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| MMBC Travels to Hershey & Philadelphia |
03/29/04 By ML Belforti
The day started out bright and sunny, about 70
degrees, breakfast was waiting for us and everyone
was right on time, then the alarm went off and it
was 5:30 AM and we needed to wake up.
The day was dark and over-cast, it was about 35
degrees and threatening to rain or maybe even
snow - but it would not hold all 72 of us back from
our 2nd Annual Hershey/Philly hockey trip. And as
for being on time, well, most of us were. The Prez
wandered in about 15 minutes after the majority of
us were at Macy¹s parking lot waiting for the buses.
After roll-call to make sure we were all there (this
happened every time we got back on the bus), we
got on the road about 8:00 AM and the rain hit
almost immediately. I¹m glad we didn¹t have to do
the driving. Bill handed me the tickets to the games
as he had already checked the envelope four times
on his way down from Hooksett. He said he wanted
someone else to be responsible for them as he
would do nothing but worry the whole trip if he had
them.
We stopped at the Danbury Mall, which has a huge
food court, and had lunch and then we were on our
way again. The weather had cleared and the sun
was finally out. It was a pleasant ride the rest of the
way.
We arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn, and after only a
few mix-ups, we all had our room assignments. It
just so happens that the Belforti¹s shared an
adjoining room with Mr. Walch, so a party was
planned for after the game. We are really sorry that
not everyone got the message, next year we will
make sure everyone is well informed and prepared.
Prepared - we will bring our own refreshment, as it
is very expensive to buy it there.
Back to the buses and off to the Hershey Arena. We
were met by
Deb from the HBBC and escorted in as Katie Kemp
(who joined us after driving up from Norfolk) had
baked cookies for the team, Ken Cail, the Hershey
Bears Booster Club and the bus drivers. The
cookies going into the arena had to have an escort.
Rumor has it that Ryan Flinn grabbed the box of
cookies and said they were all his - he¹s a big guy to
have to fight for cookies. We found our seats and
anxiously awaited the start of the game.
The Monarchs won the game, 3-0. As the team
skated off the ice, Yanick Lehoux was pointing our
section out to the rest of the team. As the 3 players
of the game were announced (all three happened to
be from the Monarchs).
We all piled into the buses and headed for The Soda
Jerk - a 50¹s diner, where the Hershey Bears
Booster Club was hosting us. It was a great time
had by all. As we were leaving the diner, someone
bought one of the shirts that says, "I¹m a Jerk" with
the work "Soda" above the word Jerk. They
proceeded back to the hotel to cross off the word
Soda and then have anyone who wanted to sign it,
before it was presented to Bill - much to his chagrin.
At some point, someone turned on the TV and we
got the latest on the college hockey scores. They
were showing video highlights of the UNH game.
Unfortunately, UNH lost.
Around 2:00 AM, people started wandering back to
their own rooms. A half hour later, only the
Belforti¹s, Lydia Perry and Bill. M-L made the
The day started out bright and sunny, about 70
degrees, breakfast was waiting for us and everyone
was right on time, then the alarm went off and it
was 5:30 AM and we needed to wake up.
The day was dark and over-cast, it was about 35
degrees and threatening to rain or maybe even
snow - but it would not hold all 72 of us back from
our 2nd Annual Hershey/Philly hockey trip. And as
for being on time, well, most of us were. The Prez
wandered in about 15 minutes after the majority of
us were at Macy¹s parking lot waiting for the buses.
After roll-call to make sure we were all there (this
happened every time we got back on the bus), we
got on the road about 8:00 AM and the rain hit
almost immediately. I¹m glad we didn¹t have to do
the driving. Bill handed me the tickets to the games
as he had already checked the envelope four times
on his way down from Hooksett. He said he wanted
someone else to be responsible for them as he
would do nothing but worry the whole trip if he had
them.
We stopped at the Danbury Mall, which has a huge
food court, and had lunch and then we were on our
way again. The weather had cleared and the sun
was finally out. It was a pleasant ride the rest of the
way.
We arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn, and after only a
few mix-ups, we all had our room assignments. It
just so happens that the Belforti¹s shared an
adjoining room with Mr. Walch, so a party was
planned for after the game. We are really sorry that
not everyone got the message, next year we will
make sure everyone is well informed and prepared.
Prepared - we will bring our own refreshment, as it
is very expensive to buy it there.
Back to the buses and off to the Hershey Arena. We
were met by
Deb from the HBBC and escorted in as Katie Kemp
(who joined us after driving up from Norfolk) had
baked cookies for the team, Ken Cail, the Hershey
Bears Booster Club and the bus drivers. The
cookies going into the arena had to have an escort.
Rumor has it that Ryan Flinn grabbed the box of
cookies and said they were all his - he¹s a big guy to
have to fight for cookies. We found our seats and
anxiously awaited the start of the game.
The Monarchs won the game, 3-0. As the team
skated off the ice, Yanick Lehoux was pointing our
section out to the rest of the team. As the 3 players
of the game were announced (all three happened to
be from the Monarchs).
We all piled into the buses and headed for The Soda
Jerk - a 50¹s diner, where the Hershey Bears
Booster Club was hosting us. It was a great time
had by all. As we were leaving the diner, someone
bought one of the shirts that says, "I¹m a Jerk" with
the work "Soda" above the word Jerk. They
proceeded back to the hotel to cross off the word
Soda and then have anyone who wanted to sign it,
before it was presented to Bill - much to his chagrin.
At some point, someone turned on the TV and we
got the latest on the college hockey scores. They
were showing video highlights of the UNH game.
Unfortunately, UNH lost.
Around 2:00 AM, people started wandering back to
their own rooms. A half hour later, only the
Belforti¹s, Lydia Perry and Bill. M-L made the
mistake of asking Bill if the doors between the rooms were going to be closed. He said "NO". After being informed that we sleep in the "all-together", he decided the
doors would be better off closed. The next morning, he called through the doors and told us to look at our door. I think this was pay-back for the "Jerk" shirt. He had
placed a sign on the door that read "WE ARE NAKED - DO NOT DISTURB". Thanks Bill - anyone who went down to breakfast before us now knows our lifestyle. I think
maybe that was a bit much in payback so maybe someone will need to do something else along the way.
The buses arrived at 10:00 AM and off to the Chocolate Factory we went. Everyone scattered to do their own thing. Some went on the 3D movie ride, some took the
virtual tour, some shopped (a lot) and some took the trolley tour of Hershey. Did you know that there is no such place as Hershey, Pennsylvania? It is actually the
Township of Derry, but because of the factory and everyone in the world knows it as Hershey - they use Hershey as the name. Interesting piece of trivia for you!
Back on the buses for the trip to Philly. As we rode along, both buses bought raffle tickets for 4 different prizes. Those prizes were an MMBC sweatshirt, an Adam
Hauser autographed foam hockey puck from the At Your Service Dinner, an autographed rally towel signed by at least 15 players and a donated stuffed Coco the
Hershey Bear. Congratulations to all the winners.
Once in Philadelphia, the buses unloaded at the Liberty Bell. We had about 2 hours to do what ever we wanted, before we needed to get on the buses and go to the
arena. Again we scattered to the winds - and yes it was a little windy. Some of us took off for a real honest to goodness Philly Cheese Steak (personal note): it was
my first and I wasn¹t all that impressed - sorry).
Now it's payback time! Bill dropped his camera and cell phone on our table and went up to place his order. Big mistake! The cell phone disappeared. Nothing was
said throughout the meal, nothing was said on the walk back to the buses, and nothing was said about a missing phone when the buses took off for the arena. At a
pre-arranged time, someone (Thanks Noelle) from the other bus was to call Bill¹s cell, which just so happened to be in M-L¹s bra. As Bill was organizing his stuff
(looking for his phone, but didn¹t want to admit it), the phone suddenly started to ring. He stopped dead, cocked his head, listened for a few seconds, poked me in the
"left side" and said, "Your bra is ringing". Gee Bill, do you think it could be for you?????? Oh yes, I don¹t get even, I get ahead!
As we walked into the Spectrum some of us ran into Ken Cail. He was very appreciative of Katie¹s cookies at Hershey, and shared them with the rest of the
broadcast booth. He even mentioned it on the air. Our seats in Philly were fantastic - if you don¹t mind the puck and sometimes the players almost sitting in your lap.
Our seats started four rows up from the ice, right behind the net. We could have told you what color eyes P.J. Stock has - if one of them hadn¹t been black. Wow
what a shiner. This game was not as good to us as the one the night before - but on a personal note, the kids in the Phantom audience weren¹t as obnoxious as they
were the year before either. Manchester lost the game, 3-1. Oh well, I guess you can¹t win them all, but we sure tried.
We boarded the buses for the long trip home. We would make one stop in Weehawken, NJ, at a rest-stop with a food court. The only thing open was Burger King, but
when you are tired and hungry almost anything will do.
After everyone boarded the buses again, we went non-stop to Manchester and arrived at Macy¹s around 3:30 AM. It was a long trip for us, but even longer for the
Monarchs. Four road games in five days - that¹s a lot of hockey.
All in all, it was another great trip, with a cast of 72, who seemed to really enjoy themselves and the company of other rabid hockey fans. Next year, let¹s see if we
can get more people, more buses and maybe a trip to Canada?
Thanks to Hal Collins for organizing this trip and especially to the loyal fans for participating.
doors would be better off closed. The next morning, he called through the doors and told us to look at our door. I think this was pay-back for the "Jerk" shirt. He had
placed a sign on the door that read "WE ARE NAKED - DO NOT DISTURB". Thanks Bill - anyone who went down to breakfast before us now knows our lifestyle. I think
maybe that was a bit much in payback so maybe someone will need to do something else along the way.
The buses arrived at 10:00 AM and off to the Chocolate Factory we went. Everyone scattered to do their own thing. Some went on the 3D movie ride, some took the
virtual tour, some shopped (a lot) and some took the trolley tour of Hershey. Did you know that there is no such place as Hershey, Pennsylvania? It is actually the
Township of Derry, but because of the factory and everyone in the world knows it as Hershey - they use Hershey as the name. Interesting piece of trivia for you!
Back on the buses for the trip to Philly. As we rode along, both buses bought raffle tickets for 4 different prizes. Those prizes were an MMBC sweatshirt, an Adam
Hauser autographed foam hockey puck from the At Your Service Dinner, an autographed rally towel signed by at least 15 players and a donated stuffed Coco the
Hershey Bear. Congratulations to all the winners.
Once in Philadelphia, the buses unloaded at the Liberty Bell. We had about 2 hours to do what ever we wanted, before we needed to get on the buses and go to the
arena. Again we scattered to the winds - and yes it was a little windy. Some of us took off for a real honest to goodness Philly Cheese Steak (personal note): it was
my first and I wasn¹t all that impressed - sorry).
Now it's payback time! Bill dropped his camera and cell phone on our table and went up to place his order. Big mistake! The cell phone disappeared. Nothing was
said throughout the meal, nothing was said on the walk back to the buses, and nothing was said about a missing phone when the buses took off for the arena. At a
pre-arranged time, someone (Thanks Noelle) from the other bus was to call Bill¹s cell, which just so happened to be in M-L¹s bra. As Bill was organizing his stuff
(looking for his phone, but didn¹t want to admit it), the phone suddenly started to ring. He stopped dead, cocked his head, listened for a few seconds, poked me in the
"left side" and said, "Your bra is ringing". Gee Bill, do you think it could be for you?????? Oh yes, I don¹t get even, I get ahead!
As we walked into the Spectrum some of us ran into Ken Cail. He was very appreciative of Katie¹s cookies at Hershey, and shared them with the rest of the
broadcast booth. He even mentioned it on the air. Our seats in Philly were fantastic - if you don¹t mind the puck and sometimes the players almost sitting in your lap.
Our seats started four rows up from the ice, right behind the net. We could have told you what color eyes P.J. Stock has - if one of them hadn¹t been black. Wow
what a shiner. This game was not as good to us as the one the night before - but on a personal note, the kids in the Phantom audience weren¹t as obnoxious as they
were the year before either. Manchester lost the game, 3-1. Oh well, I guess you can¹t win them all, but we sure tried.
We boarded the buses for the long trip home. We would make one stop in Weehawken, NJ, at a rest-stop with a food court. The only thing open was Burger King, but
when you are tired and hungry almost anything will do.
After everyone boarded the buses again, we went non-stop to Manchester and arrived at Macy¹s around 3:30 AM. It was a long trip for us, but even longer for the
Monarchs. Four road games in five days - that¹s a lot of hockey.
All in all, it was another great trip, with a cast of 72, who seemed to really enjoy themselves and the company of other rabid hockey fans. Next year, let¹s see if we
can get more people, more buses and maybe a trip to Canada?
Thanks to Hal Collins for organizing this trip and especially to the loyal fans for participating.
| Copyright © 2003-2006 Manchester Monarchs Booster Club. All Rights Reserved. |
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