PKRA Cabarete: 4th Stop on the World Tour: Tuesday June 26, Day One

Posted Wednesday June 27th, 2007

-Stacey Fonas, Corporate Scribe

Wah, wah, wah, I know ... but for a multitude of reasons, I was not really looking forward to coming down here, to Cabarete, for the 4th stop of the PKRA World Cup. One of the multitudes is this: when I lived here for about 9 months, on the salary of a kite instructor, ie, Not Very Much, I lived deep in the heart of the real Dominican Village ... in La Casa de Carmen ... which had about 30 minutes of electricity per day, and roosters with internal alarm clocks permanently set at 1:45 AM. I guess I have it in my mind that that's where I'll have to stay every time I come down here ... in the housing-equivalent of Chinese Water Torture ... and it fills me with dread.

The street down which I used to live

However, when I'd heard that Laurel Eastman had hooked us up with a swanky 3-bedroom beachfront house right at the event site ... where we could literally look outside of our patio door and watch the competition ... the week suddenly started sounding a whole lot better. I've really come up in the world, now that I work for Best. :)

So I packed up all my stuff and trundled off to the train station in Delray, enroute to the Miami airport. It's always a little tricky getting a golf bag and the rest of your possessions onto the shuttle from the train station to the airport, but because I had so much stuff, I got to sit up front with Rosa Parks, which made me feel important.

When I landed in the DR, I was happy, although not surprised, to be greeted by the tin-can-rickety sound of the Puerto Plata Welcoming Band, one of the only constants in my life. They're just always there, never moving from their spot in the long hallway before Customs, playing that one same song, stuck on permanent repeat. I find it a comfort, like meatloaf and mash potatoes.

I was also very happy that the promise of a swanky beach house wasn't just a ruse to get me to bring the boys their wireless router. Due to the jokey mood Laurel's been in since she got married, I was kind of afraid that as soon as they got what they needed, they were going to ferret me off to the Casa de Carmen. But they weren't kidding about the condo, which by the way is owned by Larry the local chiropractor, who once "fixed" my shoulder and made me cry right there on the table. I think I'll leave him a note before I leave, "Remember that time when ... ?"

The condo

View from the patio

However, they did mislead me a little. For example, Alvaro is in what should have been MY room. "The Competitor needs the nice bed," I was told.

Alvaro's room

Here is Gavin's room. (The photographer also needs a nice bed :) )

I really have nothing to complain about, but I just like to. Here is my room, and my bed ... which is what my sister, who sometimes gets words wrong ... ie, "momento" for "memento," "chow" for "Ciao" ... would call the pull-out "crouton."

Alvarito, who I'm also told is named Tiger. Or Lil Sunshine, if I prefer that, and I think I do. I'm glad to see that his hair grew back, after that unfortunate run-in with the clippers in Egypt.

It was nice that I finally got to meet Laurel's husband Shay, who has just learned to jump ... not land, just jump ... and who has been bribing the PKRA judges for a spot in the podium, and me, for a spot on the team. P.S. I've been asked to tell everyone in the office, JeffG, that his name is pronounced "Shy," not "Shay." (Way to confuse the masses, people. "Hello my name is James ... that's right, 'John' ... I know it's spelled James, but it's really pronounced John. Hmmm.) Note to self: If I ever name a kid of mine Shy, spell it Shy.

They also introduced me to their 'son' Peter Pan ... who I'd met before ... and who they really did introduce as their 'son.' I think it's great that they're equal-opportunity parents and don't discriminate againsts members of the Animal Kingdom. In some small way, Rosa Parks would be proud.

So tonight was the Opening Night Welcome Ceremonies, where they welcome all the people, thank the police for not interfering, call the riders up on stage, etc. It was supposed to start at 7:30, but at 7:20, the skies opened up and dumped a few million buckets of rain over the town. It would have been nice to just stay at home, but Laurel was running the ceremony, I'd just had a frozen passionfruit caipirinha (our swanky house has a blender), and it suddenly sounded like an Event I Couldn't Miss. So Laurel, Shay/Shy bundled their son under their new pink Best towel, and we all headed the few hundred yards up the beach to the Wyndham Tangerine.

A word about event starting times. At the Velocity Games, Kristin got a little angry at the rest of us for not taking the "starting times" very seriously. "In the PKRA, the meetings ALWAYS start on time. If they say 7:30, they mean 7:30, and NOT 7:31," she chastised us. However, my experience so far as been a little different. Here it is, 7:50, a view from the podium.

8:01 ...

When I mentioned this to Buster Tronolone, he said that the best was when Martin Vari was winning the World Tour, because it didn't matter when anything was scheduled ... nothing could start until Martin showed up. So they'd hang out in the room, do another shot, hang out some more, do another shot ... ahh, the good old days.

In addition to Welcoming the Riders, Press, and General Public, it also looked like they were going to do a comparative taste test on some assorted carbonated and non-carbonated beverages.

The Wyndham Tangerine Staff, adding new meaning to the term "All-Inclusive"?

Laurel, doing her usual wonderful super-polished job on stage. (While I was working for her, she tried to tutor me on Nice and Gracious, but I flunked out of class.)

So, for some reason, blame it on the rain, the PKRA staff didn't announce the riders or call them up on stage, so I couldn't get any group pictures. They just turned us loose on the buffet. ("Tina ... dinner ... go get your FOOD.") But the part of the evening I found most interesting was what appeared to be a Pre-Victory Celebration Cape being worn by one of the competitors.

We couldn't believe our eyes, so we sent our crack photographer in for a closer look.

Yep, it's true. And all I can say is GOOD THING I brought a Best Flag down with me. Because GUESS what "Lil Sunshine" is going to be wearing TOMORROW NIGHT? Hahahah, I love being Team Manager sometimes. "Alvaro, wear this flag, or you're fired." Haha.

So, now it's Wednesday morning, and in a few minutes, they'll be starting the trials for the guys ... there's only about 3 heats ... and then they'll go right into the Women's Singles, so I'll try to get some video of Bruna ... OH, and also Kristin, because apparently, and unbeknownst to me ... according to the latest 2007 PKRA Press Release ... Kristin is here as well!!!

"The fight for the female crown will be exciting as well, with the likes of teammate Bruna Kajiya (Brazil) eyeing the number one spot from Boese who has been doing extensive training in Australia."

This is super exciting! That girl must have the superpower of Time Travel, because I was just skyping with Christian Holley, from the Italy KPWT, who said that Kristin was there with him. I can't wait to see her again! This is truly amazing! :)