Thursday Night's Departure
The ICYBA met at 5pm on Thursday and began getting organized
for departure. Bart Maderios, Marianne Kelly, Andrew Maderios, Mary-Lynne Maderios, and countless others arrived and began
to review the checklists of everything needed for the trip. 107 people gathered excitedly as Bart made his speech to
the kids who were all sitting together in the bleachers, and some great pictures of the group were taken!
The 2 coach busses arrived and were loaded and the ICYBA began
their journey about 6:15pm EST. We found it difficult to leave Beth Richards behind. We all knew she would be missed on this
year's trip. Things were going nicely until we arrived at St. Stephen Customs checkpoint. For the first time in 15 years,
we waited for 2 hours before we were cleared by Canadian Customs and Immigration. This put our previously scheduled stops
behind by 2 hours. Thank godness for cellphones! I was able to contact the Salisbury Big Stop and Smitty's, to let them know
we would miss our reservation by 2 hours. It was a delay that no one complained about. I learn something new each year and
will be better prepared next year. We finally made it to breakfast at 8:45AST, and had a terific breakfast at Smitty's Family
Restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Friday, the Day of Rest
We made it to the hotel, where the extra staff was working
hard to get all the rooms ready. Most were already ready for us! A big thank you to Christina Jardine and the staff of
the Dartmouth Days Inn for doing such a great job for us! Once unpacked, kids and adults enjoyed the day relaxing, shopping
at the mall, or hanging around the hotel.
I had the pleasure of meeting with Art MacMillan, who decided to
move our meeting the the Steak & Stein in Dartmouth. I was accompanied by my wife, Mary-Lynne, my son, Andrew, and Marianne
Kelly. We had a terrific lunch with Linda deBoer and Margy Randle. Light discussion and great food enabled us to discuss the
business at hand.
The wonderful parents and other various adults got dinner ready for
the group about a half mile away from the hotel as the rest of the group made the walk over. The coaches met while everyone
else ate, which was followed by Bart's speech about the events that would come later that night as well as Saturday.
The short trip to the Dartmouth Sportsplex got the kids all excited.
Some new faces were about to experience a facility that would awe them. The smiles and laughter was what was needed after
a very long night. All had a great time there!
Back to the hotel, we made sure everyone was settled and the lights
went out at 11:00pm, as required. I walked the halls and spot checked rooms to find most all of our guests fast asleep.
Saturday, Game Day
The day began with everyone being on time and boarded for
their respective bowling centre. As attendance was taken, many of the coaches and adults board each bus to wish all of the
bowlers well. As my wife, Mary-Lynne, disembarked Bus #1, the icy conditions caused her to take a nasty fall on the bus stairs. As
we helped her to Art MacMillan's car, she was in extreme pain, but assured me she would be OK. I headed for Woodside
Bowlarama with division 1 & 2 kids while Andrew took the division 3 & 4 kids to South Centre Bowlarama. The excitement
was about to begin. The team events were absolutely AWESOME. So many bowlers in the same centre at the same time was a wonderful
experience. The Canadians welcomed us with open arms, as usual. Both National Anthems were played before competition began.
That always brings tears to my eyes. The scores speak for themselves, so check them out!
My wife gave in and let Art MacMillam, Marianne Kelly and Kathy Dusombre
take her to the emergency room where she was x-rayed and examined. Nothing appeared to be broken, but the bruises began to
appear. The doctor made it very clear that Mary-Lynne was in no condition to make a 13 hour bus ride home on Sunday. Wheels
began to turn. The South Centre staff secured a wheelchair for my wife while Joe Osgood offered his Buddy Pass airline tickets
to Mary-Lynne and Marianne Kelly. ML spent the rest of the day in a wheelchair and the parents had made arrangements to get
her from Logan Airport to our home, where James Emery delivered a wheelchair from Chuck Bonanno and family. Art MacMillan
got them to the Halifax Airport in comfort. Talk about caring people! Marianne saw to it that ML got home safely and as comfortably
as possible. We all wish Mary-Lynne a speedy recovery!
The bowling continued on Saturday with the team event followed by
the singles and wrapping up with the doubles event. I don't have enough time or space to elaborate on my exciting day at Woodside!
All I can saw is AWESOME!!
Saturday night's dinner was a marvelous buffet put on by Barry at
the Days Inn. We all enjoyed a great meal with scrumptious desserts!
The dance was a huge success that got underway about 8:20pm. So many
Canadians arrived to listen and dance to the music played by our very own Andrew Maderios! He did a fantastic job as the kids
never left the dance floor!
The adults travelled to the Halifax Casino and I heard no complaints
from them! Henry Baillargeon certainly had nothing to complain about as he walked out with a $1000 winning pot. Way to go,
Henry!
Sunday breakfast and the trip home went as planned and we arrived
safely at Pilgrim Lanes at 9:30pm.
We are already planning next year's trip! Thanks to EVERYONE for
making another wonderful memory!
