Pool play started at 8am but due to a miscommunication I arrived for a 9am start, so I missed the first match which they unfortunately lost to a local team from Minnesota. The first match was against the third seed in the whole tournament so the girls knew it would be a tough match. According to the other parents our team played very well and hung in with the bigger girls but could not pull it out in the end.
Since we lost the first one, the girls are were off for an hour then had to ref for an hour and did not get back to play until 11am. They then had to play back to back matches against a team from Texas and a team from California. Although they played hard, they lost both matches and were done with their day by 1pm.
Dinner tonight was scheduled for the Rainforest Cafe in the Mall of America so Jenna and I took advantage of the early finish and went over to see her great uncle Steve who lives with his wife Vicky near Minnetonka. Vicky is the author of books like 500 Things to Do With Baking Soda. You can find some of her books over at Bookpeddlers.
We were able to spend a relaxing 90 minutes with them which allowed Jenna to catch up as she had not seen them both since their wedding more than a year ago. Steve has been a wonderful influence on both my kids and I try and make sure we got to see them whenever we are in town. I have been back there a few times on business since their wedding, but this has been Jenna’s first chance. I will be back up there in July so my son can spend a little bonding time with Steve at a Sox/Twins game.
I had suggested that the girls take the light rail from downtown to the Mall of America as not many parents volunteered to drive the girls to dinner. Since Jen and I were doing family things we could not offer to drive. The two moms who went along took my advice and got the girls to the train and to the Mall an hour before dinner so they could do some shopping or for those who had never been here, just walk around and see it all.
I guess I am a little jaded as I have been here many times and I am just not that much of a shopper. We have Woodfield Mall which is about 35 minutes from my house and it has just as much shopping square footage as MoA but no amusement park, so if I get a hankering to spend, I can just go there. Some of the girls were looking for prom dresses which tells me either they like to leave things till the last minute and they have probably not thought about having to return the dress to Minnesota if their is a problem, unless they buy it from a store that has a presence in Illinois. Only one girl ended up buying a dress; all the other girls just enjoyed looking and commenting.
So it ended up being me and two moms at the bar with 12 girls at their own table. It had been a long time, probably 10 years since I had been to a Rainforest Cafe and I believe it was the one in Woodfield Mall. The kids were small then and that is just one of those places you take the kids for the things that go on around you during dinner. As I recall the food was ok and not really the reason you go there. Tonight though I was pleasantly surprised by the the items I ordered. I chose the soup/salad combo which paired a nice tomato basil soup and cranberry walnut salad. The soup was nice an hot with just the right acidity and a not at all overpowering taste of basil throughout. I can immediately tell if there is too much salt in something, as it starts to make me cough. Needless to say this was perfectly seasoned and I did not cough but did get the hiccups as I consumed the delicious starter way too fast.
The Jungle Chop Salad (cute name) was equally perfect with fresh greens, black olives, cucumbers, carrots, red cabbage, pecans, Blue cheese crumbles, dried cranberries and grilled chicken tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette. there was just enough dressing to lightly coat the lettuce leaves and the portion was enough to be filling in combination with the soup. Paired with a nice glass of wine it was a pleasant finish to a memorable day with my daughter. Although I was not at the table with her I could see her enjoying herself with the other girls just a few yards away.
A few of the other parents showed up after dinner so some of the girls took the train back to the city and the others hitched a ride with their parents. We offered to take some of the girls back to the hotel with us in the car but the ones who did not have a parent along decided to take the train back downtown.
Play does not start until 11 tomorrow (we have a bye for the first round) so getting back to the hotel at ten was acceptable. Off to bed.