Last Days Of October-Part 2

This post features a pair of events from the last week of the month of October: Halloween & Hockey. 

Halloween wasn't a big deal for me this year but it was for some members of my family. It started on the weekend that my PA family was visiting. 

Based on an idea my wife saw online, Paula, Aria and Teejai dipped some small pumpkins in nail polish floating on top of water to decorate these pumpkins. 

They also painted some in traditional Jack-o-Lantern design.

 The weekend before Halloween, James, Brandi, and Aria made some fancy designs of their own. 

On the Friday before the 31st there were a couple of special Halloween events. My granddaughter got to wear a costume to school for the first time. 

My wife made her own costume and put on her own make up to dress as a scarecrow to participate in the celebration with her co-workers at her office. 

In the afternoon her company held a "trick or treat" event for the employees' families. Brandi brought the grandkids to see their Nana and get some candy. 

BTW, here's what the little guy looked like in with his costume on completely and he's not very happy about it. 

On the actual day of Halloween, things were pretty quiet for me. I drove through my little town during the hours of trick or treat. The streets were crowded with costumed candy collectors. I don't know for sure but I'm pretty certain there were more people walking from house to house than there are residents in the grove. 

Because we are a little off the beaten path of Main Street nobody knocked at our door again this year. We didn't have much candy to begin with; so we only have a little left over. 

So for me, Halloween this year was a little pedestrian. I didn't dress up or even take my usual stroll through the grove to enjoy everyone having fun. 

I did do one Halloween type thing the on Sunday the 29th. As has become a tradition my son, Michael, and I went to see the newest offering in the "Saw" horror films. This 8th offering, "Jigsaw" is not anywhere near the best in the series. 

As a matter of fact its rather mediocre. While it keeps you guessing as to the who's doing the killing and how there aren't any real cringe worthy cutting edge moments (pun intended). 

While I spent most of the movie confounded as to how somethings were possible (hint: don't go too far off the rails in trying to guess ahead) there is an "Aha"moment when you realize just how you've been fooled. 

I left the movie feeling like I do when I figure out a magic trick after I've seen it; entertained and a bit foolish for ignoring the obvious. 

If you are a fan of the "Saw" movies you'll want to see this one cause it's the link to the next phase of the franchise. 

However, I recommend you save yourself some money. Wait until the home video comes out early next year, make popcorn in your microwave and enjoy the movie in the comfort of your own home.  

I did have one additional Halloween experience when I went to my first 2017-18 season Predators hockey game in Nashville. 

It was the night of their Halloween celebration. They had a separate ticketed trick or treat event before the game and handed out replica paper goalie masks to the kids as they entered the arena.  

The last Preds game I saw in April of last season was against my 2nd favorite team, The New York Islanders.   

The Metropolitan division team were making their only trip into Nashville early in the season.  

Being sick had caused me to miss a couple things I was excited about earlier in the week. Now that I was feeling better, I knew I had to go to the hockey game or I'd regret it all hockey season. I bought my ticket through the Ticketmaster app on my phone about 7 hours before puck drop.  

The combination of the Predators local popularity and their success last season has resulted in a a significant increase in ticket prices for the 17-18 campaign. 

For me, a fan who usually buys single game tickets, the additional cost means only being able to afford seats in the 300 section of the arena instead of the 200. I'm okay with this. I think the price point is a little high but you do get a great experience for the money.  

I arrived in downtown Nashville about 5:30. I learned from my experience last season that if I get there early enough, I have a good chance of getting a handicapped spot in the parking garage adjacent to the arena without having to pay. That saves me $20.  

I got a free spot on the 2nd level just across from the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

After getting through security I took the elevator to the upper level. That was something I hadn't done all last season. As I explained I had chosen a seat in the part of the arena known as the "upper bowl". 

My seat was in section 309 Row F Seat 1. I bought this seat because it was the last aisle seat I could find in the entire upper half of the arena. I was so surprised when I got to my seat.  Turned out they were really good. Here was my view. 

I might have been near the top of the arena but I was right at center ice, almost even with the center line; the best place to watch a game. 

When the players came out to the warm up I realized this was probably the best seat I've ever had to see the Preds. 

Here's some video of the players warm ups. 

The Predator's mascot is a anthropomorphic saber toothed gray cat, named "Gnash." 

During most home games he emerges from an opening in one end of the ice, runs down to the first blue line on the ice and then slides on his knees to almost the other goal line. 

Other times he rides an ATV around the ice. But on this particular night he got to the ice in a very daring and dangerous way. Here's a link to my You Tube video of his arrival.  
Look Up In The Sky!!! It's Gnash!!!!


A week before the game, In an article in their magazine, ESPN, named the Predators the #1 overall franchise in Sports. Rather than try and explain what that means, here's a link to the article. 
ESPN The Magazine: Preds are #1 Sports Franchise

I have visual proof of what the writer of that article is referring to in regard to connecting with the fans. 

Here's is a link to a You Tube video that shows the enthusiasm of the crowd and clearly demonstrates their devotion to their hockey club. 
Predators' Starting Lineup


After the singing of the National Anthem...

...the teams lined up for the faceoff. 

The Predators won the opening draw. As it turned out it would be one of the few things they won all night. 

After their win in Chicago the night before the Preds were a little off their game from the start of this one. They made mistakes, missed passes, coughed up the puck and drew 5 penalties which resulted in 3 Islanders power play goals.

John Tavares, who didn't even play the last time I saw these 2 teams play, scored 3 goals in a row (aka a natural hat trick) in the 3rd period. The Predators lost. 

Of course I was a little disappointed but I did get to see my favorite Predator, Filip Foresberg, score a goal and one of the best players on my 2nd favorite team score a hat trick. 

The last half of October had a lot going on. I have shared a lot of it with you in these two posts. 

But I've got one more series post to write about a pair of events. One was in October and the other happened on the 1st of November. They have really gotten me thinking about what I want to do in the coming year. I will share everything with you next time. Thanks for coming by and reading the RH Factors blog.