was a bit funky. I think I love Seattle water even more now after today. Need to get some sleep if I'm going to make through the entire month. Hoping to catch up with some good friends when I get to Chicago in the next week. Word to the wise when renting a car in the Dallas area, spring for the toll pass if you don't carry change with you regularly or are going to be in any type of time crunch.

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