day 5: ready to go home (m)

It's our last day here. H is in a seminar with the other skaters learning about all sorts of things related to the sport, including drug testing.  He's horrified to learn how the tests are conducted.  I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say, there is NO WAY one could cheat.

Last night was the free skate, also known as the long program.  He skated very well, but fell once.  Despite the fall, he came in fourth in the long program which was a very good result. 

It's over and I need a break from all this.  I book a pedicure in the hotel spa.  My feet look so good, I book a manicure.  After that, I realize I have nowhere to go and nothing to do until 7 pm.  I look at the menu of spa services.  I book an eyebrow tint, which is illegal in Massachusetts.  My eyebrows come out too dark and I look like I am one cigar away from Groucho Marx.

Before I blow a whole day and a lot of money on more services, I decide to go for a walk.  My knee is tight and cranky, but I am fed up with it and decide to punish it into submission by walking.  I go out for two hours, up and down the streets of Spokane.

I stop for lunch at a "New York Style Deli."  Yeah, right.  The staff looks like washed up flower children.  Again I find myself in the position of negotiating a customized lunch.  Salad...turkey slices...carrots, sprouts, no cucumbers, no tomatoes, yes onions, yes red peppers, no green peppers, yes broccoli, yes dark rye, no butter, yes oil and vinegar.  I get an unsweetened ice tea and sit down and eat my lunch.  It's the best salad I have ever had.  I have no idea why.

Dinner was at an Italian restaurant. I had grilled chicken and vegetables.  I thought I told the waitress it was okay to brush them with oil. I don't think that happened as I had to choke them down...stiff and flavorless.

Finished packing by midnight and put in a wake-up call for 4 a.m.

I can't wait to go home.