U.S. Pond Hockey Championships

Kay Winter (how's that for an appropriate last name) organized a field trip to the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships taking place on Lake Nakomis in South Minneapolis.

It also happens to be the coldest weekend of the season. The high on Saturday was -3 degrees!

It just so happened that my sister, Betty, sent me this great "Hot Waves" head/face/neck covering for my birthday. That thing worked great. I also had three layers on my legs and torso.

I had two pairs of socks including an all-wool pair. But my left foot got really cold near the end.

Watching the games was a lot of fun. There were nearly 30 rinks. The games are four-on-four with no goalies and no goal tending, checking or fighting. All the games were going on at once and consisted of 2 15 minute periods.

There was also a giant warming house and as Kay remarked "you could feel the testosterone in there." While there were some women players and several women spectators, it was true that the number of men and the sweaty, wintery, masculine feel in the warming house was palpable.