Around 3:30 PM today, after I spent an exciting day unpacking boxes while Vince worked on his office, we headed downtown to experience Hoopfest. Before we get into Hoopfest, I have to clear the air that Vince hasn’t worked from home in 6 years. He wants to set his office up correct the first time then being able to focus on all that he does without worrying about office setup. I still call him high maintenance, but his claims, I will vouch, are true. Back to our day.
We live in South Hill, 3 miles south of the heart of downtown Spokane, on a hill, so is the name, South Hill. Downtown Spokane is not some Main Street driven downtown. Downtown Spokane is a true downtown metro area complete with multiple high-rise buildings and parking structures, restaurants, museums, a mall and a central park known as Riverfront Park.
This weekend is Hoopfest, the world’s largest 3 on 3 street basketball tournament. Vince and I are not fans of crowds or festivals so the thought of going to Hoopfest was not high on our list of things to do. The boys were really amped to check it out as they had met some kids playing in the event. We did the right thing and took them to Hoopfest. Coming from Southern California, our thought of a popular event this large would mean parking miles away, being swallowed by hordes of people, somebody getting lost and attending being more hassle than fun, which is why we don’t like festivals. Because Hoopfest is a street event with 454 courts, streets were closed adding to what we thought would be the frenzy.
Never have we been more wrong. Our plan was to check out Hoopfest, grab food from the vendors at Riverfront Park then go to the AMC 20 in Riverfront Mall in the middle of the action to see Monsters University. If we’re going to go, we’re going to go big. We passed several $20 event parking lots on our first pass to figure out where to park. Our goal was to get as close to the mall as possible. Not only were we able to get to the mall, we were able to park with no issue! Unbelievable! The mall was packed like we were in the midst of holiday shopping as people were using the mall as a thoroughfare from the park on the north side of the mall to the courts set up on the streets on the south side of the mall.
The food vendors were busy with a handful of people in line to order. Manageable! The food was good and everyone was happy. After eating we checked out the basketball action. The games we saw were men 50+, women 40’s, kids under 12 and older kids 18-22. The old men kept strictly to a passing game and taking long shots. The 40-year-old women were fierce, not afraid to slide on the wet asphalt from the earlier thunderstorms and get a leg full of road rash to make a shot or complete a pass. I’m definitely not tough enough to play next year was the concensus. The kids were fun to watch hot dogging shots and travelling all over. The older kids made me question whether any rules were in place. Game play was nasty, no fouls called but plenty of fouls made, I was surprised no one took a punch. I’m too much of a wuss to get road rash, but I would throw a punch if someone pushed me around in an unclean game. Let’s analyze that another day.
Trace made from free throws and earned a Hoopfest lanyard. He’s stoked. Trace told me he heard on the radio that Macklemore was in town (a fellow Washingtonian, aka my new best friend) for the event or after parties. Is this true, I don’t know but if we can see Snoop Dog/Lion at Brea Mall, anything is possible.
Totally random thing happened at Hoopfest. I recognized someone! Not someone I know, but while I was so busy ranting about the guy in Wal-Mart, I didn’t mention the cool Rastafarian guy that was at Wal-Mart that made music when he walked. I saw the exact same guy at Hoopfest! He was still making music. I’m not talking about accordian between his knees music, he wears a chain of bells that hang on his left side and make melodious tunes when he walks. He stood out in Wal-Mart because he was the only Rasta I had seen in Spokane and dbecause I was envious of his musical swagger. When he passed me in the store I made a mental note to get some bells. When I passed him on the street today at Hoopfest, I did a 180 turn and nearly walked on top of him while checking out how he was making the music. When I caught back up with Vince and the boys, I told them my story. Of course they looked at me like I’m insane. Which is exactly why I blog. You understand me.
We then went to the mall and saw Monsters University. Cute. Funny. Good teamwork, let’s all get along in spite of our differences message which is always good for my kids to hear. We all enjoyed the show.
My hairstylist, Taylor, recommended we check out South Perry Street Pizza. For dinner, we grabbed a couple of pies to go on our way home. A good recommendation. Finding a good pizza in town is a huge comfort. Boxes getting checked off daily.
Sigh. We’re getting settled. It feels good.
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Note: This blog site and all posts are about me and all parts of me, my hyphens. My intention is not to project my values, morales, beliefs or attitude on anyone. I’m just sharing. Take these posts for what they are. If I offend, forgive me.
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