The Eagle has landed...

Our flight from Detroit to Wausau was on time, and everything went pretty smoothly. As we landed at the Central Wisconsin Airport, everyone noticed a slight stench permeating through the plane. We all assumed it was Mac - who assumed it was John - but we later found out that there was a paper mill nearby, so they were both off the hook...for now.

Our first look at Wisconsin

At the airport, we met up with Doogie (Doug). He and Georgia had to share pictures of the kids. I think it's obligatory. All of our luggage rolled right on out. Chris V briefly picked up the wrong stick bag, for which he was immediately chastised by a group from Buffalo, who, apparently, were also headed to the tournament, and were very protective over their sticks. Being a Stars fan, I guess I could make a comment about folks from Buffalo, but I'll refrain in the sense of diplomacy.

After a brief debate at the Hertz counter on whether we needed 3 or 4 cars (we settled on 3), we loaded up the bags and headed for Eagle River. Mac's previous work on the ramp at US Air was indispensible in getting everything stowed away with enough room left for passengers. The trip to Eagle River took a little over an hour and a half, and we passed about two dozen bars along the way. Things were looking good already.

We found Eagle River Inn and Resort without any problems, got checked in, and headed for the restaurant for a late dinner. Following dinner, we got the cars unloaded, then decided we needed to have one last team meeting in the bar before we hit the hay (do you see a pattern emerging here?). We'll try hard to stay away from the margaritas. From past experience, we know those and hockey tournaments don't mix...